We need an updated zodiac for the US, because it’s clearly the Year of the Drone. On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy proposed some big changes to the FAA rules around domestic UAV flights—especially out-of-sight ones. The long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) authorizes Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights, where the operator cannot […]
The defense tech dollars keep on coming. Late last week, Bloomberg reported that the venture arm of Point72 Asset Management—Steve Cohen’s $40B hedge fund—is raising $400M for a defense tech-focused “Deterrence” fund. The fund, which includes $100M from Cohen himself, is expected to close early next year. Defense tech may be having a moment, but […]
As you may have heard, the EU and US have struck a trade deal—sort of. In case you missed it, in Scotland earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Trump announced a trade agreement reshaping the $2T transatlantic trade relationship, including a blanket 15% tariff on all European goods imported […]
You know what they say: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Yesterday, Northrop Grumman announced the first six startups that will join its “Beacon Project” to “rapidly test and deliver new autonomous solutions at scale.” Seems the big time prime might be realizing what we’ve been waxing lyrical about for ages: Especially when it […]
And now for the big reveal: On Tuesday, defense mapping startup Reveal Technology announced a $30M Series B led by Ballistic Ventures with participation from Booz Allen Ventures, Shield Capital, and others. That’s a big—and speedy-quick—jump from its $11.2M Series A last December. Founded in 2018, Reveal grew out of its co-founders’ firsthand combat experience […]
If you’re getting tired of reading about drones, you’re in the wrong place—because business is booming. Just look at Auterion: The autonomy software firm said Monday it will send 33,000 AI-powered drone guidance “strike kits” to Ukraine by year’s end under a new $50M Pentagon contract. While this isn’t Auterion’s first rodeo in Ukraine, it’s […]
Everyone loves a good competition. Last week, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) announced the ten finalists for its Low-Cost Sensing (LCS) challenge—a Replicator 2 initiative aimed at fielding cheap, scalable sensors to detect small drones. The finalists are set to go head-to-head at USNORTHCOM’s Falcon Peak exercise in September for a share of the prize […]
It should not bear repeating that cybersecurity is national security, but after a string of China-linked breaches, the Pentagon has gone on high alert to safeguard its software supply chain from foreign influence. The past 10 days have been cyber hell for the Pentagon: It’s been the kind of week that underscores why the ODNI […]
If you thought the US was the only one in NATO speedrunning defense reforms, think again. This week, the UK and Germany both introduced programs to fast-track military modernization. On the UK side, the Brits showcased their new digital targeting system called ASGARD, while the German parliament passed the “Bundeswehrbeschaffungsbeschleunigungsgesetz” to accelerate weapons procurement. Yes, […]
If you know anything about drones, you know that there are a whole lot of them and a whole lot of companies making them. Integration startup Picogrid knows this better than anyone. The El Segundo-based company builds products that make these drones—and all of the other tech and software on the battlefield—work together. Like glue, […]
