In space news, China launched a new ship capable of monitoring military satellites and missile launches. Revealed through photos circulating on Chinese media, the ship features prominent radar domes and massive high-gain antennae.

In drone news, TEKEVER, a Portuguese producer of large Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), has announced the establishment of a new business arm in Ukraine.

In undersea news, Anduril released an AI-powered undersea sensor for submarine detection. The undersea nodes are designed to be dropped on the sea floor and networked together.

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.

In manufacturing news, Anduril will open a factory and R&D facility in the UK, as it looks to establish a European presence in the face of rising geopolitical tensions and increased defence spending in the region.

In satellite imaging news, Ukraine is considering switching to Eutelsat. Suggestions that it could lose access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system have focused investor interest on its smaller European rival.

In LLM news, Tencent became the latest tech company to unveil an AI model intended to eclipse DeepSeek. The Hunyuan Turbo S model is designed to respond as instantly as possible, distinguishing itself from the deep reasoning approach of DeepSeek’s chatbot.

In quantum computing news, Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1, a chip the company says will allow it to build quantum computers capable of solving meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades.

In AI news, Helsing is partnering with Mistral to develop LLMs for defence.

In DeepSeek news, a bipartisan group of US Congressional legislators is proposing legislation to ban the app from government-owned devices for fear that it will pass on sensitive information to Chinese authorities.

In missile defence news, Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare a sweeping plan on how to defend the American homeland against attacks from Russian and Chinese missiles, and other aerial threats.

In LLM news, a Chinese-made AI model called DeepSeek shot to the top of app store downloads, stunning investors and sinking some tech stocks.

In UAS news, China apparently placed an order for almost a million lightweight kamikaze drones, to be delivered by 2026.

In more undersea news, NATO announced the launch of Baltic Sentry, a new military activity to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure. The initiative will enhance NATO’s military presence in the Baltic Sea and improve Allies’ ability to respond to destabilizing acts.

In undersea news, the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) has launched Nordic Warden, a UK-led reaction system designed to monitor threats to undersea infrastructure and track Russia’s shadow fleet.

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.