Industrial & Trade Strategy
2026-04-26
12 minute read
17 sources
Defense M&A in 2026: Primes Consolidate, Drones Reprice, Tier-2 Roll-Ups Compound
NATO 2 percent compliance, the Sondervermoegen, and a USD 2.71 trillion global defense outlay are pulling capital into munitions, autonomy, space, and cyber faster than the prime base can absorb it. The 2026 deal map shows three distinct games playing out at once.
Global military spending crossed USD 2.71 trillion in 2024 according to SIPRI, the steepest year on year jump since the end of the Cold War, and 2025 print is tracking above USD 2.9 trillion on Janes and IISS preliminary data. NATO recorded 23 of 32 allies meeting the 2 percent of GDP guideline in 2024, against 11 in 2023 and 3 in 2014. G...