Ownership Transparency and Strategic Control in the European Defence Industrial Base

In the European defence industrial ecosystem, the question of who owns defence companies has become inseparable from the question of who can legitimately participate in the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base.

The acceleration of defence industrial policy since 2022 has shifted the regulatory focus from traditional market concerns toward structural questions of control, influence, and security of supply. As European governments attempt to rebuild industrial capacity for large-scale warfare while reducing strategic dependencies, ownership structures are no longer treated as neutral corporate matters.

This analysis answers: Why has the question of who owns defence companies become inseparable from legitimate participation in the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base? How do ownership transparency and ultimate beneficial ownership requirements reshape defence-industrial policy since 2022? How do foreign direct investment screening and private-equity governance affect control over strategic technologies? What are the industrial consequences for defence SMEs and the strategic implications for European defence finance?