NATO Inks Deal with Palantir for Maven AI System; Emerging Defense Tech Trends in Europe

OF NOTE

🚀 SpaceX Leads in "Golden Dome" Missile Defense Project

SpaceX, in collaboration with Palantir and Anduril, is at the forefront of developing President Trump's ambitious "Golden Dome" missile defense system. The plan involves deploying over a thousand satellites to detect and neutralize missile threats. Elon Musk has proposed a subscription-based model for the system, raising concerns within the Pentagon about control and long-term costs. The project has attracted interest from more than 180 companies, but its feasibility and potential vulnerabilities are under scrutiny. Reuters

🛰️ UK Successfully Tests Drone-Swarming Energy Weapon

The British Army has successfully tested a Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF-DEW), nicknamed "RapidDestroyer," capable of neutralizing swarms of drones. In trials, it took down 100 drones at a cost of just 13 cents per shot. This marks a significant advancement in cost-effective drone defense technology. Business Insider+1Wikipedia+1

🧬 Biotech Emerges as a New Frontier in Defense

The U.S. is being urged to invest at least $15 billion over five years to regain leadership in biotechnology, as China accelerates its capabilities in this area. Potential military applications include genetically enhanced soldiers and biologically synthesized materials. The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology emphasizes the need for urgent attention and investment in this rapidly evolving domain.

INNOVATION

Rearming Europe: Challenges and Constraints

The Trump administration is sending shock waves through the development community, diplomatic circles, and financial markets. In doing so, it might have achieved something that, until a short time ago, even the most fervent Europeans would have downplayed as highly unlikely: European leaders seem to have finally recognized the need to take charge of their own defense.

Emerging Defense Tech Trends in Europe: AI, Quantum, Drones

Geopolitical instability is everywhere and Europe, too, is beginning to recognize and respond to these shifts. Approximately a month ago, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the “ReArm Europe Plan”, now referred to as “Readiness 2030”, aiming to mobilize up to €800 billion to enhance the European Union’s defense capabilities. Basically, it became crucial to streamline more resources for security — a matter that has become prevalent in recent months.

In first, British Army uses radio-wave weapon to knock out drone swarm

The Army was able to defeat drone swarms for the first time in the latest trial of the weapon-system demonstrator, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Thursday. The weapon, developed by a consortium led by Thales UK, uses high-frequency radio waves to fry drone internals, disrupting or damaging critical electronic components and causing the drones to crash or malfunction.

Stanford students want in on the military tech gold rush

When Divya Ganesan, a senior studying political science, started at Stanford in 2021, she didn’t dream of one day working in national security. Back then, defense intelligence companies that contract with the government, like Palantir, were “super looked down upon” on campus, she said. “They were seen as the evil guys.”

Now, the vibes have shifted.

After taking the popular class “Spies, Lies, and Algorithms” in 2022, Ganesan became hooked on defense tech. She cofounded the student group Stanford Women in National Security, or WINS, which now has more than 150 members, and completed summer internships at the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Generative AI is learning to spy for the US military

In a test run, a unit of Marines in the Pacific used generative AI not just to collect intelligence but to interpret it. Routine intel work is only the start.

NATO inks deal with Palantir for Maven AI system

NATO plans to use the system to provide “a common data-enabled warfighting capability to the Alliance, through a wide range of AI applications — from large language models (LLMs) to generative and machine learning,” it said in a release, ultimately enhancing “intelligence fusion and targeting, battlespace awareness and planning, and accelerated decision-making.”

Palantir, Anthropic, Google deepen ties on government AI use with Claude partnership

As they increasingly attempt to sell their technology to the federal government, AI companies are currently figuring out how best to approach FedRAMP, FedScoop previously reported. The General Services Administration-housed program oversees security standards and benchmarks, and is focused on reducing the need for multiple agencies to conduct redundant reviews of cloud technology.

TECHNOLOGY

Senate Bills Seek Enhanced Defense Quantum Tech Development

The new legislation includes the Defense Quantum Acceleration Act with Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., the Quantum Sandbox for Near-Term Applications Act with Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and the Advancing Quantum Manufacturing Act with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., according to a Thursday press release from Blackburn’s office.

Entire Pentagon defense tech unit to leave by May

The entire staff of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), the Pentagon’s decade-old technology development office, is leaving by the start of May, with nearly all individuals resigning, a current member of the office confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

Rep. Jake Ellzey hails Rice research for contributions to national defense, technology

The visit underscored the vital role of institutions like Rice in advancing national defense initiatives, fostering innovation and ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in technology and security.

Ellzey, who serves as vice chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and is a member of the subcommittees on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, highlighted the critical role universities play.

Italy says Britain is not sharing technology on fighter project

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said Britain is not fully sharing technologies with Italy and Japan in a major project to develop a new fighter jet and urged London to bring down the "barriers of selfishness".

America’s arsenal of democracy needs a software renaissance

In 1940, as Europe descended into chaos and the specter of war loomed, the U.S. faced an urgent need to rearm and prepare for conflict. Within a few short years, the nation transformed itself into the “Arsenal of Democracy,” producing weapons, vehicles and munitions on an unprecedented scale.

This industrial mobilization did more than supply the Allied forces — it showcased America’s unmatched ability to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

STARTUPS

Defense tech Theseus landed Y Combinator, the US Special Forces, and $4.3M from a tweet

On February 18, 2024, Ian Laffey posted on X that he and two others he’d just met built a cheap drone at a hackathon that calculated its coordinates simply by using its camera and Google Maps. He and his colleagues, Sacha Lévy and Carl Schoeller, were all engineers under the age of 25.