# defense tech (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 5 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover defense tech. Page: Feed: --- ## [The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Defense Tech, AI Tools And Infrastructure Lead The Way](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/biggest-funding-rounds-defense-tech-ai-infrastructure-castelion/) _2026-08-21 · Joanna Glasner · Crunchbase News_ The biggest financing of the week went to Castelion, a defense tech startup developing a hypersonic missile. Other sizable rounds went to companies developing AI inference technology, a video-creation platform, data centers and voice-to-text tools. ## [It’s Time to Reengage North Korea](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/its-time-to-reengage-north-korea) _2026-08-21 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ The U.S. and South Korea have their annual joint military drills (Ulchi Freedom Shield) from August 17-27, focusing on countering the threat from North Korea of drones and cyber-attacks. President Trump said on Sunday that he had ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, according to the New York Times. North Korea said these military exercises “are… ## [China’s Research Espionage Threat Is Hiding in Plain Sight](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/chinas-research-espionage-threat-is-hiding-in-plain-sight) _2026-08-21 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ Western universities and laboratories are on the frontlines of a battle over talent and technology. This assertion may seem like scaremongering, but when cold hard facts are considered, it is unfortunately true. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is undertaking an unprecedented assault to obtain scientific and technical research from the west. The broad CCP assault requires an equally broad… ## [Beyond Military Interoperability: The Coalition Challenge of Limited War](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/beyond-military-interoperability-the-coalition-challenge-of-limited-war) _2026-08-21 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ In our last two articles for The Cipher Brief , Sami Omari and I explained why modern limited wars are so challenging for democracies. We argued that military superiority is necessary but not sufficient for strategic victory: Afghanistan and Iraq showed that battlefield success does not guarantee lasting political outcomes, and Iran may yet prove the same point. We also examined why democracies… ## [5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: AI For Everything From Recycling To Breathing To Winning Construction Bids](https://news.crunchbase.com/ai/interesting-startup-deals-ai-recycling-robotics-healthcare-data/) _2026-08-21 · Marlize van Romburgh · Crunchbase News_ This month’s installment of this column is all AI, though applications for the technology range widely, from two startups that apply AI to trash or recycling, to another that promises to help people breathe and sleep better, to a company that says its AI can help architects and builders spot commercial projects before they’re even announced. ## [Kratos subsidiary Orbit secures major international satellite orders](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-906181) _2026-08-21 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ Kratos acquired Orbit in March 2026 in a deal valued at over $350 million. The acquisition gave Kratos access to Orbit's SATCOM, satellite tracking, and communications management technologies. ## [Second Gidon refueling aircraft arrives in Israel to boost IAF’s long-range reach](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-906152) _2026-08-20 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The new aircraft’s reach isn’t limited to combat missions, with an IAF source saying that it can also be used to deliver aid across the world. ## [From Humanities To AI: How Ali Hussain Built Fintech Tabs Into A $400M Startup](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/ai-fintech-startup-tabs-founder-hussain/) _2026-08-20 · Judy Rider · Crunchbase News_ Our third in a series of articles about non-tech founders getting venture funding features Tabs founder Ali Hussain, who started the AI fintech after realizing pursuing a Ph.D. in humanities was a terrible idea and spent some time in the tech workforce where he learned a few things about building venture-backed companies. ## [When Should A Board Consider Selling A Company?](https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/company-board-selling-considerations-sagie/) _2026-08-19 · Judy Rider · Crunchbase News_ The best boards continuously evaluate selling alongside scaling, pivoting, or staying independent, especially when the company is thriving, founder priorities are shifting, or strategic buyers begin showing interest, argues tech strategic adviser Itay Sagie. In this guest commentary, he share three signals that tell directors that it’s time to sell the company. ## [Which Investors Have Backed The Most 2026 Unicorns?](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/unicorn-investors-ai-robotics-2026-sequoia-khosla/) _2026-08-19 · Gené Teare · Crunchbase News_ So far this year, 250 companies have joined the unicorn ranks through Aug. 15, up from 2025's 193 companies. Leading sectors included robotics, AI labs, healthcare and biotech, financial services, AI infrastructure, and AI deployment, among others. But which investors are winning the 2026 funding surge? We take a look. ## [Hire AI-Powered Freelancers Fast (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/tGFXPPue3m5o) _2026-08-19 · **Sponsored**_ Browse and hire skilled professionals using AI tools — free to post, free to apply. ## [Ondas acquires Aran Defense for $33.9 million as autonomous defense demand grows](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905947) _2026-08-19 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The transaction comes as Aran Defense’s revenues have grown. The division generated an estimated $17m. in revenue in 2025, up from approximately $12m. in 2024. ## [Israel to request information on US F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet, may seek to acquire for IAF](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905920) _2026-08-18 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The Boeing F-47 is expected to complete its first flights in 2028, according to US media reports. ## [The Return of the Essential Art: Electronic Warfare and the Lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-return-of-the-essential-art-electronic-warfare-and-the-lessons-of-the-russia-ukraine-war) _2026-08-18 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ A Post-Cold War Assumption That No Longer Holds For three decades, the Alliance operated under a dangerous assumption: that the electromagnetic spectrum was a permissive sanctuary. Lulled into complacency by counter-terrorism campaigns that allowed precision strikes and networked command to go largely unchallenged, we forgot how to fight in the dark. The Russia-Ukraine war has violently corrected… ## [Where Did Venezuela’s Oil Billions Go?](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/where-did-venezuelas-oil-billions-go) _2026-08-18 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ “We’re taking a lot of oil from Venezuela, and we’re getting along great with them. Billions and billions of barrels of oil is coming out of Venezuela, one of the most fertile places for oil in the world. And as you know, it was a forty-eight minute war, lasted forty-eight minutes. And we paid for the war with what we’ve taken out many, many, many times. Where have you heard that before? You… ## [VCs Pour Billions Into Physical AI As The Next Wave Of AI Investing Takes Shape](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/physical-ai-funding-startups-robotics-aerospace-h1-2026/) _2026-08-18 · Judy Rider · Crunchbase News_ In the first half of 2026, global venture funding in the physical AI space totaled $47.4 billion across 521 deals, per Crunchbase data. That’s up dramatically — almost 4x — compared to the second half of 2025 when startups in the sector raised $12 billion across 470 deals. ## [Open-Source Intel Makes U.S. Troops an Easier Target for Iran](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/open-source-intel-makes-u-s-troops-an-easier-target-for-iran) _2026-08-17 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ Iran is reading American service members’ social media feeds to deadly effect. The fact is that not all intelligence must be gleaned from secret, closed sources for it to be effective, and Tehran has made use of public and open-source data to target U.S. forces with psychological and kinetic attacks. Until the Pentagon updates and enforces its policies on social media posting and personal device… ## [US awards Raytheon $22.9 billion contract to boost Tomahawk output](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905788) _2026-08-17 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The landmark seven-year contract will dramatically increase Tomahawk production as the US seeks to replenish stocks of high-tech weaponry used by Washington and supplied to allies. ## [Inside Iran’s New Wartime Leadership](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/inside-irans-new-wartime-leadership) _2026-08-17 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ Tehran’s new power brokers A wave of assassinations rebuilt Iran’s leadership from the top down, leaving a severely wounded supreme leader and a security establishment now calling the shots. Tehran, however, isn’t saying who is actually in charge. The silence is part of the narrative; who are the country’s power players? Earlier this month, Iranian state media did something it had never done… ## [Semiconductor Giants Are Busy Backing Startups This Year](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/semiconductor-giants-nvda-intc-backing-ai-robotics-starups-2026/) _2026-08-17 · Joanna Glasner · Crunchbase News_ Massive AI spending has helped push earnings and valuations for semiconductor industry leaders to record levels, prompting the sector's giants to invest record sums in artificial intelligence and robotics startups. ## [Quality over quantity: Unified systems are future of drones - opinion](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905726) _2026-08-17 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The greatest future value of a military drone will not come only from how well it flies. It will come from how well it connects. ## [Chovy's Blog: Agentic Coding (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/11OiqmdCplUd) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Personal posts on agentic coding, moshcode CLI, and security findings. ## [Should You Even Get Out? (An Honest Answer from a Biased Source)](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/should-you-even-get-out-an-honest) _2026-08-15 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ One of the fastest-growing questions veterans ask us isn’t “how do I get out” — it’s “should I?” ## [The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Data, Neolab, AI Infrastructure, Defense And AI Coding Lead](https://news.crunchbase.com/ai/biggest-funding-rounds-databricks-river-ai-data-energy/) _2026-08-14 · Gené Teare · Crunchbase News_ Databricks is back raising another $5 billion, after it raised that amount just eight months ago. The largest fundings this week also went to an AI neolab, data center and electricity storage, defense, coding and biotech. Let’s take a look. ## [The Dollar's Next Battlefield Isn't a Country. It's Code.](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-dollar-s-next-battlefield-isn-t-a-country-it-s-code) _2026-08-14 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ Money is moving onto new rails, built in code instead of wires and vaults, and that shift is quietly reshaping a tool that America has relied on for a generation: the ability to see a transaction, trace it, and freeze or seize it the moment sanctions or law enforcement demand it. Whoever builds and supervises those digital rails inherits that power. Whoever doesn't, loses it. That is the real… ## [It is in the U.S. interest to Support Democratic Legitimacy in Venezuela](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/it-is-in-the-u-s-interest-to-support-democratic-legitimacy-in-venezuela) _2026-08-14 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ The Trump administration’s response to the catastrophic earthquakes that hit Venezuela seven weeks ago was impressive: timely, massive and appropriate. This should reassure those who worried that the administration’s efforts to downsize and reorganize the U.S. government early in this second term in office had all but eviscerated our capacity to respond to foreign natural disasters. It was also… ## [40 Companies Joined The Unicorn Board In July, The Highest Count In 4 Years](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/unicorn-board-grows-40-companies-fintech-robotics-ai-july-2026/) _2026-08-14 · Gené Teare · Crunchbase News_ The sectors leading the herd to the Unicorn Board in July, by count, were financial services, robotics, AI orchestration, multimodal AI, energy and semiconductors, with the U.S. adding nearly half of the month's newly minted unicorns. ## [American defense start-up launches new Anthem cruise missile in Morocco military test](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905512) _2026-08-14 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ The test marked the operational launch of the new Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center (AMTEC), established amid close cooperation between Washington and Rabat. ## [Cyprus ramping up pressure on Tel Aviv while eyeing Israel’s Merkava tanks for its army - report](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905462) _2026-08-13 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ According to Phileleftheros, opinions within the Israeli government are divided on the matter, with some in support of providing Cyprus with Merkava tanks and some against such a move. ## [The Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker](https://news.crunchbase.com/startups/tech-layoffs/) _2026-08-13 · Crunchbase News · Crunchbase News_ Over 127,000 workers at U.S.-based tech companies were laid off in mass job cuts in 2025, per a Crunchbase News tally, and the layoffs have continued into 2026. See the latest companies to cut roles. ## [It’s Time For The President To Level With The American People on Iran](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/its-time-for-the-president-to-level-with-the-american-people-on-iran) _2026-08-13 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ The U.S. administration’s strategic expectations are increasingly colliding with a set of hard realities. While Iran has taken a considerable beating, it remains standing and does not appear on the verge of either submitting or collapsing. Its newfound control over a key commercial waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, provides it with a weapon of mass disruption (credit to the NYT’s Tom Friedman) that… ## [The Biggest AI Models Are Not the Biggest Threats](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/the-biggest-ai-models-are-not-the-biggest-threats) _2026-08-13 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ Almost every AI security framework we are applying rests on one misguided assumption: danger scales with size. Compute thresholds, export controls, and tiered evaluation regimes all encode the same intuition, the larger the model, the more we should worry. If this isn’t true, what policy changes are needed? I recently mapped more than twenty fielded AI systems against two axes: raw offensive… ## [Accept your Doppler invite (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ziW9bV5t2QHa) _2026-08-13 · **Sponsored**_ Create your Doppler account using the invite code you received. ## [How A Teenage Carpenter Became The Founder Of AI Construction Startup Trunk Tools](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/carpenter-founder-ai-construction-startup-trunk-tools-buchner/) _2026-08-13 · Judy Rider · Crunchbase News_ Our second in a series of articles about non-tech founders getting venture funding features Sarah Buchner, a "blue-collar worker by background" who set out to find a way to help construction companies manage their projects more efficiently using AI agents. ## [How About Equipping Local Law Enforcement with a Better Anti-Drone Arsenal?](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/we-trained-them-we-certified-them-we-just-never-listed-anything-they-could-use) _2026-08-12 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ During the week of March 9, drones came over Barksdale Air Force Base in waves. Barksdale is the home of the 2nd Bomb Wing, one of the places this country keeps its nuclear-capable bombers. The base issued a shelter-in-place order and stopped flight-line operations, and the Air Force has declined to say precisely how many aircraft were up there or who was flying them. NORTHCOM's counter-drone… ## [Exclusive: ClearJet raises $25M to build the ‘Uber of Cargo’](https://news.crunchbase.com/transportation/clearjet-raises-25m-logistics-ai-seriesb/) _2026-08-12 · Judy Rider · Crunchbase News_ Austin-based ClearJet, an AI-enabled logistics technology startup connects shippers with unused cargo capacity on commercial flights, has raised a $25 million Edison Partners-led Series B, it tells Crunchbase News exclusively. ## [Elbit Systems order backlog hits $32 billion amid global defense boom](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905249) _2026-08-11 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ Sales to the Defense Ministry continued to grow in the latest quarter, reaching 37% of the company's activity, driven by munitions, drones, and intelligence systems. ## [Lockheed Martin announces new Strigo defense solution system, dedicated product center](https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-905218) _2026-08-11 · JPost.com - Defense & Tech_ According to Lockheed Martin, the Strigo Product Center has supported the innovation of defense technologies from the initial design stage to operational capability in a matter of months. ## [How Ukraine Is Changing the Way the U.S. Army Fights](https://www.thecipherbrief.com/how-ukraine-is-changing-the-way-the-u-s-army-fights) _2026-08-11 · Ryan Simons · The Cipher Brief_ “To me, the biggest way that we're doing this is introducing technology into the \[U.S. Army\] formations that is not fully baked. And so all of us who were in the Army in the 90s, the 2000s, even the 2010s, you were issued a piece of equipment and that was it -- maybe a TM (technical manual) and you didn't have any say in how it was made or how it should be altered. And today in a number of… ## [How to Get Back to Command as a Civilian](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/how-to-get-back-to-command-as-a-civilian) _2026-08-01 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ Austin Texas Meetup on August 22nd - Patriots Hall ## [The Palantir Effect: Why Every Defense Tech Company Has a “Forward Deployed Engineer” Now](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/the-palantir-effect-why-every-defense) _2026-07-11 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ Palantir productized and branded the Forward Deployed Engineer role over two decades. Now Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, Govini, Castelion, and Skydio all have their own version of it. Veterans have a s ## [30,000+ Questions Later: The 5 Things Every Transitioning Veteran Wants to Know](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/30000-questions-later-the-5-things) _2026-06-28 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ Across the Sitreps tool stack last month: 30,000+ chatbot questions, 20,000+ Pathways analyses, 412 salary submissions. The patterns are clear. Here are the five things every veteran in transition is ## [What Post-WWII Veterans Built. And What You Should Do With It.](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/what-post-wwii-veterans-built-and) _2026-06-06 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ 82 years ago today, 156,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel. Most of the ones who made it home would build the modern American economy from scratch. ## [Bad MBAs Are Dying. Veterans Just Won.](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/bad-mbas-are-dying-veterans-just) _2026-05-31 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ The 2025 tax act capped Grad PLUS loans at $100K, killing the online and mid-tier programs that diluted the MBA brand. The top-tier MBA just got more concentrated, and the GI Bill still pays the bill. ## [The Land of 10,000 Bans: Why Minnesota’s Prediction Market Fight Is Your Future](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/the-land-of-10000-bans-why-minnesotas) _2026-05-28 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ The Biggest Markets Often Start as Regulatory Fights ## [Trump’s China Trip Wasn’t About Trade. It Was About the Future Industrial Stack](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/trumps-china-trip-wasnt-about-trade) _2026-05-22 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ Industrial Policy Is No Longer About Factories. It’s About Physical AI. ## [How to Get the VA to Pay for Your Tech Training (Without Burning Your GI Bill)](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/how-to-get-the-va-to-pay-for-your) _2026-05-17 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ The McCormick Gallego Act and what it means for your Tech Career post military ## [Regulation Is Alpha: Why the Best Venture Returns Hide in Regulatory Friction](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/regulation-is-alpha-why-the-best) _2026-05-15 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ The Institutional Case for Regulation as Alpha ## [Defense Tech: Crowded Trade or Generational Alpha?](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/defense-tech-crowded-trade-or-generational) _2026-05-11 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ Defense Tech Isn’t the Trade. ## [How to Plan Your Transition at 2 Years, 1 Year, and 6 Months Out](https://sitreps2steercos.substack.com/p/how-to-plan-your-transition-at-2) _2026-05-09 · Sitreps2Steercos Substack · The Weekly Sitrep_ 45 Hot Defense Tech and Private Equity Roles for Veterans, New Meetup for Virginia Beach! ## [DC’s New AV Bill](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/dcs-new-av-bill) _2026-05-08 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ A Masterclass in Policy-Market Fit and ‘Regulation as Alpha’ ## [Fusion Didn’t Get Regulatory Clarity. It Got a Starting Gun.](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/fusion-didnt-get-regulatory-clarity) _2026-05-06 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ 1 ## [Mobile Voting Didn’t Fail. It Never Reached Policy-Market Fit](https://siolvc.substack.com/p/mobile-voting-didnt-fail-it-never) _2026-05-04 · Michael O'Brien · Regulation As Alpha: Life in a Pre-Seed Venture Capital Firm_ This is the fourth in a series of posts examining the concept of “Policy Market Fit”