In counter-drone news, Anduril has partnered with OpenAI to deploy AI for national security missions. The partnership will focus on improving Anduril’s CUAS capability and seeks to understand whether OpenAI’s model can synthesise data faster than a human operator, improving response time to threats.

In drone news, Helsing unveiled its AI-enabled HX-2 drone. The launch took place at the Honourable Artillery Company in London with UK Defence Secretary John Healey in attendance. Helsing are the latest to join the ranks of drone manufacturers offering a version of AI terminal guidance.

In underwater news, BAE appears to have successfully demonstrated a new type of autonomous submarine, developed specifically for military use. This is hot on the heels of last week’s news that Vatn Systems is developing autonomous underwater swarming technology. There is clear demand for this kind of product.

Not strictly dual-use but interesting to see that a Chinese lab has released a “reasoning” large language model (a model which fact-checks itself). This was something that Open AI only achieved in September 2024.

Donald Trump will become US president in 2025. How will that affect dual-use technology? It’s not clear yet what the implications are for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan or indeed NATO. There will be winners and losers in each.