DFM Platform

Due diligence on defence and dual-use suppliers

Assessing a defence or dual-use supplier before you commit — ownership and control, export-control exposure, capability and programme position — not just the financials.

What due diligence means for a defence supplier

For a defence or dual-use supplier, the decisive questions sit outside the balance sheet. Who ultimately owns and controls the entity — and does that control trigger the EU's foreign-control rules? What is its export-control and ITAR exposure? Where does it sit in the programme and capability map, and what are its real capability gaps and industrial dependencies? A financial-only view misses exactly the risks that stop a defence deal.

DFM assesses a company the way a buyer, investor or partner needs it assessed: corporate structure and ownership, technology portfolio, market and programme position, and capability gaps — drawn only from primary and official sources, and cited.

The EU rules that shape it

Several instruments decide whether a supplier is usable and fundable. EDF Article 9 governs foreign control and the derogations that let non-EU-controlled entities take part. The SAFE 35% clause restricts foreign content in EU-funded procurement. EDIP and the Defence Projects of Common Interest reshape eligibility. ITAR-free compliance is often the difference between a supplier a European programme can use and one it cannot.

The reports below work through each of these — the rule, who it excludes, and how to position against it.

How to go from the rule to the company

The analysis and the reports answer the policy question; the Professional Packs turn the eligibility, ownership-control and export-compliance tests into structured screening workbooks you run internally; and the Funding Navigator maps a specific company against the EU, NATO and national funding routes it can actually access.

The DFM reports

The EU rules and the sourced company assessments behind a defence-supplier decision.

All operational-level DFM reports →

Take it to a specific company

Turn the tests into internal screening files with the Professional Packs (eligibility, ownership-control and export-compliance workbooks), or map one company against its funding routes with the Funding Navigator.

Keep getting the analysis

DFM publishes new sourced company assessments and EU-rules analysis every week.

We store your e-mail only to send these. Nothing else. Privacy.

Subscribe free to DFM Analysis

The public defence-finance analysis, delivered to your inbox. Free.

Subscribe free to DFM Analysis →