Will Military Tech Firms Spark a Revolution in American Defense?

INNOVATION

Green Berets tested single-use drones for resupply missions

Special Forces used expendable gliders to move supplies to units on the ground during the Trojan Footprint exercise in Europe this month.

Lockheed breaks ground on new THAAD interceptor plant

"These aren't just ideas or papers going back and forth,” Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet said of the Pentagon's munitions ramp. “We know it's going to be good, and we know it's going to happen.”

TECHNOLOGY

Will Military Tech Firms Spark a Revolution in American Defense?

For the first time since the merger boom of the 1990s, there is a possibility of injecting genuine competition into the arms industry. Military tech firms like Palantir, Space-X, and Anduril are giving old guard corporate behemoths like Lockheed Martin and RTX ( formerly known as Raytheon) a run for their money, applying new technology and new business models to weapons development.

The rise of the tech sector has been fast and furious over the past decade, with contracts for communications, targeting, surveillance, information processing and pilotless vehicles going to emerging tech firms rather than the usual suspects.

What Does Booz Allen's Anduril Partnership Mean for Defense Technology

Booz Allen Hamilton's new partnership with Anduril Industries, announced on May 18, 2026, integrates mission software and cyber capabilities onto tactical edge hardware, addressing critical Department of Defense (DoD) needs.

Germany chooses EU analytics company over US-based Palantir

The BfV will use ArgonOS, ChapsVision’s data collection and analysis platform. The system connects disparate data sources including internal sovereign data, open source intelligence, and, allegedly, the dark net. The system is run locally and has no cloud connectivity for storage or artificial intelligence features.

POLICY

Rebuilding American Manufacturing: A Keystone for Economic Statecraft

In September 2010, after a Chinese fishing trawler captain was detained near the Senkaku Islands, Beijing halted rare-earth exports to Japan. The embargo lasted weeks. China showed, on a U.S. treaty ally, how a supply chain could be weaponized. Washington failed to respond. Nor did America generalize the lesson. Instead, it benefited from deflation as it increased its dependency on China over the past 20 years. The number of Chinese companies exporting into the U.S. manufacturing supply chain rose from 10,500 to 39,000 from 2005 to 2024.

OUTER SPACE

Space Force Awards $90M to Rocket Lab for Two GEO Satellites

Space Force has awarded a $90 million contract to Rocket Lab for satellites to host payloads that tracks objects in geosynchronous orbit.

The award, announced by Rocket Lab and the Pentagon on May 21, will expand the Space Force’s space domain awareness capabilities in a critical orbit.

Britain turns on Borealis orbital defence network amid growing space threats

The UK has brought its new Borealis space surveillance platform online six months ahead of schedule as officials warn that hostile activity and orbital congestion are turning space into an increasingly contested military domain

EUROPE

Ukraine Opens Battlefield-Tested Startup Competition to Global Defense Firms at Defense Tech Valley

Ukraine’s defense innovation cluster Brave1 announced a new international startup competition, Battle Proven, which will take place during the Defense Tech Valley 2026 summit in Lviv on September 16–17.