dentally leaked to China, as some headlines screamed. Reporter Carly Page writes more in our Analysis section below.
Reporter Paul Sawers has also been examining the sovereign supply chain, interviewing founders whose solutions aim to help tackle these problems before they start. Read his in-depth report featuring materials technologies from Uplift 360, Paebbl, and Swebal.
We’re pleased to welcome Eveline Buchatskiy, Managing Partner at D3; Mikolaj Firlej, Co-founder and General Partner at Expeditions; and Erik Balck Sørensen, CIO at EIFO (the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark), to speak at Resilience Conference London.
From investing in technologies forged in Ukraine, to specialist European defence venture capital and sovereign investment, these three sector leaders bring perspectives from across the capital stack supporting the growth of Europe’s defence technology ecosystem.
Investment will be a core theme at this year’s conference: where capital is moving, which technologies and companies need to scale, and what it will take to build the next generation of defence champions.
More speakers will be announced over the coming weeks. Get your ticket today.
DEALS: After we broke the news in July, Cambridge Aerospace has confirmed its $300M fundraise, bringing the valuation to $3.4B. We unpack the announcement in the Deals section below.
DOWN UNDER: The Australian government recently released its 10-year Defence Innovation, Science & Technology Strategy where they prioritise speed over perfection. Read our reporting here.
I’ll be back in your inboxes next week. Thanks for reading.
-Leslie Hitchcock, co-founder and Publisher, Resilience Media
DEALS 💰
Confirmed: Cambridge Aerospace raised $300M at a $3.4B valuation
- You read it here first, and now the company has confirmed our reporting: Cambridge Aerospace — the startup aiming to build low-cost, scaled air defences against drones and missiles — today announced that it has closed a Series C round of funding of $300 million at a valuation of $3.4 billion, led by DFJ Growth.
- It also quietly confirmed that it raised $200 million in a Series B earlier this year at a $1.3 billion valuation, tallying up to around $636 million in funding including previous raises, and a major boost to its valuation in the space of a few months.
- The startup, founded in 2024, said that it is using the funding to continue scaling its business: more talent, ramping up manufacturing and more R&D.
ANALYSIS ✍️
Chinese tech in Royal Navy drones exposes UK defence supply chain dilemma
Carly Page, Reporter
Britain’s push for cheaper, faster military technology comes with a catch: somewhere inside that shiny new British-built drone, there may still be technology sourced from China.
That problem came into sharp focus this week after it was reported that cameras fitted to the Royal Navy’s K3 Scout drones, supplied by British defence company Kraken Technology Group, sent “heartbeat” data to an IP address in China. The communications, discovered during a routine Ministry of Defence security assessment, reportedly indicated whether the cameras were online and functioning, prompting the MoD to cut their internet connectivity.
The K3 Scout is exactly the kind of platform the UK wants more of as it looks to field autonomous systems faster and at lower cost. The Royal Navy acquired 20 of the vessels under the ongoing Project Beehive, with potential roles including surveillance and force protection.
But building at speed means drawing on complex commercial supply chains. In this case, the cameras were sourced from a third-party supplier rather than manufactured by Kraken – illustrating how even British-built defence technology can depend on components sourced elsewhere.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told Resilience Media: “The first duty of government is national security, and we take the security of our equipment, networks and data extremely seriously.
“Our assurance and testing processes are designed to identify and address potential vulnerabilities early, and we continue to undertake routine security activity across our systems and equipment.
“We have found no evidence of MOD data or systems being accessed, compromised or transmitted externally.”
The MoD added that the third-party supplier responsible for the component had provided assurances regarding its security. Asked for further details, including what information was contained in the communications and what security assurances had been provided, the department told Resilience Media that it could not comment further for operational security reasons.
Kraken did not respond to questions from Resilience Media.
EVENTS 🎟️
European Defense Tech Festival – Berlin
20-27 August: EDTH is hosting their European Defense Tech Festival. Register your interest here. Resilience Media is a proud partner of EDTH and its work. We’ll see you in Berlin!
ON OUR RADAR 📡
🎧 Our friends at Sparkmind Capital just recorded the 60th episode of the Protect Europe Podcast. It will be live in September, but you can listen to their archive of conversations with founders and investors here.
💻 We’re happy to promote a job opportunity that will be important to support defence innovation: Director, Bloomberg Applied Technology Programme – Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Apply here.
👥 In people moves, Second Front Systems appointed Cody Barrow as Head of EMEA. In the role, he will lead commercial strategy, customer growth, and strategic partner ecosystems.
