When the Department of Energy launched the Reactor Pilot Program last June, it set a July 4, 2026, target for startups to switch on their microreactors and hit criticality—when a nuclear fission chain reaction becomes self-sustaining. Antares, an LA-based space and defense-focused nuclear startup, beat that deadline by a month. Yesterday, the company reached initial […]
We write about drones, self-guided missiles, robots, and all of the other tech taking over the battlefield of the future every day. What we write about less are the overlooked-but-critical subcomponents inside each of them. Ya know, the stuff that actually makes them work. A big part of that is because there aren’t a whole […]
A formal US-Ukraine drone deal has yet to be finalized, but that hasn’t stopped companies from inking partnerships of their own. In an exclusive release to Tectonic this morning, US-based drone company Powerus and US-Ukrainian UAV software company Swarmer announced a partnership to explore integrating Swarmer’s swarming tech with Powerus’ “air and maritime platforms, mission […]
If you’ve taken a look at the summer events calendar and are worried about how hostile drones could throw a wrench into all of the FIFA World Cup and America 250 festivities, you’re not alone. The big players in public safety are, too, and they’re making some money moves to make sure it all goes […]
It’s always a good sign when the customer comes back for more. Yesterday, ground autonomy hotshot Forterra announced that they’ve (along with prime partner Oshkosh Defense) scored a Block 2 production contract from the Marine Corps for their Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) system. The award consists of two orders—134 units already […]
Turns out even the primes want a factory of the future. This morning, automated manufacturing startup Deterrence announced in an exclusive release to Tectonic that they’re entering into a teaming agreement with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS). Deterrence will deploy software and AI-enabled capabilities for “facility optimization, intelligent automation, and factory integration” across […]
It’s no secret that the Navy wants drone boats, and they want them fast. Well, now we know who’s (probably) going to be building them. Over the weekend, the service named the seven companies—including Saronic, HavocAI (through PacMar Technologies), and Sea Machines—selected to advance to the prototype stage of the medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) […]
Kraken is stepping things up in the Commonwealth. Yesterday, the UK-based unmanned surface vessel (USV) startup announced a partnership with Canadian shipbuilding giant Davie to manufacture its USVs in Québec, starting with its flagship K3 Scout speedboat-drone. Zoom zoom (said in a Québecois accent). Small and speedy: Kraken, if you’ve been paying attention to the […]
By now (unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years), you’re probably well aware that the US military is going all-in on autonomous vehicles. And if you read Tectonic, you’ll know that there are a whole lot of companies making them. When those many thousands of autonomous vehicles are fielded, each […]
Looks like Saudi Arabia and Utah have more in common than deserts. SR2Vector, a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s SR2 Defense Systems and Utah-based startup Vector, has unveiled a co-produced Shahed-esque (or in US terms, LUCAS-esque) long-range one-way attack drone called SKYWASP, which’ll be manufactured at the JV’s upcoming factory near Riyadh. The news was […]
