Defense Tech Radar

House S&T testimony on Navy lasers, AI, hypersonics amid munitions gaps. Divergent 3D printing cuts missile costs 90%; Exiger flags 28k Chinese components. Pentagon AI use surged 1,775% to 1.5M users; $1.1B Drone Dominance Program for 200k small lethal drones by 2027. New Monument AI tool quantifies sustainment needs. Senate hearing on Cyber Command/SOCOM posture. Hypersonic size constraints for stealth fighters under debate. AI-driven logistics platforms show 13% readiness gains. AARGM-ER deep-dive highlights SEAD/DEAD evolution. Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic strike on Ukraine marks first combat use, but a new misfire report challenges reliability. CSIS analysis quantifies Tomahawk/THAAD depletion after Iran war: 1,000+ Tomahawks, 290 THAAD interceptors used; replenishment to 2030-31 creates vulnerability window for China conflict. White House pushes back but Trump meets contractors to quadruple production. SpaceX wins $2.29B Space Force contract for military data network. Senate scrutiny of DOD Directive 3000.09 on AI targeting. BigBear.ai reports $282B backlog and $53M sole-source classified contract. SOCOM creates Autonomous Warfare Command, operationalizing AI beyond drones, focusing on data architecture and startup partnerships. SOUTHCOM also establishes Autonomous Warfare Command, emphasizing joint integration, data architecture, and partner domain awareness in Latin America, with Hemisphere Maritime Pursuit Craft concept. New: Army JIOP embeds acquisition pros with 18th Airborne to fast-track soldier-driven tech. Airis Labs emerges from stealth with $31M Series A for video-first intelligence analytics. Innoviz Technologies pivots to defense lidar for drone detection and perimeter security. New: DOD requests $2B for CJADC2 consolidation in FY27, with $1.5B for Palantir's Maven Smart System – signals shift from fragmented experiments to enterprise-wide AI-enabled C2. New: US Secretary of War at Shangri-La Dialogue outlines shift to 'true partnership' and burden sharing with $1.5T defense investment, calling on Western Europe to take note. Army acquisition reform via T2COM and faster contracting highlighted. New: Army's Project Aria 'Model Armory' enables tactical AI deployment anywhere, reducing onboarding timelines. Congressional hearing on AI cyber war warns of Chinese open-weight models and machine-speed attacks, highlighting dual-use tension under FISA 702. New: White House formalizes AI as core national security capability with new memorandum and executive order; Trump June 2026 AI directive for military with seven pace-setting projects. Bullfrog AI raises $2.2B valuation for autonomous counter-drone systems with 100% T-REX success. Jackal AI missile tested with GPS-denied operation, 100km range. Picogrid secures $45M for drone/sensor/AI integration. New: Lockheed Martin tests PrSM Increment 4 ramjet, extending range to 1,000+ km while maintaining HIMARS compatibility; $300M additive manufacturing investment signals production scaling. New: Air Force & Space Force budget hearing detailed F-35 readiness, drone warfare lessons, counter-UAS, and Arctic defense, highlighting partisan battle over reconciliation funding and munitions depletion. Anduril's president outlined their model of building weapons like Barracuda cruise missiles with internal investment, inverting traditional procurement – reinforces shift toward mass-producible, low-cost systems. New: Senate defense bill authorizes new combatant command for autonomous weapon systems, formalizing autonomy as a warfighting domain. Army commissions second cohort of tech executives into senior leadership (Detachment 201) to bridge culture gap. AI researchers call for arms control, adding normative layer to AI-in-defense debate. Rocket One develops nanomagnetic computing for space asset protection, addressing critical vulnerability. Army's 'Right to Integrate' hackathon signals continued push for rapid integration and modularity.