Eurosatory’s Post

Over the weekend, founders and builders traveled to El Segundo for a Defense Tech Hackathon. The teams paused at midnight to chat with mission partners in Ukraine to get feedback on their ideas and prototypes. Over 24 hours, these teams built: - A long-range, RF-silent drone that relies solely on laser communication - A mobile mesh UAV detection system at a cheaper cost and with a longer range than the current systems on the market - A flying wing drone that can operate in GPS-denied environments by using a camera and Google Maps to identify its location (image below) What if we took the top four teams from events like this, fast-tracked them into #SBIR contracts, and then had funding through Replicator or an alternate program waiting after the SBIR was complete? The lessons these teams are learning are vital to the United States Department of Defense and we need to find more ways for people, technology, and tactics to be shared across defense and commercial sectors. Augustus Doricko Rainmaker Technology Corporation Zane Mountcastle Martin Slosarik Picogrid Soren Monroe-Anderson Neros Technologies Apollo Defense Rasmus Dey Meyer John Coogan Isaiah Taylor Valar Atomics Founders Fund #startups NSIN - National Security Innovation Network Valhalla Ventures 8VC #defense Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) #drones #optical #maker #additivemanufacturing Andrew Cote Christopher Amidon

Rapid prototyping of relevant solutions. Is this repeatable? Absolutely. A fresh perspective from the operational fleet and force flow into the Naval Postgraduate School every quarter. The Naval Warfare Studies Institute at Naval Postgraduate School curates priorities from commanders and facilitates a design thinking warfare innovation event series to develop minimum viable ideas to close the solution gap. The NPS Office of Research and Innovation enables defense-focused research and innovation, ensuring future technological and operational advantages for national security. Together with the NavalX - Tech Bridge Network, they curate partners across academia, industry, and the emerging technology space. Expand the reach and impact of the collaborative problem-solving network by closely partnering with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and NSIN - National Security Innovation Network and other leaders in the arena. The NPS Joint Interagency Field Experimentation capability provides a use case demonstration sandbox for minimum viable products. The Department of Defense Management at Naval Postgraduate School is positioned to develop the programmatic strategy, creating a pathway to acquisition. Partnerships with defense-focused venture capital, industry accelerators, and incubators facilitate early-stage growth to bring minimum viable ideas to deliverable solutions that are scalable to meet fleet and force needs. The future Naval Innovation Center at the Naval Postgraduate School will serve as a purpose-built convening place for collaborative research, discovery, and development of applied solutions. The elements are there. So what is missing? a) Resourcing to sustain the herculean behind-the-scenes efforts connecting and maintaining the elements of a healthy innovation ecosystem? b) A framework linking strategic imperatives to local execution that integrates the missions and comparative advantages of each stakeholder/partner to produce outcomes? c) Intentionally building bridges enabling innovation adoption at each major transition phase (lab->prototype->product->scale)? d) All of the above. Investment in activity will generate activity. Don't invest in activity; invest in outcomes. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Department of the Navy Research, Development, and Acquisition (RD&A) Defense Innovation Board Carlos Del Toro Brett Seidle NavalX Stephen "Casey" Plew DEFENSEWERX FLEETWERX Silicon Valley Defense Group HawkTower James Geurts Kevin B. Smith Marco Romani Alan Van Nevel Kaitie Penry Raymond Jones Jeff Dunlap Howard Pace, Jr.

The 🇺🇦 war has totally redefined warfare and the defense industry's future. It's by far the fastest-developing technological war in human history. We are at the breaking point where most of armed forces are not relevant for today's frontline reality & need to rapidly develop their units and equipment to the growing threat of drones, electronic warfare + more. Global National Security is going through the biggest disruption of the last decades. 🇺🇦 strongest hope to win the war is pushing rapid defense tech development - turning this war into the battle between robots against orcs! Building hundreds of new drone units that are using the latest tech built by startups. For real success on the battlefield we need tens of cheap solutions, that can be scaled super-fast into mass production. However, Ukraine can only move faster with real and FAST help from global startup communities and investors. To kick-start the most promising Defence startups we organized the first Darkstar Camp in 🇺🇦 . We ended up working with 12 startups - 10 from Ukraine + 2 from Europe! Most of the companies were already combat proven - from laser guidance systems, gliding bombs for drones, UGVs to Ukraine-made thermal cameras. Most had worked on their solutions already for more than a year - and some received paid orders at the event to deliver their product into the frontline over the coming weeks! Despite the super short organizing time - the results, energy, MOTIVATION were mindblowing - way more than we ever expected - it was the best ultra hackathon that I ever organized. We worked closely with some of the best units of the Ukraine Armed Forces - including the new Unmanned Systems Force (USF) - with their feedback providing extremely useful insights for the teams to speed up product development. We also saw many teams building integrations and collaborations with each other, partnering up to make more effective products for the battlefield. Darkstar is building a Defence Tech ecosystem where founders help each other & share learning with each other is one the most critical thing for ultra-fast results! In the coming weeks Darkstar coalition will focus on finishing investing in some teams, but will help all of them to the next level. And YES - we have already begun the planning for Bootcamp #2 in the autumn!

Darkhive Secures £16.8 Million Series A Funding 💸 Exciting news in the defence tech world! Darkhive has just secured a £16.8 million Series A investment led by Ten Eleven Ventures. This funding will enable Darkhive to expand its portfolio of lightweight, reconnaissance drones and enhance its proprietary software platform, which ensures secure, continuous delivery and fleet management. It's a significant step forward in providing our frontline troops with secure, cost-effective, and adaptable equipment. As Ten Eleven Ventures' Mark Hatfield highlighted, this investment underpins the importance of integrating secure code delivery with UAS fleets to bolster national security. With additional support from Crosslink Capital, RTX Ventures, and Stellar Ventures, Darkhive is set to revolutionise the UAS industry and positively impact the future of US National Security. #DefenceTech #Drones #UASInnovation

In 2023, new government programs and accelerators in the military tech sector appeared in Ukraine and existing ones intensified. Among them: 📌Accelerator of innovative development (Ministry of Defense) — an accelerator created in June 2023 and aimed at optimizing the processes of attracting and implementing defense technologies in the Ministry of Defense. 📌Brave 1 is a cluster for the development of military tech in Ukraine and improvement of cooperation between the state and military and defense startups, which started its activities in April 2023. 📌D3 Accelerator is an accelerator and fund established in 2023 that focuses on providing startups with the tools they need to grow in the defense technology sector. It attracts American investments in military tech companies that can help Ukraine win the war. 📌Ukrainian StartupFund is a fund that invests state capital in innovative businesses. Since its launch in 2019, it has provided grants to seven projects using dual-purpose drones. These are data from a study of the global UAV market conducted by Saturday Team at the end of 2023. #research #industryresearch #data #dataanalytics #businessresearch #dronemarket #drones #uav #civildrones #militarytech

I wish to see 🇮🇳India testing its own indigenous combat UAV soon! 🚀🚀 It's not just a picture, it's my #DREAM It represents the vision of what could be achieved, a powerful UAV, designed for defense missions, ready for takeoff from an aircraft carrier. This is a glimpse of the future that India can build with the right focus on homegrown R&D and indigenous technology development. At #DiscovBEE, we are passionately working towards this future by focusing on cutting-edge #design solutions and innovation in #defense technologies. We believe that investing in research, fostering creativity, and designing tailored solutions are key to strengthening India's defense capabilities. The role of startups like #DiscovBEE and others in shaping the next generation of combat UAVs cannot be understated. We are committed to contributing to 🇮🇳India’s defense sector with technology designed for unfavorable terrains, adverse weather conditions, and the complexities of modern warfare. It’s time for 🇮🇳India to push forward with indigenous solutions that meet not just today’s needs, but also the demands of tomorrow. 💪 Taken a small attempt and going and growing with baby steps with full potential and courage for my Larger Vision 😊😊 Going Beyond to make it #ALIVE #DefenseTechnology #UAV #IndigenousTech #RresearchandDevelopment #Innovation #CombatUAV #MakeInIndia #DiscovBEE

On Wednesday, February 28, we had the great pleasure of hosting the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS) - an agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland that supports and advises federal authorities in the area of security with information technology capabilities. Our meeting was not just a chance to get to know each other, but also the starting point for potential collaborations. brigkAIR and ZITiS want to be at the forefront of disruptive, cutting-edge technologies together. We talked extensively about the latest developments in our #start-ups, particularly in the field of counter UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), control technologies and software innovations. We also looked at the role of start-ups in the innovations processes in this area and how they are involved in this issue. 💡 Another interesting aspect of our conversation was ZITiS´s expertise in #digital forensics and forensics related to #drones. We are excited to see how this expertise can be integrated into future projects! Stay tuned for more exciting updates and potential projects between #brigkAIR and ZITiS! 🚀 Interested start-ups and smart minds working on the future of Advanced Air Mobility are welcome to join us and become part of our network. 🌐 #innovation #brigk #drone #startupecosystem #technology #advancedairmobility #brigkAIR

I wish to see 🇮🇳India testing its own indigenous combat UAV soon! 🚀🚀 It's not just a picture, it's my #DREAM It represents the vision of what could be achieved, a powerful UAV, designed for defense missions, ready for takeoff from an aircraft carrier. This is a glimpse of the future that India can build with the right focus on homegrown R&D and indigenous technology development. At #DiscovBEE, we are passionately working towards this future by focusing on cutting-edge #design solutions and innovation in #defense technologies. We believe that investing in research, fostering creativity, and designing tailored solutions are key to strengthening India's defense capabilities. The role of startups like #DiscovBEE and others in shaping the next generation of combat UAVs cannot be understated. We are committed to contributing to 🇮🇳India’s defense sector with technology designed for unfavorable terrains, adverse weather conditions, and the complexities of modern warfare. It’s time for 🇮🇳India to push forward with indigenous solutions that meet not just today’s needs, but also the demands of tomorrow. 💪 Taken a small attempt and going and growing with baby steps with full potential and courage for my Larger Vision 😊😊 Going Beyond to make it #ALIVE #DefenseTechnology #UAV #IndigenousTech #RresearchandDevelopment #Innovation #CombatUAV #MakeInIndia #DiscovBEE

🇺🇦🇳🇴Winners of the UAS Automated Visual Guidance Hackathon at NATO-Ukraine Defence Innovators Forum: Sensorama Lab & KEF Robotics, a collaboration between Ukrainian and Norwegian developers. The united team was awarded $50,000 USD for their solution, which provides an autonomous capability to visually identify objects of interest, adhering to a flight path relative to that object of interest, with limited computational resources, and a platform appropriate for attritable missions. Within 48-hour hackathon, the 13 teams from 8 countries – Canada, Ukraine, Netherlands , Norway, Poland, United Kingdom, Estonia, and the United States – created functional solutions to a critical battlefield unmanned aerial system (UAS) problem. The event theme focused on how to provide automated last mile guidance for optimal navigation without human intervention. 🔗Details: https://lnkd.in/ezPfhk2z Innovation Norway Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) NATO NSIN - National Security Innovation Network Dronecode Foundation AGH University of Krakow #DIH #defensetech

Picogrid, a defense technology startup, announces a $12 million seed round led by Initialized Capital with participation by Starburst Ventures, Credo Ventures, Giant Step Capital, Domino Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. Picogrid builds a unified platform for autonomous systems, creating an open ecosystem of defense technology suppliers. The company’s technology helps connect and remotely control sensors, drones, command interfaces, and other notoriously fragmented defense systems. Built to address these challenges, Picogrid’s technology helps integrate the devices that the military increasingly depends on, using modern hardware and software to route data to and from systems deployed all over the world. The core of Picogrid’s technology lies in Legion, its cloud-based API used to connect and control various third-party autonomous systems. This includes drones, unmanned vehicles, and AI-driven surveillance tools, all working together in a cohesive and intelligent ecosystem. #military #defense #defence #militaryleak https://lnkd.in/g9vDC9gB