Welcome to This Week in Defence Tech, a summary of the top news in the sector written by Editor at Large, John Biggs. This newsletter includes Resilience Media reporting and stories from other publications in a weekly digest to keep readers up to speed. This is a newsletter for defence operators who need to make sense of a fast-moving industry and stay ahead of developments affecting their work. It’s for military leaders across NATO, startup founders and operators, investors, and anyone with a stake in the future of defence.

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NEED TO KNOW

Starmer, No Longer Prime Minister, Says He Will Leave Parliament

The story: Former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is leaving Parliament, closing out his domestic political career after stepping down as prime minister in June. Starmer, who entered Parliament in 2015 and led Labour back into government in 2024, said his next work will focus on international affairs, specifically defence, security, trade and technology. He has not announced a new position, but his comments point toward a role outside British party politics.

Why it matters: Starmer’s next move could keep a former leader of a major NATO power active in the defence and security world at a time when Europe is taking greater responsibility for its own security. His experience leading Britain during a period of higher defence spending, continued support for Ukraine and questions about the future of the transatlantic alliance gives him a useful base for work in international security. What that work looks like remains unclear, but his decision to specifically name defence and technology marks a shift in focus that could have ramifications on UK procurement and defence investment.

Poland sees two fires at defense plants in 24 hours

The story: Two fires broke out at Polish defence-linked facilities within 24 hours. One destroyed a JFG Composites facility in Lublin, a supplier to Leonardo’s PZL-Świdnik helicopter plant. The other struck a WB Electronics facility that produces drone components used by Polish and Ukrainian forces. Police are investigating possible arson in the WB Electronics fire after reports that surveillance footage showed a masked person entering the site before the blaze. Authorities have not linked the two incidents.

Why it matters: The fires come amid growing concern about attacks on Europe’s defence industry. European authorities have already investigated a series of fires and suspected sabotage incidents at companies supplying Ukraine, with Russian involvement confirmed or investigated in some cases. For Poland, which is rapidly expanding both defence spending and domestic weapons production, protecting factories and supply chains is becoming almost as important as expanding them. The so-called grey zone attacks are testing the patience of Ukraine’s NATO neighbours.

U.S. Army opens test ranges to private industry

The story: The U.S. Army is opening five military test ranges, four in the U.S. and one in Morocco, to private companies developing drones, missiles, counter-drone systems, and other battlefield technologies. The new program removes many of the bureaucratic hurdles that previously limited access, allowing companies, even those without existing defence contracts, to apply through a single online portal and begin testing far more quickly. The initiative is part of a broader push to speed up weapons development and get new systems into soldiers’ hands faster.

Why it matters: The Army is borrowing a page from the commercial tech industry by lowering barriers for startups and smaller defence firms. Instead of waiting years for traditional procurement programs, companies can test prototypes in realistic military environments, including electronic warfare conditions modelled on the battlefield in Ukraine. The move could accelerate innovation in drones, autonomy, and counter-UAS systems while giving the Pentagon access to a much broader pool of technology developers.

DEALS

Regent Craft raises $240M to put the wind in its Seaglider sails

More funding is pouring into startups building technology to navigate better in water. Regent Craft, a company out of Rhode Island, USA, has now raised a Series B of $240 million to expand production of its dual-use “Seaglider” electric maritime vessels, including a big expansion in Europe.
A big portion of the funding will be going towards filling out existing expectations in terms of development and production as well as inking more military partnerships.
The company said in mid-2025 that it has a commercial order backlog of $10 billion from a mix of commercial and non-commercial customers. But it has yet to produce the product that all of its business hinges on.
Regent Craft vessels up to now have been in testing and development only. So far, there has been no testing with humans on board. It recently completed work on its 255,000-square-foot Seaglider Manufacturing Facility, but full production is not expected until the end of 2027 at the earliest, and the timeline will also include necessary regulatory approvals as well.

Estonia’s Wolfram Europa invests €200 million into Latvian munitions site

Tallinn, Estonia energetic materials supplier Wolfram Europa said it will invest €200 million to build a vertically integrated energetics complex near Jēkabpils, Latvia.
It has secured a 40-hectare site under a long-term land agreement with Latvijas Valsts Meži, the Latvian state forestry company.
Work will get underway on the site in 2027 and be done in three phases. Wolfram Europa says the complex will create 200 high-skill jobs in the region where it will synthesise explosives, manufacture warheads, and work on counter-mobility solutions — all aimed at expanding the supply of resources that are scarce in Europe but central to the region’s rearmament plans.

STARTUP NEWS

Germany’s HyImpulse fuels up with €50M+ to build its breakthrough rocket launchers. The startup says it’s now raised €125M and has an order book of €350M waiting for services to come online
UK-based Cambridge Aerospace raised $300M at a $3.4B valuation. The interceptor startup also verified a separate $200M round at a $1.3B valuation from earlier this year, a sign of how heated the market is right now, especially in the realm of EU- and UK-based drone companies.
Hannover’s InLeap raises €20M for counter-drone laser effectors. The company is working with STARK and the German military and plans to deploy in Ukraine. The company is building precision laser-based systems that can incapacitate and take down drones.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Ukraine is seeing a potential fall-off in use of fibre-optic connected drones, a boon for wildlife in the region. While not completely extinct, these drones spread kilometres of fibre through forests and other delicate ecosystems, harming wildlife and causing a serious pollution problem. The hope? That all off this fibre will eventually break down thanks to degradation of the plastic sheathing surrounding the glass. The bad news? Fibre optic cables take over a hundred years to truly degrade.
Ukraine is putting Kalashnikov assault rifles on uncrewed ground vehicles, a move that points to the renewed use of commodity gear in a battlefield context. The unnamed company created a turret that can mount to an uncrewed land vehicle and is operated remotely.
Ukraine’s Uforce unveils a heavy-duty unmanned surface vessel for naval logistics. The system, called the MV11, is a large ocean-going unmanned surface vessel in its MAGURA family. The MV11 is designed as a logistic carrier and it has a payload capacity of up to 2,200 kg. It can remain at sea for as long as seven days and has a maximum speed of 78 km/h.

POLICY AND PROCUREMENT

Germany’s STARK delivers Germany its first unmanned reconnaissance vehicle, the Seetaube. The company, which recently raised $500 million from various funders, has delivered the first Seetaube unmanned surface vessel to the German Armed Forces’ Cyber and Information Domain Service. The six-metre crewless boat is designed to conduct maritime reconnaissance while acting as a mobile sensor platform for German forces.
Australia puts speed ahead of perfection in new defence technology strategy. Australia has unveiled a 10-year plan to overhaul how it develops and buys military technology, with AI, autonomous systems and undersea warfare among six capabilities earmarked for accelerated investment. The 2026 Defence Innovation, Science and Technology (IS&T) Strategy, launched by the Australian government this month, sets six technology priorities for the coming decade: artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, high-energy lasers, long-range fires and hypersonic weapons, quantum technology and undersea warfare.