Policy

The FY26 NDAA Aims to SPEED Things Up

Most people wouldn’t get too excited about the release of a thousand-page bill draft. But for the defense tech world, there’s a lot to smile about in the Chairman’s Mark of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). For those lucky enough not to spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill: The Chairman’s Mark […]

Policy

Why Trump Cares About Eastern Congo

In case you haven’t read the news lately, President Trump has faced a bit of an uphill battle securing peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza. But he has had success in an unlikely place: the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Last week, Rwanda and the Congo—bad history there, we’ll get into that—signed a deal under […]

PentagonPolicy

Two Bills, One Budget, and a Headache

As the saying goes, there are some weeks where decades happen.  Between intel leaks at home, the NATO summit in The Hague, and a rather unorthodox ceasefire in Iran, last week was (another) one of those in the defense world. And then came the kicker: On Thursday, the Pentagon unveiled its FY26 budget request. Like, […]

Policy

The NATO Summit at the End of the World

Ah, to be a fly on the wall of the NATO summit. In case you missed it, alliance leaders met this week in the Hague and, well, they had a lot to talk about.  Some highlights included: Trump flying in pretty pissed at Iran and Israel, Rutte sending Trump a wall of complimentary text (and […]

PentagonPolicy

Budget Drama on the Hill

It’s been quite the week for Pete Hegseth. In the past few days, he faced lawmakers on the Hill for the first time since becoming SecDef to defend a $1T DoD budget request that, well, he hasn’t released. Then, the House went ahead and released their appropriations bill, his procurement budget was leaked, and he […]

Policy

The UK’s Strategic Defence Review

It’s been a (long, long) week since the UK officially released its Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and, well, people have thoughts.  The document is meant to lay out the UK’s current defense posture, and indicates what the country thinks are the greatest threats to its national security. It’s also a pretty good indication of where […]

PentagonPolicy

Senate Unveils its $150B Defense Package

The disagreements in Washington continue. Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) unveiled its answer to the House’s $150B defense reconciliation bill and, well, there were some differences.  The SASC package—which will be folded into the Senate’s version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to push through Trump’s agenda—focuses way more on air superiority, low-cost […]

InvestmentPolicy

What did Trump’s Middle East Trip Mean for Defense?

In case you missed it, President Trump took a grand ol’ whistle-stop tour through the Middle East last week, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, and securing—per his team—over $2T in deals (though the numbers are a little fuzzy).  You may have overlooked it amidst the hair-flipping, camel-and-horse-parading, and mobile-McDonald’s-making, but a few of […]

PentagonPolicy

Trump’s Budget Drop

In case you missed it, Trump’s FY26 budget request dropped Friday, and, to quote one executive we chatted to, it was a “bloodbath.” Everything from NASA, to the NIH, to the CDC, to the EPA face massive budget cuts, while DHS is set to receive a boost of nearly $43.8B.  Up and up: At least […]

InvestmentPentagonPolicyTech

The Summit at the Center of the World

If you took top Trump officials, Silicon Valley elite, some of the world’s wealthiest investors and executives, and a whole bunch of defense tech founders and stuck them in a room, what would you get? The Hill and Valley Forum, apparently.  Yesterday, as budget negotiations continued overhead, tech and policy big guns (pun intended) gathered […]