LEVIATAD

There is fierce competition between the major European groups active in the defence and aerospace industry. This is not conducive to cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, which are often subcontractors of larger companies.

LEVIATAD (Level 1 Accelerator for Defence Sector) is a partnership between 6 organisations from 4 countries heavily involved in supporting start-ups and companies wishing to roll out innovations. The aim is to help SMEs grow their activities in the marine sector. 

To achieve this, the project partners are developing new tools and methods. In doing so, they aim to significantly strengthen the market position of European SMEs via international support measures, such as a call for vouchers and training projects.

LEVIATAD aims to establish the first real eurocluster in the field of marine defence. LEVIATAD aims to map the value chain in order to gain insight into the ecosystem and transnational synergies. 

This will be done in the following way:

• Mapping the value chain of the marine and aerospace defence sectors to gain insight into the structure of the European ecosystem and to better understand the potential transnational synergies and complementaries.
• Setting up actions to support SMEs in strategic technological innovations, thus strengthening the European sovereignty in the defence sector (through support measures such as training courses, workshops and vouchers)
• Providing support measures (e.g. workshops, vouchers, studies of international markets) that should allow SMEs to develop skills in certain European and international markets. 

LEVIATAD is not only focusing on the availability of materials, but also on skills and training. Furthermore, the partners aim to establish long-term forms of collaboration between actors from the European supply chain.

As part of the support measures, the LEVIATAD consortium organised three webinars aimed at helping SMEs gain insight into marine defence opportunities. These webinars covered, among other things, the possibilities of obtaining financing and grants within defence funds, the challenges and opportunities that digitalisation offers within marine defence and the tips and tricks to engage in international collaboration.  Did you miss them? No worries. The webinars are all recorded and can be re-watched via the links below.

• Accessing Funding and Financing for SMEs in the Naval Defence Industry
• Digital Transformation in the Naval Defence Industry, Opportunities for SMEs
• Cross-border Collaborations in the Naval Defence Industry- Best Practices