Defense Tech Newsletter

INNOVATION

From Global Defense Tech to Oklahoma City: How MyDefence Is Building Its U.S. Presence

Detecting unauthorized drones in crowded or sensitive spaces is a growing challenge for airports, public venues and law enforcement agencies across the country. MyDefence, a Denmark-based defense technology company, is working to solve that problem, and Oklahoma City is now part of its U.S. expansion.

Why manufacturing critical defense technologies in the US is the linchpin to national security

Having a strong US defense industrial base in areas like communications, sensors, and missiles is key to operations in complex battlespace. Thales Defense & Security (TDSI) has produced these systems in the US for years, and others like the TOW missile smart nose.

INVESTMENT

Anduril advances Arsenal-1 project in Ohio, confirming planned expansion of U.S. defense production capacity

A year after announcing plans for Arsenal-1 in Pickaway County, Ohio, U.S. defense technology company Anduril said construction is now firmly underway, answering early questions about whether the project would materialize. Work has begun on Building 1, which will include 775,000 square feet of production space and 120,000 square feet of office and support facilities.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Palmer Luckey’s Defense Tech Startup Anduril Launches A.I. Drone Race to Hire Talent

Defense tech startup Anduril is offering $500K and job interviews in a global A.I. drone racing competition.

TECHNOLOGY

Turkey’s Drone Industry at a Strategic Crossroads

Following years of quiet ascent, Turkey’s combat drone industry now finds itself at a moment of decision. Having secured a rapidly expanding footprint across Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, Ankara is now pivoting toward NATO and European defense-industrial integration. But this dual-track strategy — expanding defense exports to fragile and conflict-affected regions and embedding in the NATO ecosystem — may no longer be sustainable as geopolitical polarization intensifies.

Lockheed Inks Deal to Quadruple THAAD Production

Right on the heels of a deal with the Pentagon to triple Patriot missile interceptor output, Lockheed Martin ($LMT) took things up a notch yesterday, announcing an agreement to quadruple production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors over the next seven years.

South Korea’s defence technology export boom explained

While many of us have been aware of the existence of South Korea’s defence industry for some time, it’s only in the last decade – and more particularly in the last four years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – that the world is waking up to the huge industrial capacity of the country. Formerly obscure names such as KAI, Hyundai, Hanwha and LIG Nex are now almost instantly recognisable as producers of high-quality military equipment.

POLICY

Experts have questions about the new National Defense Strategy—on China, force design, and more

The soft-pedal rollout of the National Defense Strategy—a Friday-night email to press as the Washington, D.C., area braced for a crippling snowstorm—has experts wondering whether there’s an implementation plan to go with it.

“My real cynical take is the strategy isn't worth the paper it's written on because the president’s going to do whatever he wants and he's not going to even try to adhere to it, which might be why it was released with such little fanfare,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, a CNAS senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security, which hosted a Wednesday discussion on the strategy.

Assessing the First Year of Trump's "Golden Dome" Defense Initiative

One year after its launch, President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile-defense initiative has made limited progress due to technical disputes and concerns over space-based components, which have delayed spending billions of allocated dollars.

Pentagon CTO picks six defense tech vets to lead Critical Technology Areas

The six men range from a former Amazon exec to a biologist who studied jellyfish stinging Navy divers, but all have extensive experience in the Defense Department’s tech apparatus.

EUROPE

Where are Europe’s female defence tech leaders?

Data shows only 11.2% of C-level roles in defence tech are occupied by women, writes Benjamin Lussert, Content Strategy Lead for The Big Search

Drone superpower Ukraine can teach Europe how to defend itself

One of the few things that a majority of European policymakers appear to agree on is the importance of Ukraine in the continent’s emerging security strategy. This recognition of Ukraine’s role underlines the scale of the changes that have taken place over the past four years.