#defense-tech

Everyone else is shrinking satellites. K2 raised $500m to build giant ones, and put AI in orbit.

K2 Space đang phát triển vệ tinh kích thước lớn thay vì thu nhỏ như xu hướng hiện nay, vừa huy động thành công 500 triệu USD vốn Series D với định giá 6,8 tỷ USD. Công ty tích hợp AI vào các vệ tinh cỡ lớn này nhằm nâng cao hiệu suất hoạt động trong quỹ đạo.

Đọc bài này để hiểu cách các công ty như K2 Space sử dụng quy mô lớn và trí tuệ nhân tạo để cạnh tranh hiệu quả trong thị trường vệ tinh, thay vì chỉ tập trung vào nhỏ hơn, nhẹ hơn.

Anduril and Archer unveiled an autonomous attack rotorcraft built on air taxi technology. First flight is planned for 2027.

Anduril and Archer showed Thunder at Farnborough, a Group 5 autonomous attack VTOL built on a dual-use platform. It uses hybrid-electric propulsion and tiltrotors.

Kraken raises $175M to become a maritime-defence unicorn

Kraken Technology Group, a British maker of uncrewed surface vessels, has raised $175M in a Series B round at a $1bn valuation, becoming Europe's newest defence unicorn. Led by DTCP with backing from the NATO Innovation Fund, Rheinmetall, and the British Business Bank, the raise reflects surging European defence investment. Kraken's fleet of autonomous boats — including the K3 SCOUT, K4 MANTA, and K5 KRAKEN — are already deployed in active conflicts and have won contracts from the UK MoD, NATO partners, and USSOCOM. Unlike rival Saronic, Kraken builds through manufacturing partners rather than owning shipyards, betting a lighter model scales faster to NATO buyers. The Royal Navy recently airdropped a K3 SCOUT from an A400M at 1,300 feet — a world first. Venture funding for defence tech hit a record $49.1bn in 2025, and Kraken's founder sees swarms of cheap, fast, uncrewed boats as the next edge at sea.

Venus Aerospace raises $91M for its detonation engine

Venus Aerospace has closed a $91M Series B led by Mercury Fund, with Lockheed Martin Ventures among backers, to develop its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). The RDRE uses a continuous supersonic combustion wave spinning around a ring, offering better fuel efficiency than conventional rocket engines. After achieving the first RDRE-powered rocket flight in May 2025, the company has pivoted from its original hypersonic passenger jet vision toward defense applications — replacing solid motors in missiles and powering high-speed military space vehicles. The main remaining challenge is extending engine burn time from 32 seconds to the 6–15 minutes customers require.

The first American autonomous ground vehicles are fighting in Ukraine

Forterra has deployed over 100 autonomous Lancer ATVs in Ukraine over the past nine months, marking what the company claims is the largest deployment of US autonomous ground vehicles in combat. The gas-powered vehicles, based on Polaris ATVs with custom sensors and compute, have completed 1,100+ missions, driven 2,500+ miles, and carried over 777,000 pounds of cargo including 52 casualty evacuations. Ukrainian soldiers have largely been teleoperating rather than fully autonomously running the vehicles, as current autonomy cannot yet react to live enemy threats. Key lessons learned include electronic warfare adaptation, remote software updates, and terrain navigation. Forterra is now combining classical robotics with generative AI to close the gap toward full battlefield autonomy, while facing pressure to reduce costs as attrition on the battlefield is significant.

Palmer Luckey's Erebor bank eyes $8bn valuation

Erebor, the bank founded by Anduril's Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel, is in talks to raise at a valuation of at least $8bn — roughly double its late-2025 valuation. The bank's deposits have nearly quadrupled from $1.1bn to $4bn in just three months, adding around 400 customers. Targeting defence technology and cryptocurrency firms left without banking after SVB's 2023 collapse, Erebor received its national charter in February 2026 under the Trump administration. The rapid charter approval has drawn scrutiny from Senator Elizabeth Warren over potential political ties. The bank also signed a preliminary deal with Banco de Venezuela for correspondent banking, a move that raises sanctions concerns, and Luckey is reportedly backing a new US perpetual-futures exchange.

Dutch military backs Intelic’s drone software with tens of millions of euros

Quân đội Hà Lan đầu tư hàng chục triệu euro vào startup Intelic của nước này trong ba năm để phát triển nền tảng NEXUS, cho phép điều khiển đồng nhất các drone từ nhiều nhà sản xuất khác nhau. NEXUS đã được sử dụng trong các chiến dịch ở Ukraine, nơi sự phối hợp phần mềm quan trọng như phần cứng, đồng thời giúp Intelic có được khách hàng tham chiếu NATO.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách giải quyết vấn đề hệ thống hóa giao tiếp giữa các phần mềm drone từ nhiều nhà sản xuất khác nhau, một kỹ thuật quan trọng trong phát triển phần mềm hệ thống phức tạp, đặc biệt là trong lĩnh vực quân sự và công nghiệp.

Anduril rocket motor explodes at Mississippi test site

Động cơ tên lửa rắn của Anduril phát nổ trong thử nghiệm tại cơ sở McHenry, Mississippi, không gây thương vong nhưng phá hủy bệ thử nghiệm và tạm dừng sản xuất, vốn mang về hàng chục triệu đô doanh thu hằng năm. Mặc dù Anduril tuyên bố sẽ sớm quay lại thử nghiệm, nhưng mục tiêu sản xuất hàng loạt vào tháng 7/2025 đã bị lùi hơn một năm, và quá trình khắc phục có thể mất tới hai tháng.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách kết hợp kỹ thuật phần mềm với vật lý cơ học cực kỳ phức tạp trong thiết kế động cơ tên lửa, giúp hiểu rõ về những thách thức khi chuyển từ logic lập trình sang ứng dụng thực tế trong công nghệ vũ trụ.

Quantum Systems raises $1.2bn at an $8bn valuation

German autonomous drone maker Quantum Systems has closed a $1.2bn Series D round co-led by Blackstone, Airbus, Noteus, and Advent, more than doubling its valuation to approximately $8bn. The Bavarian company, which flew over 19,000 missions in Ukraine in 2025, builds unmanned systems for air, land, and sea, unified by its MOSAIC UXS software platform. Revenue doubled to €300mn in 2025 and the company claims profitability with double-digit margins. The raise is part of a broader defence-tech boom, with startups globally raising a record $17.4bn so far this year. Quantum plans to expand production, pursue acquisitions, and invest in AI, while keeping IPO options open. The CEO also hinted at a possible merger with Stark Defence, a company he co-founded, and signalled interest in robotics and humanoids.

Marc Andreessen joins the Pentagon’s board, and the old line blurs

Marc Andreessen has been appointed to the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, an advisory body that shapes military procurement and technology strategy. His firm, Andreessen Horowitz, holds major stakes in defense-tech companies including Anduril, Skydio, Shield AI, and others whose fortunes depend directly on Pentagon decisions. The financial disclosure form for board members in his category is confidential, meaning the public cannot independently assess the overlap between his advisory role and his investment portfolio. The piece examines the conflict-of-interest framework that governs such appointments, noting it relies heavily on self-policing, and situates Andreessen's appointment within a broader trend of Silicon Valley investors and allies taking federal advisory and agency roles. It acknowledges the genuine argument that tech-savvy advisers could modernize Pentagon procurement, while questioning whether sealed disclosures and good-faith assurances are sufficient safeguards given the financial stakes involved.

Helsing lands Germany's €580M combat-cloud contract

Germany is set to award a €580M contract to Munich-based AI defense startup Helsing to build the Combat Fighter System Nucleus (CFSN), a combat-cloud software platform salvaged from the collapsed Franco-German FCAS fighter jet project. The contract covers two experimental uncrewed combat aircraft, ground control stations, and autonomy software, with a government-owned reference architecture for future suppliers. Helsing beat out Airbus Defence, MBDA Germany, and Diehl Defence. The deal is politically sensitive: Germany is bypassing EU tender rules via a national-security exemption and may skip a Bundestag budget vote for a second phase. Founded in 2021, Helsing is now valued at ~€12B and has products deployed in Ukraine.

Stark Defence raises €500M led by Sequoia and Founders Fund at a valuation above €3.5 billion

Berlin-based drone startup Stark Defence has raised €500M in a round led by Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund, pushing its valuation past €3.5 billion just two years after founding. The company builds loitering munitions (kamikaze drones), with its flagship Virtus drone already deployed in Ukraine. Over 80% of the new capital will go toward manufacturing and R&D expansion. The raise comes amid a broader European defence tech funding surge, with rivals Helsing and Quantum Systems also raising large rounds. Germany awarded Stark and Helsing initial contracts worth ~€269M each for drones to equip the Bundeswehr. Global defence tech VC reached $49B in 2025, nearly double the prior year, driven by EU rearmament plans and the war in Ukraine.