As the war in Ukraine continues and political calls for European rearmament grow louder, the number of job vacancies in the military drone industry in Western and Southern Europe shows no signs of growth. In fact, the sector is shrinking. This is evident from recent research by Intelligence Group on job vacancy data within the defense sector. “The urgency that politicians talk about is not reflected in any concrete increase in demand from the defense industry,” says CEO Geert-Jan Waasdorp.
Following the Russian invasion in February 2022, experts expected strong growth in the military drone sector. In the immediate aftermath, there was indeed a sharp rise, with an initial peak of nearly 9,000 posted vacancies in the following quarter — double the number from a year earlier. The absolute peak came in the third quarter of 2023, with almost 9,700 vacancies. Since then, the numbers have been declining, showing a steep drop at the beginning of 2025. Figures from the most recent quarter are even significantly lower than at the end of 2021, before the threat of war became tangible in European countries.
Among the European countries analyzed, only three — the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy — currently have more drone-related job vacancies than at the start of the war. France, which led throughout most of this period, has now seen its vacancy count fall to the lowest level since the third quarter of 2021. Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom also remain below their vacancy levels from early 2022.
“You would expect the number of drone-related vacancies to have exploded in Europe and within the European defense industry. We see no evidence of that,” says Geert-Jan Waasdorp, CEO of Intelligence Group. “This aligns with the overall demand within the industry, which in both the first and third quarters of 2025 shows little indication of strong growth in workforce demand. The urgency discussed by politicians is not reflected in any tangible increase in hiring activity from the defense industry.”
Across Europe, the drone industry is primarily seeking versatile technical professionals. The most in-demand positions are led by IT specialists, particularly system and software engineers, with expertise in Java, DevOps, and C/C++ being especially sought after. In addition to the software side, there is also strong demand for roles in production and assembly, making technicians in robotics, electrical engineering, and field service engineers essential. In the Netherlands and France, drones are most closely integrated with the armed forces, which explains why military and officer roles feature prominently among the job vacancies.
| 1 | Systems Engineer |
| 2 | Technical Assistant |
| 3 | Software Engineer |
| 4 | Drone Pilot |
| 5 | Mechanic / Technician |
| 6 | Military / Defense Occupations |
| 7 | Service Engineer / Technician |
| 8 | Project Manager |
| 9 | C / C++ Programmer |
| 10 | Mechanical Engineer |
Source: Market IQ, processed by Intelligence Group | Data up to Q3 2025
Source: Market IQ, processed by Intelligence Group | Data up to Q3 2025
