Counter-drone and air defence

• DroneShield wins JIATF-401 Domestic Shield IDIQ with a US$500 million ceiling
• SRC wins $500 million JIATF-401 IDIQ, but its first order is $10.24 million
• KORD/KBR Firefly laser selected for JIATF 401 Directed Energy Pilot Program
• Lockheed Martin partners with Fortem Technologies on Sanctum C-UAS
• NATO DIANA closes seven Rapid Adoption contracts with C-UAS innovators
• NATO allies commit over USD 40 billion to C-UAS capability over five years
• Scarlet Dragon integrates more than 20 C-UAS sensors into Army C2
• German Army tests Dutch Ermine vehicle with counter-UAS
• Delegations from upwards of 20 countries visit DroneShield at International Security Expo

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Procurement and adoption

• Europe’s challenge shifts from innovating faster to adopting faster
• Unclear approval routes slow startups from prototype to first field test
• Defence and SMEs run on different clocks and need clearer demand signals
• Estonian Defence Week names failure to deliver now as the biggest procurement risk
• Pentagon’s DRPM-UxS hires Tradewinds co-founder Bonnie Evangelista to lead procurement
• DIU’s ICAP trains contracting officers in commercial acquisition, deadline October 16
• Anduril pausing Fury work until FY27 signals a drift toward the traditional prime model
• Air Force loan guidance contradicts the Office of Strategic Capital’s $20 billion request

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Industrial base and fielded capability

• Anduril’s Arsenal-2 pairs $3.7 billion of private capital with a Navy contract of up to $2.9 billion
• Arsenal-1 in Ohio starts production in March 2026, months ahead of the July target
• Europe urged to convert automotive and industrial capacity into defence production
• US drone industry needs component manufacturers, not just aircraft assemblers
• Australia’s workforce is ready for Virginia class maintenance at HMAS Stirling
• US Army begins delivering M2A4E1 Bradley vehicles with Iron Fist active protection
• Rheinmetall Nordic’s Mortar Mission Module offers protected, mobile mortar capability
• France fires the M51.3 from SSBN Le Vigilant, validating the submarine after overhaul

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Funding and market

• Dealroom forecasts a record $10.5 billion for European defense startups in 2026
• Council endorses five European Defence Projects of Common Interest, targeting €190 billion by 2036
• Army accounts for 52% of $3.5 billion in Pentagon defense tech spending
• OceanSound Partners acquires IMSAR, a leading producer of UAV synthetic aperture radars
• Defense Tech Market Map Q4 2026 profiles 203 venture backed startups
• Indian defence tech startups attract serious capital in 2026
• Ukraine defense tech investing prioritizes cost per effect over budget driven investing

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Ukraine and threat evolution

• Jet powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones double speed and put European ports at risk
• Zelensky says Russia is sharing jet powered drone technology with North Korea
• Russian drones with Polish 4G SIM cards fly undetected up to 500 km into NATO airspace
• Ukrainian An-28 drone hunter reportedly downs 213 Shahed and Gerbera drones in April 2026
• Ukraine’s 475th Assault Regiment tanks absorb repeated FPV strikes and complete their mission
• Layered concealment, jamming cancellation and frequency agility keep drone links alive
• Gyroscope spoofing in PX4 and ArduPilot lets attackers hijack drones remotely

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Exercises and demonstrations

• REPMUS off Lisbon unites 36 navies and over 300 unmanned systems
• Airbus demonstrates its Software Defined Defence Baseband at NATO SHINE in Halifax
• BAE Systems Digital Intelligence integrates 11 coalition data feeds at EFDI Accelerator 2.0
• DroneShield sensor fusion integrated on a small maritime platform at Bold Machina
• Reliant UAS trains at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin
• Defense and Security AI Uncovered in Berlin connects open source AI with real hardware

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Thanks to Angus Bean, Michael Twining, Charlie Beaumont, Matthew Williams, Jennifer Stringfellow, James Orr, Zane Mountcastle, Coen van Leeuwen, Ben Newlove, Kacey Lam-Evans, Arthur Dallau, António Brás Monteiro, Willem Mulock Houwer, Eva Sula, Jaakko Sirén, Vince Pecoraro, Nate Loewentheil, Andrew Glenn, James Parker, Alex Akler, Shane Arnott, Rob Marcinowski, Marc A. Wietfeld, Jeremy Holleb, David Goggins, John DuRousseau, Ole Stange, Tim De Zitter, Glenn McCartan, Andrius Kubilius, Luke Kulik, Zachary Turke, Doug Webb, Kumar Saurabh, Perry Boyle, Beat Benz, Mark K., Thomas Neubauer, Marijn Markus, Doug Livermore, David Radner, Denis Laskov, Robin Emmott, Steve Rowland, Sarah Trevelion, Raven Dekker, Dave Sharpin, Felix Wang and everyone else who contributed insights to this edition. Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: