Christmas came early for the defense tech world. On Monday, Undersecretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)), Emil Michael, unveiled the six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) that made the cut on the Pentagon’s pared-down list of priorities, a key signal of where the Department intends to direct R&D resources. Hope y’all aren’t too bummed […]
Well, that Hegseth speech wasn’t the only good piece of defense tech news to come out at the tail end of last week. On Friday afternoon, Reuters reported that the US Army plans to buy at least a million drones in the next two to three years, and that they plan to buy 500K a […]
Happy Hegseth Lecture Day to all who celebrate! Everyone’s favorite new monthly tradition—SecDef Pete Hegseth gathering a bunch of super important people for a stern talking-to—is back for its November rendition, but with a bit of a twist this time. Instead of calling his audience fat, Hegseth is set to deliver an “Arsenal of Freedom” […]
When President Trump said, “If [NATO members] don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them,” earlier this year, his mind was clearly on Europe. That message got through and ignited a speedy and spendy military buildup on the Old Continent, sure, but one much bigger—and closer—NATO ally has stayed out of the defense spending spotlight […]
In case you weren’t aware, Europe is, like, kinda freaking out over its defense posture. There’s a whole-ass war still waging on its eastern front, the US has become a less-than-reliable ally, and, well, defense stores are not necessarily where everyone wants them to be. Defense budgets are on the rise, but the continent—based on […]
Trump may be waffling on Tomahawks, but at least the Swedes are there for Ukraine. Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson signed a letter of understanding signaling that the Nordic country could sell Kyiv up to 150 of its most advanced fighter jets, the Saab Gripen-E. Kristersson hinted that financing […]
A plan to deploy a nuclear energy source at a US military installation, first laid out in a May executive order, has grown some legs. At AUSA this week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the Janus Program, which will aim to get a nuclear reactor up and running at a domestic US military base by […]
In case you—like us—have been flitting between events and trying to keep up with a flood of news in the past few weeks, you may have missed a major piece of news in our corner of the defense tech world: Last week, a delegation from Kyiv was in Washington to hammer out the details of […]
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a double whammy of fun today. Not only has the long-anticipated government shutdown commenced, but SBIR/STTR reauthorization also lapsed at midnight. That’s two big blows for defense startups: the Pentagon can’t issue new obligations without an appropriation, and the biggest non-dilutive funding channel for small firms just went dark. Buckle […]
We can all breathe a sigh of relief (for now). The NDAA is through the House. Everyone’s favorite must-pass bill, which predictably got a whole lot more culture-war-y after it left the House Armed Services Committee, passed the chamber in a narrow (by NDAA standards) party-line 231-196 vote yesterday. Whether the Senate passes its version […]
