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 […]
Well, we hope Congress had a restful summer recess, because things are about to get very busy for the military-minded members (and we’re not talking about yesterday’s apparent War on Drugs redux). On Tuesday, with the fiscal year kicking off next month, Congress returned to make some big spending decisions (lest we forget about the […]
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a bit of a shakeup in the DoD innovation world in the past week. The head of DIU is out, critical technology areas are changing, the Navy is overhauling how it develops and adopts new tech, and JCIDS is dead. Oh yeah, and then there’s the whole Defense […]
Looks like we’re on a bit of a maritime kick today. This morning, unmanned surface vessel (USV) company Saildrone announced that its 65-foot Surveyor vessel has received full classification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Now, what does that mean for us non-seafaring laypeople? Basically, the company’s big-boy sailboat drone has been inspected and […]
Institutional investors are going batshit crazy for defense. Yesterday, five major financial institutions, including ING and JPMorgan Chase, announced that they’re backing the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a new not-for-profit bank that will help NATO countries and allies finance defense needs. Backed by these finance heavy-hitters, DSRB will issue AAA-rated bonds for countries to […]
As if one new military branch wasn’t enough—looking at you, Space Force—Trump may soon get a shot at another: Cyber Force. And the think tanks are already on the case. This week, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) announced they’re launching a new commission next […]
Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs just got their bite back, and they’re starting with drones. Last weekend, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, SAPO and NABU, announced an investigation into a “large-scale corruption scheme” in UAVs and electronic warfare equipment procurement, involving drone company owners, lawmakers, and military officials. Revenge tour: If the National Anti‑Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti‑Corruption […]
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 […]
