USSOCOM Enters its Gen AI Era; Developers Push to Make Pittsburgh a Defense Contracts Hub

INNOVATION

South Korea status rises with Polish K2 order, says GlobalData

South Korea’s recent deal to provide Poland with additional K2 Black Panther main battle tanks (MBT) strengthens its position in the European defence market, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

Tech execs enlist in Army Reserve for new innovation detachment

Four Silicon Valley technology executives from major companies are joining the U.S Army Reserve as officers to inject the speed and expertise of commercial technology development into military innovation through the newly established Detachment 201, an Executive Innovation Corps, the service announced Friday.

Israeli startups led by reservists transforming global defense tech

The changing nature of war has led to shifts in defense procurement worldwide. Western armies demand new battle-tested technology, refined by soldiers in combat.

HavocAI and Lockheed Martin Team Up

Looks like the primes still have something going for them after all. This morning, unmanned surface vessel (USV) company HavocAI announced that it’s teaming up with Lockheed Martin to beef up its medium USV fleet.

INVESTMENT

European VC breaks taboo by investing in pure defense tech from Ukraine's war zones

Defense tech has gone from a no-go zone for VCs to a hot investment sector. However, dual use — meaning that the technology must also have civilian applications — is still a requirement for most of them, including the NATO Innovation Fund.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Pentagon Elevates AI as Cornerstone of FY2026 Defense Tech Strategy

Quantum technologies and space infrastructure continue to advance alongside AI, supporting secure communications, navigation, and sensor systems across classified and cross-service programs.

USSOCOM Enters its Gen AI Era

Have you ever thought, hey, wouldn’t it be great if special ops could use ChatGPT for everything like the rest of us? Well, now they can—sort of. Yesterday, US Special Operations Command announced that they’ve adopted an enterprise-wide generative AI platform called SOFchat, built by a company called Legion AI. The initial contract with Legion is good for three years and worth up to $16M.

Welcome to 2025, USSOCOM.

TECHNOLOGY

Developers push to make Pittsburgh a defense contracts hub

On AI Avenue and Robotics Row, local leaders promote new innovation corridors despite concerns over housing loss and displacement.

Estonia’s tech maverick launches bold defence fund to “re-arm Europe”

Ragnar Sass, the Estonian tech entrepreneur behind Pipedrive and the Lift99 startup hub, has announced the launch of Darkstar, a pan-European defence fund that aims to inject wartime urgency – and battlefield pragmatism – into the continent’s defence technology sector.

Trump taps former AWS exec for senior role in Pentagon’s research and engineering directorate

James Caggy has been nominated for assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities.

Wartime innovation boosts Israeli defence tech growth, drawing global interest

Israeli army reservist Zach Bergerson felt he had to take action when he saw fellow soldiers having to rely on their eyes and ears to detect swarms of enemy drones overhead.

So the high-tech professional, 36, developed a wearable device that uses mobile phone technology to warn troops of aerial threats. Like other reservists, Bergerson has leveraged his civilian expertise and military experience to bolster Israel's defence industry.

EUROPE

Europe's defense-tech startups launch into new era of growth

Europe is redefining defense priorities as global geopolitics shift and relations with its closest ally become increasingly strained.

It’s been just over three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the threat to Europe’s security borders is only intensifying as the US freezes military aid to that nation. Europe has been left vulnerable with lagging defenses. The EU’s response: a massive spending spree.

Tech startups in the European defense sector

A defense tech start-up ecosystem is developing in Europe as countries look to boost innovation in defense capabilities.

Defense Builder Lets $1,000 Investors Capitalize on Ukraine’s Mil-Tech Boom

Defense Builder founders made investing in Ukraine’s defense tech – and the nation’s future – available to anyone, including first-time investors with a limited budget.