This Week in Dual-Use
NEWS
First UK-Ukraine drone joint venture announced
Skyeton, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) producer and Prevail Partners, a British defence and security company, announced a joint venture to fast-track the integration of Skyeton’s Raybird drone into UK military applications.
I recently wrote about the British-Ukrainian government initiative to jointly produce UAVs. It reminded me of how Detroit lent its assembly line logic to the Allies in the 1940s. Detroit became known as the "Arsenal of Democracy" during World War II because its automobile manufacturing infrastructure was repurposed to produce vast quantities of war materials for the Allies.
Skyeton is one of the oldest and most respected Ukrainian drone companies - it was operating fleets of surveillance drones before the Russian invasion - and has a wealth of knowledge gained through years of technological development. As the UK scales up its defence spending and prepares to deter Russia that know-how will be indispensable.
Helsing unveils ‘Resilience Factory’ in Plymouth
Helsing, a German developer of autonomous defence technology, announced plans to open a ‘resilience factory’ in Plymouth, where it will build its SG-1 Fathom unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
Helsing’s UUVs are actually gliders provided by Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, an Australian company with a background in ocean monitoring. A glider is a type of UUV that uses changes in buoyancy and hydrofoils to move through the water, without propellers. This low-energy behaviour can allow them to stay on-task for upwards of 90 days.
The politics of defence spending are converging around soverign capability, and the imperative to ‘buy British’ will be front of mind for decision makers in Westminster. By anchoring physical infrastructure on British soil, Helsing is offering sovereign capability and a hedge against EU procurement politics. Expect to see more defence tech startups adopt this strategy.
UK to buy F-35A and join NATO's nuclear mission
The UK announced plans to buy 12 F-35As, a surprising move given its F-35 plan only consisted of F-35B variants. Unlike the B variant, the F-35A is designed to be nuclear-capable, setting the conditions for the UK to re-enter NATO’s dual-capable aircraft nuclear mission.
On the face of it, this appears to be a big shift in nuclear strategy for the UK, which has relied exclusively on Trident-delivered nuclear payloads since 1998, when it left NATO’s dual-capable aircraft mission. Perhaps the UK government is exploring alternatives to its reliance on American-made Trident missiles for its nuclear deterrent.
It could look to adopt the French model, which features a hybrid of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and air-launched cruise missiles, delivered by Rafales. The French were always considered to be ‘very French’ in their insistence on a nuclear deterrent made in France. That feels like a sensible decision in retrospect.
For the moment, it’s a near-term pragmatic move. The F-35As will be used for student pilot training, since they are cheaper to operate and carry more fuel. In the longer term, it gives the UK an option to re-join the air-delivered nuclear club.
EU presses for quantum-safe encryption by 2030
The European Union has called on member states to transition to quantum-safe encryption by 2030, citing urgent cybersecurity risks posed by future quantum computers. This follows a similar announcement by NIST, the American National Institute of Standards and Technology, back in 2024.
It’s not clear exactly how powerful quantum computers will be when they come of age, but it’s accepted that current encryption models will not be robust enough to cope.
There are already many companies going after the post-quantum encryption market. That technology always seemed important but not yet top priority for many CISOs. Somehow always a market of the future. Perhaps that is about to change.
FUNDRAISING
Eleven Labs, a Polish/American developer of AI-generated voice, raised a $180m Series C round led by a16z.
QEDMA, an Israeli developer of software that helps quantum computers run more accurately by reducing errors during operation, raised a $26m Series A round led by Glilot Capital Partners.
Obviant, an American data intelligence platform using AI to increase transparency into defense procurement, raised a $7.1m seed round led by Shield Capital.
Pimloc, a British developer of software to automatically detect and blur faces, license plates, and other sensitive content in video footage to comply with privacy regulations, raised a $5m round co-led by Amadeus Capital Partners and Edge Ventures.
SR Robotics, a Polish developer of underwater dual-use robots for the civil and defence sectors, raised $10m in funding from Vinci.
Nordic Air Defence, a Swedish developer of battery-powered drones that can intercept other drones for military and civil uses like protecting airports or industrial sites, raised a €2.5m pre-seed round led by Inflection.