This Week in Dual-Use
NEWS
Royal Navy announces carrier-launched drone
The Royal Navy has set a two-year goal to operate a jet-powered, carrier-launched Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), dubbed Vanquish. The plan is to launch these off Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and eventually complement the UK’s F-35B fleet of fighter jets.
Vanquish will apparently be an ‘attritable Tier 2’ class of ACP. That is military jargon for an asset whose loss is acceptable, but the platform is designed to be recoverable and reusable. (Tier 1 platforms are essentially disposable, while Tier 3 are expensive, high-end platforms such as an F-35.)
The First Sea Lord, General Gwyn Jenkins (the first Royal Marine to hold the position), recently announced an ambitious project to create a force that is a combination of crewed and uncrewed vessels. This is part of his plan.
What’s interesting is that this is a downscaled version of a previous project, Vixen, which would have involved more expensive drones and modifications to carriers. The Royal Navy appears to be thinking differently about scale, cost and capability. That is an adaptation to the changing nature of warfare, which is precipitating changes in doctrine across Western militaries.
Dutch take control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia
The Dutch government seized control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia using an emergency Cold-War era law to ensure Europe retains access to its technology. The decision aims to prevent a situation in which the goods produced by Nexperia would become unavailable in an emergency, according to the government.
In 2022, Nexperia faced backlash in the UK after taking control of Newport Wafer Fab, the UK’s largest semiconductor plant, prompting the British government to order a divestment on national security grounds (due to the Chinese ownership). Now the Dutch government has, perhaps belatedly, had the same reaction.
Semiconductors, and the AI that they enable, have become the new oil. Access to them is now a matter of national security. As Henry Gladwyn argues in this essay, we used to have the petrodollar, now we have the technodollar.
Helsing acquires UUV builder
Helsing, a German neoprime, is acquiring Blue Ocean, an Australian company that develops uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and other submarine technology. Blue Ocean is the hardware provider of Helsing’s SG-1 Fathom underwater drones, a partnership which has existed for over a year.
It has also recently acquired Grob Aircraft, a legacy aircraft manufacturer based in Germany - a move which subsequently enabled it to field a wingman drone, the CA-1 Europa.
It’s tempting to conclude that Europe is moving into defence tech M&A mode, with the well-funded neoprimes like Helsing set to acquire all manner of venture-funded startups. But that would be the wrong conclusion. At least for now.
Blue Ocean is an old(ish) company with no real venture investors on the cap table. It made sense to bring that technology in-house. The same was true for Grob Aircraft. Both are established companies with deep engineering knowledge outside of Helsing’s expertise. Helsing is not about to acquire competing software or drone developers - it will simply aim to out-compete them.
But there will come a time for European defence tech consolidation. At some point it will make sense to roll up adjacent technologies into companies able to deliver suites of capabilities rather than point solutions. Why? Because defence ministries will always favour integrated suppliers. And fewer relationships to manage.
FUNDRAISING
IonQ, an American quantum computing company, announced an equity offering of $2bn.
Stoke Space, an American developer of reusable rockets for national security and commercial missions, raised a $510m Series D led by U.S. Innovative Technology.
Govini, an American builder of AI software to modernize the US defence supply chain, raised a $150m round from Bain Capital.
HavocAI, an American developer of autonomous maritime systems, raised $85m in a funding round co-led by B Capital and In-Q-Tel.
Sitehop, a British developer of quantum-safe encryption hardware, raised a £7.5m seed round led by Northern Gritstone.
Vulcan Technologies, an American startup that helps government agencies and legal teams with regulatory drafting and compliance, raised a $10.9m seed round led by General Catalyst and Cubit Capital.
Isentroniq, a French developer of next-generation wiring for superconducting quantum computers, raised a €7.5m round led by Heartcore.
Cyberwave, an Italian developer of AI to make industrial robots, drones, and sensors easier for developers to program, raised a €7m round, led by United Ventures.
JPMorganChase announced its Security and Resiliency Initiative, a $1.5 trillion, 10-year plan to facilitate, finance and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency. As part of the new initiative, JPMorganChase will make direct equity and venture capital investments of up to $10bn to help select companies, primarily in the US, enhance their growth.