Bittium’s €120M Deal with Indra Signals Major European Defense Shift

OULU, Finland – December 29, 2025 – In a move that reverberates through the European defense sector, Finnish secure communications specialist Bittium Corporation has secured a landmark agreement with Spanish technology and defense giant Indra Group. The deal, centered on the licensing of Bittium’s advanced Tough Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology, includes an immediate purchase order worth EUR 50 million and carries a potential total value of EUR 120 million over the next decade.

The agreement prompted Bittium to issue a positive profit warning, signaling a significant upward revision of its financial outlook for 2025 and validating a strategic pivot towards technology licensing that could reshape how sovereign defense capabilities are developed across the continent.

A Strategic Pivot and Financial Windfall

The immediate financial impact on Bittium is substantial. The company announced it is raising its 2025 net sales forecast from a range of EUR 95–105 million to a robust EUR 116–120 million. More dramatically, its operating profit projection has nearly doubled, now expected to fall between EUR 19–21 million, up from a previous estimate of EUR 10–13 million. This surge is directly attributed to the EUR 50 million purchase order from Indra, the first phase of a long-term collaboration.

Beyond the initial order, the agreement holds an estimated additional value of EUR 70 million over the next ten years, contingent on forecasted implementation. This structure provides Bittium with both a significant immediate cash injection and a stable, long-term revenue stream, transforming its position from a niche Nordic player to a key technology purveyor in the broader European defense market.

The deal marks a calculated evolution in Bittium’s business model. Instead of solely manufacturing and selling its own radio products, the company is now licensing its core technology to a major national defense champion. This approach allows countries like Spain, which prioritize national control over critical defense systems, to develop and manufacture their own sovereign tactical radios using a proven, state-of-the-art platform.

“This agreement demonstrates strong confidence in the excellence of our software-defined radio technology,” said Petri Toljamo, CEO of Bittium Corporation, in a statement. “The new business model, in which we license our technology, enables countries that require sovereign modern tactical radios to use our technology. This expands significantly the global reach of our technology and products.”

Empowering Spanish Sovereignty and Defense Ambitions

For Indra, the agreement is a critical component of its ambitious “Leading the Future” strategic plan. The Spanish firm aims to position itself as the central coordinator of Spain’s defense and aerospace ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in European security. With plans to invest over EUR 3 billion in R&D by 2030 and targeting revenues of EUR 10 billion, Indra is focused on consolidating its leadership in multi-domain defense.

The Bittium partnership provides Indra with the technological foundation to fast-track the development of a new generation of sovereign tactical radios. These handheld, vehicular, and manpack systems will be designed and built in Spain, primarily for the Spanish Armed Forces, ensuring national control over manufacturing, maintenance, and future upgrades. This aligns perfectly with the growing European imperative for strategic autonomy in an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Leveraging its own 15 years of experience in SDR technology, Indra can integrate Bittium's battle-tested platform into its broader portfolio of defense systems. This move not only strengthens Spain's domestic defense industrial base but also gives Indra a competitive product to offer to other nations, as the agreement allows for potential exports.

Bolstering NATO Interoperability Through Standardization

The strategic importance of the deal extends far beyond the two companies. It represents a tangible step toward solving one of NATO’s most persistent challenges: battlefield interoperability. For decades, allied forces have struggled with incompatible communications equipment, hindering effective coordination in joint operations. The technology at the heart of this agreement is designed to overcome that very problem.

Both Bittium and Indra are founding members of the a4ESSOR (Alliance for ESSOR) joint venture, a consortium of leading European defense firms tasked with developing a common, secure radio waveform. The result of this collaboration, the ESSOR High Data Rate Waveform (HDRWF), was officially adopted by NATO in 2023 as the interoperability standard STANAG 5651.

This waveform enables troops from different nations to communicate seamlessly, sharing voice and high-speed data across a secure, mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) that functions even without GPS. Bittium’s Tough SDR platform is fully compatible with the ESSOR HDRWF. By licensing this technology to Indra, the agreement ensures that the new Spanish-made radios will be interoperable by design, not only with Bittium’s own products used by Finland, Austria, and others, but with any nation that adopts the NATO standard. This strengthens the entire alliance's collective defense posture by ensuring troops can talk to each other on the front lines.

A Response to a Growing Market

The Bittium-Indra pact is a savvy response to powerful trends shaping the global defense market. The demand for sovereign defense solutions is surging as nations seek to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers for critical military hardware. The European tactical communication market, valued at over USD 4.51 billion in 2024, is projected to grow significantly, driven by military modernization programs and the urgent need for cyber-resilient, jam-proof communication networks.

Bittium’s licensing model directly addresses this demand, offering a “best of both worlds” solution: nations gain sovereign control while building upon a mature, world-class technology, avoiding the time and expense of developing a platform from scratch. The agreement with Indra could serve as a blueprint for future partnerships, with Bittium already identifying potential opportunities in Sweden and the United Kingdom.

As European nations increase defense spending and collaborate through initiatives like the European Defence Fund (EDF), the emphasis on common standards and interoperable systems will only intensify. This deal places both Bittium and Indra at the forefront of that movement, equipping a key NATO ally with next-generation sovereign technology while advancing the long-standing goal of a more integrated and capable European defense force.