This Week in Dual-Use
NEWS
In defence spending news, the UK MoD has been directed to spend 10% of its equipment budget on innovative technologies. Additionally, an apparently new £400m protected budget for defence innovation was created. However, the commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 remains unchanged.
This signals a subtle but important shift: the MoD is finally being nudged to break out of its old procurement habits and invest more decisively in disruptive technologies.
That is welcome news, but still not enough. By keeping the overall defence spending target at 2.5% of GDP, the UK government is essentially betting that innovation alone can deliver the required capability uplift without a commensurate increase in total spending. The reality is that 3.7% or more will be required by European countries to fill the gap left by the US.
An important consideration in the future will be sovereignty of capability. In a, now not inconceivable, scenario where Russia is an ally of the US, will the UK be comfortable sharing technology with its old transatlantic friend? Some NATO members are apparently reconsidering their F-35 orders.
If Russia were to cross the border into Estonia would the UK be able to use American technology to help drive it back?
In fighter jet news, Boeing was awarded the contract to develop the new F-47 fighter jet. It will replace Lockheed Martin's F-22 with an aircraft that is also designed to fly alongside unmanned drones in combat.
This is a step away from Lockheed Martin, which has produced the recent F-35, F-16 and F-22 fighter jets. For Boeing, winning the tender marks its resurgence as a prime integrator in the air superiority market. It is a much-needed win for the company, which has been beset by manufacturing issues.
The F-45 isn’t just a procurement contract, it’s a signal that the era of purely manned fighter dominance is waning. Integration with unmanned systems is fast becoming the new benchmark for air superiority.
In drone news, Taiwan is buying a family of drone systems comprising four types of attack drones, including 200 drones with a 600+ mile range for cross-strait warfare. The procurement is aimed at countering China’s military expansion and its grey-zone tactics (offensive actions that fall short of full-scale conflict).
This isn’t just a countermeasure to China’s grey-zone strategy, it’s a radical rethinking of power projection in an era where unmanned systems can shift the strategic balance. Taiwan is implementing the lessons from Ukraine. As must all developed nations.
The question is whether Western countries, which have spent decades building ever more expensive and complex platforms, can adapt as quickly as Taiwan is now being forced to.
FUNDRAISING
PsiQuantum, a US-based developer of fault-tolerant quantum computers, is reportedly in the market to raise $750m.
NextVision, an Israel-based developer of drone and UAV camera systems, raised $52m round.
Allen Control Systems, a US-based developer of autonomous robotic weapon stations designed to detect and neutralize drone threats, raised a $30m Series A.
Distributed Spectrum, a US-based developer of autonomous RF characterisation software, raised a $25m Series A.
Camgraphic, a UK and Italy-based developer of high-bandwidth optical interconnect technology (and a wholly owned subsidiary of 2D Photonics SpA), raised a €25m Series A.
Pangea Aerospace, a Spain-based developer oof advanced rocket engines for use in launch vehicles and spacecraft, raised a €23m Series A.
QuintessenceLabs, an Australia-based developer of quantum encryption tools, raised $20m AUD round.
SplxAI, a US-based developer of offensive security for agentic AI, raised a $7m Seed round.
Iceberg Quantum, an Australia-based developer of fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures, raised a $1.2m Pre-seed round.