Are you ready to actually deliver if the MOD, or a prime, said they’d like your capability?

The demand signal right now is the loudest it’s been in decades. Iran, Ukraine, European rearmament - the opportunity is real. But opportunity and readiness are different things, and this market will make that distinction for you if you don’t make it yourself.

Defence procurement in the West is still broken, though progress is real. The problems are being acknowledged, the direction of travel is right. But we’re nowhere near solved yet. The companies that will capture this moment aren’t waiting for procurement to be fixed. They’re getting ready now, because the window - however imperfect - is real and narrowing.

Here’s what getting ready actually means.

Technology is not a product

A pattern I keep seeing across deeptech and dual-use companies: they have genuinely capable, interesting technology. The physics works. The TRL is credible.

Getting from technology to product requires something most grant cycles don’t fund or require: sustained, iterative engagement with end users throughout development. Not just a requirements capture at the start or a demonstration at the end. Real engagement, throughout, that shapes what gets built and why.

Most grant frameworks allow for end user involvement. The option is there.

What I keep seeing instead: end users brought in late, after the core architecture is set. End users are treated as validators rather than co-developers. Worse still: roadmaps shaped around what the next funding round requires rather than what operational reality demands. The technology development progresses, but the problem it’s solving drifts quietly away from what end users actually need.

By the time commercialisation becomes the focus, the gap is real. Every sales conversation is harder than it should be. The demand signal is there. The product isn’t quite meeting it.

A product is not a capability

This is the part that gets said less often, and it matters more right now than it ever has.

Defence doesn’t buy products. It buys capability.

A product meets a set of requirements and can be reproduced. A capability is what the product, or a set of products working as a system enable. Every system, subsystem, and components need to ultimately enable the required capability.

A company that has a product but hasn’t done the work to understand where it sits in the capability stack will keep having the wrong conversations. Talking about what their technology does when the customer needs to understand what operational problem it solves, at what scale, integrated with what else, qualified to what standard. Presenting features when the procurement team needs to see fit within a programme.

The demand signal from this conflict is for capability. Not technology. Not products. Capability. A louder signal doesn’t make those conversations easier. It just exposes the gap faster.

Capability has to be developed with end users, not presented to them

The companies that get this right didn’t arrive at capability conversations after the fact.

They had end users and procurement shaping their roadmap from early on. Requirements, operational context, and Iterative feedback that meant by the time the product was ready, the capability case was already understood by the people who needed to buy it.

I’ve watched companies get this wrong at every stage - startups that built for grant panels instead of operators, scaleups that hit commercialisation and discovered their product solved a problem the market had moved on from, established suppliers that could demonstrate technical capability but couldn’t articulate where they sat in the programme architecture.

The ongoing conflicts have compressed the timeline, programmes are accelerating, and supply chain positions are being set. The window to establish yourself as a credible capability provider is shorter than it was year ago. Getting end users and procurement into your development process now, if they aren’t already, isn’t optional. It’s the work.

Speed, flexibility, and capability positioning

Those are the three things that will determine who wins right now.

Speed to move before the window closes. Flexibility to iterate when operational requirements shift. And genuine capability positioning: knowing where you fit in the stack, being able to articulate it to the people making decisions, and having the development history to back it up.

One or two of those won’t be enough. You need all three.

The Iran conflict has made the opportunity real and urgent. It hasn’t made any company more ready than they were last year. These moments don’t repeat on a convenient timeline. In defence, missing this window doesn’t mean waiting months. It means waiting years.

More next month.

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Reasonable thing to do. Getting capable small companies into defence has been genuinely difficult, and fixing that matters.

What I keep thinking about as budgets expand across Europe: winning contracts is only half the problem.

Europe now accounts for over 21% of global defence spending, up from 17% in 2022. German defence spending alone passed $100 billion in 2025, a $21 billion increase on the year before. That money is moving into procurement. Contracts are going to flow to small and mid-sized OEMs and suppliers faster than at any point in recent memory.

But here’s what will happen next. A wave of small and mid-sized suppliers are about to win work they haven't fully prepared to deliver. Not because they're incompetent. Because the industry conversation, including the UK MOD’s initiative, is almost entirely focused on the front end. Win rates, pipeline, access, and getting in the door.

What happens after signature barely gets mentioned. That’s where I keep seeing companies break.

The bid machine

Most small and mid-sized OEMs and suppliers I’ve worked with have spent years getting very good at one thing: pursuing contracts.

Bid management. Proposal quality. Customer relationships. The ability to put a competitive response together in a compressed timeline against strong competition. That capability is genuinely hard-won.

The bid machine and the delivery machine are different things. They require different processes, different disciplines, different leadership attention. In most growing ADS businesses, one of them has had almost all the investment. You probably know which one.

And here's what I keep noticing: the higher the win rate, the less visible the problem tends to be. If you're winning 60-70% of competitive bids, it feels like the machine is working. It might just mean you're bidding work you already know you can get. The strongest suppliers I've worked with win around 35-45%, going after genuinely competitive work, against primes and peers with comparable capability. A very high win rate often means you're staying comfortable, not growing.

What the bid review room actually sounds like

Over the years, I’ve been in enough bid review meetings - red team, blue team, pink team - you name it.

Sales, engineering, operations, programme leadership all in the room. The question is “can we deliver this?” Engineering says technically feasible. Operations says they’d scale up. Leadership says win it first, resource it properly after.

Everyone leaves with the same quiet assumption: we’ll figure it out if we win it.

And they do figure it out - through overtime, weekend work, heroics, hiring mid-programme. But here’s what I’ve noticed: “we’ll figure it out” is treated as a plan when it’s actually a risk transfer. The risk doesn’t disappear at signature. It just moves from the bid team to the delivery team, unassessed and unpriced. No honest view of what needs to happen between signature and delivery readiness. No reckoning with what figuring it out costs in time, money, and the team capacity.

Delivery just inherits it. Quietly, every time.

Six months later

A pattern I’ve seen more than once: A UAS components supplier won their biggest contract after a competitive bid they’d invested heavily in. Genuine capability. Production-ready on paper. They could reliably produce around 30 proximity and IMU sensor modules per month. They bid 80, with aggressive timelines.

First three months looked fine. Overtime became normal - no one escalated it because nothing had technically failed yet.

Month four, schedule slipped. Sensors failing thermal cycling and EMC tests. Customer asking questions about QC and traceability. Leadership pushed harder. More technicians, more hours. More people just meant more coordination overhead on processes that were never built for volume.

By month seven: customer trust gone, margins evaporated, team burnt out.

Sales got blamed, but leadership approved the bid, engineering confirmed feasibility, and operations committed to scaling.

Nobody had asked the question that actually mattered:
Are we systematically ready for 80 units, or are we technically capable and quietly hoping to close the gap?

The cost of closing it - overtime, emergency hires, quality failures, a customer relationship that took years to build - never appeared in the bid. Delivery inherited all of it.

The part nobody’s helping you with

The UK MOD’s new initiative is doing exactly what it should: removing friction and getting capable small companies in front of defence buyers.

But preparing to deliver that work is the company’s problem. Process maturity, quality governance, programme management depth - the systems that determine whether winning a contract builds the business or quietly hollows it out. Nobody can build those for you. And the time to build them isn’t after you’ve won, it’s before the next bid goes in.

The strongest suppliers I’ve worked with treat delivery readiness with the same rigour as bid quality. They ask what “figuring it out” will cost before signature, not after. They make a deliberate decision about whether that cost is priced in.

Before your next bid goes in

What's the real gap between your current capability and production-ready processes at the volume you're bidding? How long does it take your organisation to get from signature to real delivery momentum - and is that gap widening? What has "figuring it out" actually cost you across programmes in the last 12 months?

Most companies can’t answer that last question. Not because the data doesn’t exist. Because nobody’s sat down to look.

That number, whatever it is, is what you're about to bid again.

More next month.

And somewhere in the room, quietly, the organisation is already breaking.

Growth in aerospace, defence, and space rarely fails because companies can’t sell. It fails because the entire leadership conversation is pointed in the wrong direction - at pipeline, at business development, at the next contract - while delivery capacity silently erodes behind them. By the time it becomes visible, it’s already expensive.

Not faster than people can work harder. Faster than programme governance, supplier coordination, engineering throughput, quality oversight, and leadership attention can stretch without breaking.

This doesn’t show up as a crisis. It just builds. By the time it’s visible externally, the damage is already done.

What this looks like inside before anyone calls it a problem

This is how it usually starts.

Contracts close in Q4. Revenue gets booked. The pipeline still looks healthy.

Programme kick-off slips. Four weeks becomes eight. Eight becomes twelve. No one escalates it because nothing has actually “failed.”

Programme managers take on one more programme. Then another. Oversight turns into coordination. Coordination turns into standing meetings. Those meetings replace actual programme management.

Engineering can still deliver, technically. But delivery now happens alongside live programmes, bid support, supplier issues from the last contract, and late customer changes.

Something has to give. Usually it’s margin, robustness, or thinking ahead.

Quality reviews don’t disappear. They just get deferred. Supplier issues aren’t missed. They’re discovered later, when they’re louder and cost more to fix.

Leadership meetings change. Less forward planning. More status updates. More reassurance that things are “under control.” Someone says “we need better visibility”, but nobody has the bandwidth to actually build it.

Nothing here looks dramatic. Each decision makes sense at the time. Together, they create a gap between commitments and capacity that no dashboard is tracking.

Why leadership often misses it

Honestly, this is the part that frustrates me most.

Three reasons this stays invisible longer than it should.

Commercial success masks the strain: Sales keeps winning. Customers stay engaged. From the outside, momentum looks good. Internally, the strain is spread across programmes and functions, so it never quite becomes a board-level signal.

The degradation happens gradually: There’s no single breaking point. Capacity erodes through small, reasonable compromises. Each one buys time. Collectively, they mortgage the future.

Most responses add load instead of capacity: When delivery pressure rises, organisations add reporting, escalation, oversight. These consume the bandwidth that’s already stretched. The system gets louder, not stronger.

One signal that confirms the pattern

Look at Airbus.

Roughly 8,700 aircraft in backlog (as of January 2026). At current delivery rates, that’s over a decade of work. They know its a delivery capacity problem, and they’re actively working with the suppliers to increase build rates, investing in coordination infrastructure, managing the constraint explicitly.

But Airbus has the scale, visibility, and resources to treat this as a known variable. They can see it clearly and invest accordingly.

For Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers, the same constraint exists - contracts signed faster than capacity can absorb them - but it’s harder to see and easier to rationalise as ‘normal friction’ until something breaks externally.

What prepared companies do differently

They don’t slow down sales. They don’t avoid growth.

They just treat delivery capacity as a constraint that deserves the same attention as pipeline.

They track how long it actually takes to mobilise a programme after signature. They model programme management load instead of assuming it stretches forever. They invest in supplier coordination and quality governance before volume forces the issue. They give leadership visibility into delivery stress, not just revenue momentum.

The difference between companies that scale cleanly and companies that break isn’t opportunity. It’s readiness.

The questions that matter right now

If contracts are being signed at pace, ask yourself:

• How long is the gap between contract signature and real programme mobilisation, and how fast is it widening?

• How many programmes is each programme manager actually governing, not just nominally assigned?

• What work is being deferred today to keep delivery looking fine this quarter?

• Which risks are moving downstream quietly because nobody has capacity to surface them?

Most organisations I’ve worked with already knew the answers. They just hadn’t made the questions official yet.

This is not a forecast. Forecasts are for people who believe the future is something that happens to them. This is a diagnostic for those currently building it.

As we enter 2026, the industry is suffering from a dangerous paradox: record demand paired with structural stagnation. We are attempting to meet 21st-century sovereign needs using 20th-century organisational silos.

The following six shifts are the new physics of our sector. You can either align your operating model with them now, or wait for the load-bearing walls of your organisation to crack under the pressure of a backlog you cannot ship.

#1 Commercial Aviation: From Backlogs to Choke Points

Passenger traffic is up and order books are full. That is no longer the story. The story is that we have hit the ceiling of industrial throughput.

The constraint now sits in the “un-sexy” middle: MRO capacity, casting foundries, and the fragile solvency of Tier-2 suppliers. Aircraft are staying in service longer not because it is optimal, but because delivery slots have become mythical. Engine MRO is expected to absorb over 53% of global MRO value by 2035. We are effectively running a global “keep-it-flying” mission rather than a fleet renewal.

What this means:

• In 2026, growth accrues to those who can execute, not those who can sell.

• Backlog without throughput is a liability, not a comfort.

The Reality: Success is determined on the shop floor, not the sales floor.

#2 Defence: Speed is the Only Performance Metric

Defence spending has found a higher structural floor across the US, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific. But the KPI has shifted. The question is no longer how refined a platform looks on a slide deck, but how quickly an integrated capability can be fielded and updated.

Software and AI matter for exactly one reason: they compress time. This is why investment is flowing into “the boring stuff”: logistics, automated sustainment, and readiness, rather than standalone tech demos.

What this means:

• Credibility is earned by tempo.

• Organizations that cannot marry software agility with hardware discipline will struggle to convert budgets into outcomes.

The Reality: “Slideware” maturity is no longer mistaken for operational readiness.

#3 Re-Industrialisation: Flexibility Over Efficiency

The defence industrial base is being reshaped into something “blended.” Static, defence-only factories cannot surge. We are seeing a return to a WWII-style industrial logic where commercial and defence lines are intertwined to allow for sudden “burst” capacity.

At the same time, “the factory follows the fight.” Expeditionary manufacturing, i.e. 3D printing spares at the edge and secure digital threads, is now a requirement of contested logistics.

What this means:

• The Capital Shift: You cannot “Lean” your way out of a supply chain crisis. 2026 rewards redundancy and adaptability.

• Organisations that cannot reconfigure lines in weeks are structurally misaligned.

The Reality: Resilience now outperforms narrow cost-optimisation.

#4 Space: The Sovereign Infrastructure Load-Test

Space has crossed the chasm from strategic curiosity to critical infrastructure, treated with the same gravity as energy or telecoms.

Sovereign constellations are scaling, and Europe is reorganising its industrial stack (Project Bromo) to compete. As capital markets prepare to reprice space as a durable asset class, bolstered by a potential SpaceX IPO, the transition will be violent for those unprepared. Infrastructure reveals the organisational weaknesses that “experiments” could hide.

What this means:

• Failures in 2026 will be organisational, not technical.

• Scaling exposes weak decision rights and brittle supply chains.

The Reality: Strategic ambiguity becomes expensive when the world expects 99.9% uptime.

#5 Satcom: The Death of the “Static Beam”

LEO is no longer disruptive; it is the baseline. As non-GEO capacity dominates, selling raw bandwidth has become a race to the bottom.

The value has migrated upward to orchestration. Differentiation now sits in the ability to join orbits, networks, and services into a single, software-defined service. Direct-to-Device (D2D) is moving from a safety gimmick to a core telco revenue driver.

What this means:

• Connectivity is a component, not the product.

• If you are still thinking in single-orbit silos, your margins are already evaporating.

The Reality: Incremental change applied too slowly compounds disadvantage.

#6 Digital Sustainment: The End of “Hero-Based” Execution

Across ADS, AI and digital twins are no longer “innovation initiatives.” They are prerequisites for managing complexity.

Manual coordination and siloed data cannot survive the 2026 tempo. Predictive maintenance and data-driven planning now underpin basic delivery performance. The failure mode is no longer a lack of tools, it is the refusal to change behaviour.

What this means:

• Digital competence is assumed. If you have to pitch it, you’ve already lost.

• Treating AI as a “side project” ensures you will hit a scaling limit you cannot diagnose.

The Reality: Complexity punishes optimism faster than it used to.

A Counter-View: Where the Comfortable Narratives Break

Most commentary heading into 2026 agrees on the surface facts. The failure mode is not ignorance; it is interpretation. Here are the narratives that sound prudent inside the boardroom, but fail on the shop floor:

1. “The bottlenecks are temporary”

This belief justifies waiting. It treats supply chain friction as a cyclical annoyance that will “normalise” by Q4. In reality, higher fleet utilisation, contested logistics, and blended manufacturing have shifted the baseline permanently.

The Reality: The bottlenecks are structural. Treating them as temporary guarantees you will be under-equipped when the next surge hits.

2. “We can innovate at the edge without changing the core”

This produces “Innovation Labs” and pilot programs that look great in annual reports but never hit the production line. It avoids the hard work of changing program governance and decision rights.

The Reality: Without changing the core operating model, innovation is just theatre. It doesn’t scale; it just consumes overhead.

3. “Backlog equals security”

A decade-long order book feels like a warm blanket. But under execution constraints, a massive backlog is actually a massive short position on labor, energy, and raw materials. It locks you into yesterday’s pricing with tomorrow’s risk.

The Reality: In 2026, backlog without throughput is exposure. It is a promise you can’t keep that prevents you from taking the next better opportunity.

4. “Efficiency will save us”

Lean thinking dominated the predictable 2010s. Today’s environment rewards redundancy, adaptability, and “just-in-case” inventory. Efficiency without resilience creates brittle systems that shatter the moment a Tier-3 supplier in a conflict zone goes dark.

The Reality: Resilience now outperforms narrow cost-optimisation under stress.

5. “We can sequence change safely”

The “first stabilise, then digitise, then innovate” approach sounds disciplined. But in 2026, things do not calm down. Waiting for stability ensures your digital transformation arrives three years too late to matter.

The Reality: Sequential transformation increases risk. Systems, tools, and operating models must evolve together while under load.

6. “We have time to adjust”

Strong demand creates psychological comfort. It delays the difficult conversations about headcount, CAPEX, and structural reorganisation, until a program reset or margin collapse forces your hand.

The Reality: 2026 is not the early stage. It is when misalignment starts to compound visibly. By the time you feel the pain, your optionality is gone.

Stepping Back

2025 confirmed that the orbital and defence economies are real. 2026 is about alignment. The organisations that win will not wait for clarity. They will treat these shifts as a design brief for how they build, govern, and scale.

Because in 2026, demand does not create safety. It exposes misalignment.

This is a NY’26 special edition. For more context, read this:

Drones and autonomy are becoming an ever increasing part of aerospace & defence. So, before looking ahead to what 2026 will look like, let’s revisit 2025. More specifically what I said would happen in 2025 vs. what actually happened.

Here' is what I said a year ago:

Let’s see how I did.

#1 More Drones and Counter-Drones for the Military

My core argument was simple: Ukraine, Middle East, wider conflicts, and China-related tensions would keep defence-related demand for drones and counter-drones high through 2025. That turned out to be correct, and arguably understated.

Drones are now a key part of the industrial-scale warfare. Ukraine moved towards producing and fielding millions of FPV drones annually, treating them less like platforms and more like consumable munitions. Russia responded in kind, integrating low-cost drones into both tactical and strategic concepts. Scalable volume capability, not elegance, defines effectiveness. Kremlin can now produce 3-4 million drones annually (up from 1.4 million in 2024).

NATO and partners followed suit. The UK- and Latvia-led Drone Coalition, €2.75 bn committed, one million drones pledged. That is not experimentation, that is institutionalisation. Drones are now a core budget line, not a bolt-on.

Counter-drone followed the same logic. The “Tom & Jerry” dynamic accelerated: sensors, EW, kinetic effectors, and command-and-control being pulled together into layered systems. The UK’s £140m rapid funding push is a great example: governments are no longer debating if counter-UAS is required, but how fast can it be fielded and scaled.

Verdict: Correct on direction, conservative on scale. Drones are now central to force design and defence industrial policy.

#2 “Drones as First Responders” (DFR) Unleashed

I argued that 2025 is the year DFR would properly accelerate, especially in US policing. That largely happened, helped by regulatory streamlining that cut approval timelines from months to days.

By late 2025, DFR was no longer a novelty. Departments like Redmond, San Francisco and Lakewood weren’t talking about pilots; they were talking about dispatch integration, response-time reduction, and better information before officers arrive. DFR is maturing into an operating model.

Medical drones did progress, but more slowly and unevenly. Deliveries of AEDs, blood and medical supplies expanded, enabled by better connectivity and autonomy, but largely as regional programmes rather than systemic infrastructure. Directionally right, but optimistic if read as “mainstream by end-2025”.

Criminal use, unfortunately, did exactly what was expected. Prison contraband drops, reconnaissance ahead of crimes: the same tools lowering friction for responders are lowering friction for criminals too.

Verdict: Directionally accurate. Law-enforcement DFR genuinely scaled; medical use grew but stayed patchy; criminal misuse reinforced the logic for both.

#3 Need for Alternative Supply Chains that Scale

The prediction here was that geopolitics would push the US and Europe to reduce reliance on Chinese drones and components (particularly DJI and Autel) without achieving full decoupling.

That is almost exactly what happened. The FCC’s decision to add DJI and Autel to the Covered List was the clearest signal yet that security concerns are now shaping markets, not just rhetoric. It operationalised what had been abstract risk.

Crucially, the issue extended beyond airframes to subsystems and communications, matching my original argument. At the same time, China continued to signal its own leverage via export controls on key materials.

What did not happen was a clean break. DJI remains dominant in many non-defence commercial segments, for good technical and economic reasons. Western alternatives are growing, but they are still catching up on scale, maturity and ecosystem depth.

Verdict: Correct on triggers and direction. 2025 was about starting the shift, not finishing it.

#4 More “AI this, AI that”

AI was always going to dominate the narrative. The more interesting question was whether substance would follow.

On the defence side, it did. AI moved from marketing language into planning documents, operational concepts, and procurement logic. particularly around autonomy, sensor fusion, targeting and swarm behaviour. Edge AI, not cloud AI, became the centre of gravity.

2025 saw a clear push toward onboard processing: low-power chips running vision, navigation and decision-support directly on the vehicle. For investors, AI-enabled autonomy became a core valuation driver, not a nice-to-have.

On the commercial /non-defence sectors, the constraints I flagged held. Edge AI deployments expanded in inspection and surveying, but full autonomy in dense airspace remained bounded by regulation and risk tolerance.

Verdict: Accurate. AI remained noisy, but also materially reshaped defence capability and platform economics.

#5 Slow Roasted Regulations

I described 2025 as a year of incremental regulatory progress rather than breakthrough. That framing aged well.

The FAA’s Part 108 process advanced, culminating in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), but did not deliver a fully operational BVLOS regime. Europe continued along its U-space trajectory, expanding corridors and trials without a single “unlock” moment.

Frustrating? Yes. Predictable? Also yes.

Verdict: Almost exactly right. Meaningful progress, no sudden step-change.

Plus: M&A and the rise of “dual use”

I flagged a unifying investment theme: “Dual use”. It ended up being the organising logic of 2025. Examples here, here, and here.

M&A and partnerships clustered around AI-enabled drones, counter-UAS, and systems that span defence, homeland security and public safety. Defence-adjacent deal flow dominated; cargo and logistics continued, but with less gravitational pull than I expected.

Verdict: Directionally right. Dual use was the lens through which most serious capital was deployed.

So, did 2025 happen as expected?

Overall, yes. More or less. Where I missed was on speed, not structure and direction. Medical drones and cargo M&A moved slower; supply-chain shifts began but didn’t resolve; regulation plodded rather than leapt.

The bigger picture held: drones are now industrial-scale, dual-use, AI-enabled systems sitting at the intersection of defence, security and critical infrastructure. That is the baseline reality heading into 2026.

In a follow-up, I have outlined what I think 2026 will look like for aerospace, defence, and space more broadly. Not as predictions for their own sake, but as indicators of where organisational constraints are likely to surface next.

Read it here:

Here’s an AI-generated image of fictional modern aerospace and space vehicles:

This post sets the scene for what Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) is focused on this year and why it matters.

How Beyond Line of Sight Has Evolved

Beyond Line of Sight started in Sep 2024 as a simple aggregation of news in the drone sector. The problem was information overload and signal scarcity, something that still persists today.

As my work expanded across aerospace, defence, and space, the briefing expanded with it. But the more meaningful shift wasn’t coverage, it was focus.

Across dozens of organisations globally, from start-ups and scale-ups to tiered suppliers and primes, the same pattern keeps appearing. Companies operating in similar markets, facing similar demand, see very different growth outcomes.

The difference is rarely access to opportunity. It’s the organisation’s ability to identify and resolve growth constraints.

That pattern is pushing BLOS to evolve.

What This Briefing Focuses On Now

Aerospace, defence, and space companies are constantly launching new products, announcing partnerships, and winning contracts. From the outside, growth still looks like a sales problem:

Win more tenders. Hire more BD capacity. Expand into new markets.

Sometimes it is. But in practice, that’s rarely where growth breaks.

More often, constraints sit elsewhere:

• Products that no longer fit how customers actually buy

• Processes that can’t absorb scale, regulatory load, or programme complexity

• People, incentives, and decision-making structures misaligned with where the market is going next

• Commercial commitments that quietly outpace delivery capability

These issues are usually invisible early on. By the time they surface, teams have often already doubled down on sales and expansion. Growth becomes noisy, expensive, and stressful, not because the opportunity isn’t real, but because the organisation isn’t ready for it.

BLOS now exists to make those constraints visible before they become crises.

Why This Briefing Exists in 2026

In 2026, demand is not the problem in aerospace, defence, and space.

Industrialisation pressure, delivery risk, capital discipline, organisational coherence, and commercial execution capacity are.

As these markets evolve, growth is increasingly constrained at the interfaces between sales and delivery, between ambition and execution, and between strategy and how work actually gets done.

The cost of misalignment is higher than it used to be. The margin for error is smaller.

This is where many growth narratives quietly break down and where leadership teams often have the least visibility.

That’s the gap this briefing exists to close.

What BLOS Is (and Is Not)

Beyond Line of Sight is not a monthly market update or a news digest.

It’s a growth readiness lens.

Each edition uses real signals from aerospace, defence, and space to help you:

• spot trends that will stress internal capability

• recognise readiness gaps before they constrain growth

• pressure-test alignment across market, product, process, and people

Think of it as a short, regular prompt to step back from execution and ask: Are we actually set up to grow without breaking?

What’s Coming Next

Over the next two weeks, as a new year special, I’ll focus on two pieces.

First (Jan 12, 2026), I’ll revisit what I expected the drone industry to face in 2025, reviewing it against what actually happened, based on my post here:

Then (Jan 19, 2026), I’ll outline what I think 2026 will look like for aerospace, defence, and space more broadly.

Not as predictions for their own sake, but as indicators of where organisational constraints are likely to surface next.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, here’s your chance:

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I hope your 2026 business plans are ready for execution or at least being planned.

This month, my focus has been on events in the UAE, Europe, and the UK.

Read on.

The Third Pole: Industrialising UAE A&D

November’s Dubai Airshow showcased the UAE’s ambition and the rising weight of the region in global aerospace and defence. Themes revolved around drones, autonomy, and AI, seasoned with a pinch of space tech—similar to Paris, Farnborough, Bengaluru, and beyond.

The difference is the speed. The UAE is moving at a staggering pace, amplified by ambition backed by serious capital. EDGE alone unveiled 42 new systems across autonomy, weapons, propulsion, space, radar, and secure comms. They announced over $7bn in commitments and 21 partnerships with Anduril, L3Harris, Leonardo, and Lockheed. Tawazun added $6.65bn in deals. And that’s just the headlines.

What’s emerging is not a UAE caught between Western and Chinese suppliers—it’s the UAE building a third pole: an independent industrial centre that forges balanced partnerships across blocs while developing platforms that increasingly compete with Western, Chinese, and other offerings. This is powered by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds, acting not as passive investors but as long-horizon industrial architects.

The UAE is betting big on sovereign industrialisation: localisation, tech transfer, and deep supply chains built with both Western and non-Western partners.

For A&D suppliers, the window of opportunity in the Middle East is very real. Those who plug in now will ride this wave well into the 2030s.

CM25: Europe’s Sovereign Space

The ESA Ministerial Council 2025 concluded with a record €22 billion approved by member states. This historic funding underscores a clear focus on self-reliance and dual-use capabilities, reflected in the oversubscription for Space Transportation alongside investments in Earth Observation, secure communications, and PNT.

The same infrastructure now underpins civil programmes, scientific missions, and defence applications — from ISR to secure satellite connectivity. Europe is moving toward a resilient, sovereign space ecosystem, reducing reliance on US and foreign launch and service providers.

While it’s disappointing that Human and Robotic Exploration remains undersubscribed, this likely reflects rising economic and political pressures across the UK, Europe, and beyond rather than a lack of ambition.

For European space companies, the takeaway is clear: programmes and supply chains tied to launchers, dual-use technologies, and secure infrastructure represent the most immediate and high-impact opportunities. ESA is a strategic anchor for a sovereign, commercially competitive, and defence-relevant European space sector.

UK Space: Act Now or Lose Out

From Europe, now to the UK. The House of Lords published its report on the UK Space Industry in early November. It couldn’t be clearer: ‘Act Now or Lose Out’. It’s a message the sector has repeated for years: UK ambition in space far outpaces investment, focus, and delivery.

The UK once had sovereign launch capability and gave it up. Repeating this mistake is national security suicide. Launch access is Critical National Infrastructure, and it should be treated, funded, and secured as such. But the UK can never match the US, China, or India on launch cadence or orbital range. Geography and scale make that impossible.

Instead, the UK needs to take a long-term, strategic view and double down on the parts of the space economy where the UK already leads and where the future value will concentrate.

The future isn’t Earth-to-orbit. Access to space is no longer the bottleneck. The next frontier is space-to-Earth and space-to-space: building capability, services, and infrastructure that connect, sustain, and scale activity in orbit.

This is where the UK has real leverage: in ISAM, advanced manufacturing, space science, systems engineering, and policy and governance. These strengths matter not just commercially, but for defence and national resilience.

Given the economic and political climate, the UK needs to focus on dual-use technologies and the supply chains that enable them. UK-based companies should align their efforts with these national strengths while delivering solutions that serve both commercial and defence needs.

What’s More:

Three high profile crashes: Tejas LCA crashed during Dubai Airshow 2025 killing Wing Commander Namansh Syal, 20 fatalities as Turkish Air Force C-130 breaks apart mid-air, and a UPS MD-11 cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the US, killing at least 12 people.

The U.S. Air Force launches a program to develop affordable anti-air missiles targeting $500k per unit, aiming to scale capabilities for large-scale conflicts.

The Trump administration is pressuring Congress to grant sweeping new powers to shoot down drones at public events, critical infrastructure, and prisons.

The U.S. Army aims to buy at least a million drones in the next two to three years and could acquire anywhere from a half million drones to millions of them annually in the years that follow.

Britain is providing military support to Belgium following a series of suspected Russian drone incursions into Belgian airspace.

Boeing is set to end production of three aircraft in 2027: the F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Boeing 767-300F freighter, and the Boeing 777F.

USAF plans to reduce its F-35 purchases until 2028 due to upgrade issues and financial constraints and is prioritising the development of the F-47, with the first prototype flight expected in 2028.

EHang has successfully completed a series of trial air taxi flights with its EH216-S pilotless electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the core district of Doha, Qatar.

Archer Aviation has successfully completed an in-country eVTOL flight test campaign for its Midnight aircraft in the UAE’s local operating environment and over desert areas.

China’s experimental Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 satellites have separated in geosynchronous orbit after being docked for months conducting apparent low-profile on-orbit refuelling tests.

Jeff has had a good month: Blue Origin’s New Glenn launches NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars while successfully recovering the booster.

Project Kuiper becomes Amazon Leo ahead of LEO broadband service debut.

A Soyuz launch to the ISS causes damage to the Baikonur launch pad, delaying subsequent flights.

Rocket Lab has pushed the first launch of its medium-lift Neutron rocket to 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adit is the founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy and business development consulting firm specialising in helping companies grow faster in aerospace, defence, and space sectors.

Get in touch with Adit via LinkedIn.

Lots happened in October, but here are my three things that matter for A&D:

1. A New European Giant

2. The never-ending game of countering drones

3. Opportunities for shaping defence

Read on below.

A New European Giant

Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo signed an MoU to merge their space businesses into a new company. The aim is to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in space. This is the boldest move in European A&D sector since MBDA.

This has spurred a comparison SpaceX / Starlink (some examples: 1, 2). It’s not about competing with SpaceX and Starlink, it’s about competing globally. And Starlink happens to be the biggest player. (it does help that mentioning Starlink, SpaceX, or Musk drives clicks)

The world is becoming less open and more polarised. On-shoring is the theme of the decade. This is not about competing with SpaceX or Starlink. This is about staying relevant and competitive globally while serving sovereign interests.

The U.S. benefits from a massive internal market from the space sector. Other nations like India and China are also fast growing in capabilities and demand. Markets like these are often large, mostly unified, and allow many players to thrive.

The European space sector is, by contrast, more fragmented. Each European nation state has its own funding, interests, and political needs. These issues won’t go away with a merger but it will streamline operations and products. It will allow the new European super-prime (and Europe) to be more competitive. If well executed…

This does risk squeezing out Europe’s SMEs. The go-ahead still depends on union and regulatory approval among other things.

One thing is certain: the European space sector will look very different by the end of the decade. This is because global competition, internal pressures, and a focus on defence are increasing.

The Never-ending Game of Countering Drones

In a few short years, drones became standard operating practice on the battlefield. Ukraine now deploys 9000 drones daily and faces volleys of 800+ drones at a time from Russia. The rest of the world is playing catch-up and learning from Ukraine, fast adopting drones.

This means the demand for counter-drone solutions is only going up. Few examples from last month:

1. US Army to hold recurring competitions to field counter-drone tech

2. Europe’s “Drone Wall” Recast: The Urgency of Drone Defense in Light of Recent Incursions

3. AeroVironment secures a $96 million U.S. Army contract to produce counter-drone missiles

Drone and counter-drone tech development is a cat-and-mouse game. We now have a wide-range of solutions. From RF-based soft-kill solutions to drone-interceptor missiles for hard-kill. There is also a rotating barbed wire fence used by Ukraine to counter fibre-optic drones.

The issue is now two-fold:

1. Understanding the adversary’s fast-improving drone capabilities

2. Putting solutions in place fast to counter the capabilities.

Oftentimes, sheer swarm sizes can defeat the counter-drones systems. This is what Russia has been doing in Ukraine. The challenge is developing inter-operable, integrated system-of-systems that can scale for effective response. This is what Europe’s “Drone Wall” should be.

This is a problem exclusive to the front-lines. Prisons, airports, and other critical national infrastructure also have the same needs. The need for effective counter-drone solutions outstrips the need for more drones.

Observations and Opportunities in Defence

September was DSEI, October was AUSA, European Defence Week, and other events. These events have made two things clear for the West:

• We need more speed — crucial and non-negotiable in the world we’re in today. Both in capability delivery and decision-making.

• We need more secure supply chains — a bottleneck that needs addressing. Without this, reliable, resilient scaling up of capability is not possible.

  • This isn’t only for physical manufacturing, but cyber domain as well. E.g. North Korea has been targeting the European defence and UAV sector in cyber-espionage.

Speed and security result from implementing the right policy, regulations, and procurement processes. Governments need these to buy fast.

Companies need capability (skills and funding) to scale fast. With the increasing demand, here are my top five areas of opportunities within defence:

1. Counter-drone and counter-UXV tech — ‘bot-on-bot’ warfare is becoming a reality and the norm.

2. Stealth-capable drones and unmanned vehicles — demand driven by the wave of counter-drone tech.

3. Advanced manufacturing — ensure the supply chain can meet integrators, OEMs, and primes’ demands.

4. Powertrains and propulsion — piston engines, gas turbines, DC motors, rocket motors, etc.

5. Software and hardware for AI and autonomy to enable ‘bot-on-bot’ warfare

(The silent sixth: space-based capability. But that’s for another day)

None of this is surprising.

It is confirmation of the trend becoming the norm. Companies should leverage these opportunities for their growth.

What’s More:

Organised crime gangs in the UK are deploying “super-drones” capable of carrying tens of kilograms, raising fears of drone-facilitated prison breaks.

Stark Defence reportedly missed all four of its attempted drone strike tests in a recent proving round.

The UK and Ukraine agreed to jointly produce thousands of Octopus-100 interceptor combat drones, and more than 85,000 military drones have been delivered by the UK to Ukraine in just six months

Altitude Angel entered administration, putting the UK’s drone UTM and operator services at risk.

The Metro Police launched a new drone programme aimed at improving public safety in London.

Russia converted American-made Cessna aircraft into low-cost anti-drone fighters.

The Pentagon is leaning on government-owned, commercially operated (known as GOCO) satellites to mitigate risks amid geopolitical conflicts.

The European Commission is considering inviting Ukraine to join Europe’s GovSatCom secure satellite communications platform.

Iridium has dropped its $1 billion 2030 service revenue goal in light of SpaceX’s push for direct-to-device connectivity.

Europe confirmed its “European Space Shield” defence programme will become operational by 2026.

SpaceX successfully completed its 11th Starship test flight.

India’s HAL will build the Sukhoi Superjet 100 locally under a new industrial tie-up.

Sweden is supplying Gripen fighters to Ukraine in a defence deal supporting Kyiv’s air power.

EHang launched an AAM Sandbox initiative in Thailand to accelerate eVTOL operations in Southeast Asia.

Archer Aviation acquired Lilium’s patent portfolio.

Boeing is preparing to increase production of its 737 MAX to 42 aircraft per month following the FAA’s decision to reinstate limited certification authority.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adit is the founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy and business development consulting firm specialising in helping companies grow faster in aerospace, defence, and space sectors.

Get in touch with Adit via LinkedIn.

Welcome to Q4 2025.

Lots defence related activities in September. Let’s get started.

Europe’s Drone Wall

In early September, NATO fighter jets shoot down Russian drones violating Polish airspace. Later in the month, Copenhagen and other Danish airports and military sites saw drone incursions, prompting five-day civilian drone flights ban. Flights out of Munich airport cancelled due to drone sightings. NATO warships from Germany reported military drone sightings near Danish waters. These events have been attributed to potential Russian hybrid operations testing Europe’s airspace defences.

In response, the EU is fast-tracking a “Drone Wall” – a continent-wide system of sensors, electronic warfare tools, and autonomous interceptors. The initiative integrates AI-driven radar and optical detection, RF monitoring, jamming modules, and drone interceptors, aiming to provide continuous coverage along vulnerable frontiers.

The opportunity for businesses — startups and large primes alike — will be providing sensors and systems that can be easily integrated and supplied at scale. Fancy tech with AI-this and AI-that is great, but the key will be scalability and speed of the Drone Wall. This initiative should accelerate procurement and standardisation of counter-UAS solutions used within NATO and the EU.

In-Orbit Servicing: A Fundamental Tool for Militaries

Germany’s Defence Minister revealed that Russian satellites are shadowing German space assets. Later, the Head of UK Space Command mentioned that UK’s military satellites are being targeted by Russia on a weekly basis.

Germany also announced a €35Bn ($41Bn) investment in space capabilities over the next five years. It’s likely that other nations will announce similar plans. Space is now an integral part of a country’s defence strategies, along with drones, autonomous systems, and digital /cyber technologies.

In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (ISAM) and Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) are slowly becoming the norm. What happened in September might just be the catalyst that accelerates the ISAM /RPO segment of the space sector.

Earlier in September, UK Space Command and US Space Command conducted their first joint military operation in space by performing an RPO to assess the status of the UK’s SKYNET 5A communications satellite.

While majority of Germany’s announced investment in space capabilities will likely focus on ISR, communications, and cybersecurity, orbital soft-kill, hard-kill, and in-orbit manipulation capabilities will become an increasingly important part of this.

The recent UK-US joint RPO to assess the status of the UK’s Skynet 5A comms satellite is a great example of this. The US and China have also been showing off their capabilities to monitor each other’s space assets.

In all of this, ISAM and RPO are emerging as fast-growing space market segments. Germany, Europe, and the world will increasingly invest in space defence, with space robotics and autonomy as key enablers.

Just as drones created a market for counter-drone interceptors, ground and space-based ASAT (anti-satellite) weapons and other hard-kill interception capabilities will become a big part of space defence.

Point—to—Point: Anywhere on Earth in under an hour

Hypersonics and re-entry physics have long been the domain of ICBMs and orbital vehicles, but now Earth-to-Earth space travel is seemingly gaining traction—driven largely by defence.

Some time ago, in reference to Starship, Musk has framed the concept as “anywhere on Earth in under an hour” using Starship. Blue Origin and Anduril Industries secured contracts to explore rapid rocket-based military cargo delivery. The goal: move supplies anywhere in the world faster than conventional transport, potentially reshaping logistics and battlefield readiness.

Companies developing advanced materials, reusable launch vehicles, in-orbit servicing, guidance systems, and rapid re-entry technologies stand to benefit long term. Keep an eye on this. Beyond defence, breakthroughs here could spin off into commercial cargo, emergency response, and even time-sensitive manufacturing.

What’s More:

Reports of Boeing exploring concepts for a next-generation narrow-body jet to replace the 737-MAX have been denied by Boeing, calling them “misleading”.

Beta Technologies has filed for an IPO on the NYSE to fund its electric aircraft and charging systems.

The EU pledged €6 billion to boost Ukraine’s domestic drone production capacity.

Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Anduril are all in line to produce conceptual designs for the Navy’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program

In the UK, TEKEVER opens a new Swindon facility and Quantum Systems invests €50 million for UK expansion, the Royal Navy brings new logistics and ISR (Scheibel drones into service, and efforts to deploy British-made FPV “kamikaze” drones remain stalled by MoD procurement delays.

Looking eastwards, China is co-developing military UAVs with sanctioned Russian firm IEMZ Kupol, converting old J-6 fighters into supersonic drones, and unveiling new stealth designs like the “Type B” and a tailless unmanned fighter. Chinese eVTOL maker EHang is expanding China’s civil aerospace reach with the upcoming launch of its long-range VT35.

Out of India, ideaForge’s Q6 V2 UAV receives a NATO stock number, India accelerates its indigenous Tejas Mk1A fighter deliveries to replace aging MiG-21s, and moves forward with bids for its next-generation AMCA stealth fighter with seven firms competing.

Joby Aviation, Skyports, and RAKTA plan to launch an air taxi network in Ras Al Khaimah by 2027, and Joby demonstrates autonomous “SuperPilot” flights during a U.S. defense exercise.

In space, China and the U.S. are laying groundwork for low-Earth-orbit traffic control after a near-collision incident, while Avio secured a €40 million ESA contract to design a reusable upper stage. In Europe, investment firm Seraphim launched a Berlin subsidiary and Planet Labs plans major investment in a new satellite production site there. Meanwhile, SpaceX readies tests of its direct-to-device spectrum service and Musk says Starship will begin launching 100 tons to orbit next year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adit is the founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy business development consulting firm specialising in helping companies grow faster in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. Get in touch via LinkedIn if you need help growing faster.

Welcome to the August edition of the BLOS newsletter!

As we roll into September fall season, it’s back to work and back to school.

A quick note: if you’re at DSEI UK next week in London, drop me a message if you’d like to meet.

UK Defence: Simplicity and Scalability needed

In June 2025, the UK Government published its Strategic Defence Review report. Report talks about spending billions on nuclear weapons programs, autonomous systems, directed energy weapons, munitions, and more. It also intends to increase defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, and 3% of GDP by the next parliament.

A couple of weeks ago, British politician and ex-NATO chief George Robertson warned that the defence push will be ‘painful’ for the UK. Given the state of the UK’s sluggish economic growth, decreasing productivity and ongoing domestic issues, he’s right. Where is the funding going to come from?

It is also recognised that the UK MoD procurement processes need to be faster, UK primes need to work better with SMEs, and the country also needs to address the widening skills gap.

In addition to this, there’s another fundamental issue that doesn’t get talked about at roundtables and conferences: we give too much importance to R&D and developing fancy new tech. Yes, funding AI, quantum, and other new tech is needed. But funding simple, scalable systems and technologies that can be rapidly mass produced is more important.

Simple, scalable, mass produced systems provide cost-effectiveness and economies of scale upon which complexity (i.e. new technologies) can be implemented. To take an adversary’s example — since 2022, Russia has managed to lower the production cost of its Shahed drones from $370k to $70k. Russia is now starting to implement AI into these drones using smuggled Nvidia chips.

Simple and scalable first to enable economies of scale, then add the complexity of new technologies. This can also help address the widening skills gap in the country.

Here is some analysis based on a hypothetical exercise I published in Jan 2025:

Joby x Blade: A Signal of Adolescence?

Joby completed its acquisition of Blade Air Mobility’s passenger flight services business. While aircraft manufacturers don’t generally also operate aircraft, this is a nascent market segment. Joby, Archer, and a few others intend to operate their own aircraft as well as sell to selected parties. This will allow them to own the value chain as the market matures.

This isn’t new. In 1929, Boeing Aircraft Co merged with Pratt & Whitney to form United Aircraft and Transport Co. This was to control all facets of the aviation market — from engine and aircraft manufacturing to airline operations.

Interesting move from Joby, and a smart one, given Blade’s already established customer base in regions such as NY and South Europe. Once certified, this will provide Joby with a catalyst for growing its commercial operations, and revenues.

While Joby’s acquisition of Blade isn’t history repeating the same Boeing x Pratt & Whitney merger story word for word, it does rhyme. It is a sign of adolescence as the market matures.

Success of Starship IFT-10 and Megaconstellations

SpaceX successfully completed Starship’s IFT-10 (integrated flight test 10) and deployed mock Starlink satellites. Great news after a string of failures.

Falcon 9’s reusability has been a game changer for the space sector. SpaceX already has a ridiculously larger launch cadence (thanks partially to Starlink) compared to anyone else in the space sector. It is on track to complete 170 launches in 2025. Just last week, Falcon 9 also completed 30th flight using the same booster and completed 400th booster landing on drone ship.

One thing of note: megaconstellation operators like OneWeb of Kuiper aren’t just competing with Starlink, they are also competing with Starship development timelines and Falcon 9 launch cadence. Once Starship is operational, it will be able to carry 5-7x more Starlink satellites than Falcon 9, at a cheaper per unit cost, and able to replenish its constellation for peanuts (relatively speaking).

Starlink is already profitable, while its competitors are either making a loss (e.g. OneWeb as part of Eutelsat) or aren’t fully operational yet (e.g. Amazon Kuiper).

What’s More:

The UK’s NISTA has rated the Tempest/GCAP sixth-generation fighter programme “RED” due to its complexity and challenges. Measures are underway to address them and the project is not considered doomed.

Spain has decided against purchasing U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and is now choosing between the European-made Eurofighter and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

India finalises design for its 5th gen fighter jet — Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and aiming for prototype rollout by 2027.

South Korea’s Navy Sea GHOST initiative will build drone aircraft carriers by the late 2030s, creating a fleet where manned and unmanned systems operate together using advanced UAVs for defence and attack.

Two relatively new Airbus A321neos leased to IndiGo are being scrapped because their parts, especially engines, are more valuable amid supply chain shortages and aircraft backlogs.

Following a similar U.S. policy, Taiwan will classify small drones as “consumables” to speed up procurement, boost local industry collaboration, and allow rapid deployment in future conflicts.

Pentagon’s Golden Dome will have a 4-layer defence system: a space-based sensing and targeting layer, three land-based layers, and a new large missile field in the Midwest. The system is estimated to cost 175 billion.

Rocket Lab has opened Launch Complex 3 in Virginia to support testing, launches, and recovery of its reusable Neutron rocket, which can carry 13,000kg to space.

From April 2026, UK Space Agency will be absorbed into the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adit is the founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique commercial and strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies grow faster in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. Get in touch via LinkedIn.

Lots has happened in the aerospace, defence, and space sectors in July. Lets focus on these three:

1. BAE half-year results

2. European CCAs (or the lack thereof)

3. Small European Launchers

BAE Systems’ Half-Year Results

Ignoring this badly photoshopped image of the GCAP 6th Gen Fighter Jet over Houses of Parliament, BAE Systems had a decent month — Türkiye and UK announced MOU to purchase 40 Typhoon jets, successfully completed a trial launching precision munitions from its Malloy T-150 UAS, and announced strong half-year results.

BAE Systems’ results boast big numbers — a 9% organic growth in sales, £75.4bn order backlog, and £180bn in pipeline (forecast) with a timeframe of 2035+.

Take forecasts like the 10+ year pipeline of £180bn with a handful of low-sodium salt, because the underlying assumptions aren’t visible. 10-years isn’t a long time in aerospace and defence, but for the thousands of SMEs and large suppliers that BAE Systems buys from in the UK and abroad, that number doesn’t mean much.

Instead, if you are part of the BAE Systems supply chain, align with the underlying trends that are visible — defence spending rising globally, militaries focusing on developing and procuring autonomous systems, AI, and cyber/EW.

Even though Typhoon production is almost grinding to a halt, Typhoon related developments, upgrades, and MRO related activities will likely grow to keep those aircraft flying. As an example, BAE Systems partnered with Avioniq to bring AI-driven live threat mapping to Typhoon.

European CCAs (or the lack thereof)

Small quadrotor drones and fixed-wing eVTOLs are quickly commoditising. CCAs are the “next big thing”. They are an integral part of the ‘system of systems’ philosophy that is starting to become the new norm for warfighters.

The US, with the YFQ-42A (General Atomics) and the YFQ-44A (Anduril) already in ground testing with maiden flights later this year and be operational by 2030.

Europe and UK don’t have many indigenous options. An updated Dassault nEUROn (first flew in 2012) was showcased at the Paris Air Show earlier this year, with a planned EIS in 2033 — a few years later than the US CCA platforms. BAE Systems unveiled two concepts in 2022. Nothing has been heard since.

Europe will be considering the US platforms. Partnerships have formed — Anduril x Rheinmetall offer Fury, Airbus D&S x Kratos offer Valkyrie, and Boeing looking for a European partner for Ghostbat. Italy is also considering the Turkish Kızılelma.

In the UK, the MOD has already introduced Tekever’s AR3 as Stormshroud Mk1 in operations as collaborative platforms to support F-35B Lightning and Typhoon, and have just launched tranche two of their ‘loyal wingman’ programme.

The point is — Europe is behind in developing CCAs, and the void will likely be filled by non-Europeans players through partnerships.

Small European Launchers

In early July, ESA selected 5 companies for its ’s European Launcher Challenge (ELC). ELC’s aim is to provide launch services to ESA between 2026 and 2030 and demonstrate upgraded launch capabilities. Each company will get up to €168mn.

The 5 companies selected are Isar Aerospace, MaiaSpace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, PLD Space, and Orbex.

ESA is trying to go with the funding model that has worked well for the US, and that’s great. European sovereign launch capability is essential. The challenge is, the funding still has to be approved by the member states of these companies’ location.

Additionally, developing launchers is expensive — to date, only 1 of 5 of these companies (Isar Aerospace) has raised more than €500mn. By comparison, Firefly Aerospace has raised $589mn.

That’s not to say funding is everything — Rocket Lab had only raised somewhere around $148mn to get to first flight.

Overall, relying on ESA and European customers as the main market is not a sustainable business model for European launch providers. Globally, the launch market is very competitive, and increasingly becoming more cost-competitive as launch becomes a ‘commodity’.

Initiatives like ESA’s ELC are great, but they are a few years too late.

What’s more:

New U.S.–EU trade agreement shields aircraft, engines and aerospace parts from newly imposed 15% tariffs on most EU goods, preserving a zero‑tariff regime essential to the aerospace supply chain.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance" directive aims to rapidly expand the Pentagon's drone arsenal through procurement overhauls, increased domestic production, and widespread integration into military training, with specific deadlines to achieve drone superiority by 2027.

China's AutoFlight CarryAll became the first two‑tonne eVTOL aircraft in the world to receive full airworthiness certification.

Joby Aviation is quietly testing a hydrogen‑powered autonomous UAV called the JAI 30, which flew for over nine hours during a test at Pendleton UAS Range — without public disclosure by Joby.

Regent launched a new military-focused division to build hybrid ground‑effect seaglider vehicles for the U.S. Marines, while China revealed photos of its own large four‑jet “Bohai Sea Monster” ekranoplan.

India’s probe into the June 12 Air India crash found both engine fuel switches were moved to “CUTOFF” after takeoff, causing engine failure, with no fault yet confirmed.

SES exceeded Q2 forecasts thanks to rising European defense spending, strong government deals including a €690M contract, and momentum from its Intelsat acquisition.

Australia’s first domestically built orbital rocket, the Eris by Gilmour Space Technologies, crashed just 14 seconds later in a planned data‑gathering test that left engines, systems, and launch infrastructure intact.

Gen. Michael Guetlein, newly confirmed to lead the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative, has been ordered to deliver a full architecture and implementation blueprint within 60 days, with the goal of a U.S. homeland missile defence system operational in about three years.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adit is the founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies grow faster in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, get in touch via LinkedIn.

Last week was the Paris Air Show.

With each passing year, the number of drone OEMs and drone component manufacturers have been increasing. The Paris Air Show was no different.

Here are 3 takeaways related to the drone industry from the Paris Air Show.

#1 More Autonomy, More AI

This is obvious. From spreadsheets to cars, everything is now AI-enabled, and companies that don’t leverage AI are not innovating. While that may be an exaggeration, it’s not far from the truth. More and more companies are marketing AI-enabled autonomy and swarm capabilities to AI-led engineering, manufacturing, and everything in between. Some of it is hot air, but a lot of it are starting to become genuine use cases with potentially game-changing results.

#2 More Internal Combustion

Drones have become an essential part of militaries and government agencies. When the general public think of drones, they think of a battery-powered multi-rotor (usually a quad-rotor) drone like a DJI. Some with some knowledge know of MQ-9s and the like. With proliferation of drones, there is a huge range and sizes of drones available, from quad-rotors to fighter-jet size drones. All of this means there is a persistent (and growing) need for turbofan, turboprop, and piston engines specific for drones. More suppliers are being seen marketing small internal combustion (IC) propulsion systems specifically developed for drones.

#3 More Composite Materials

As drones become more larger, faster, and more complex, the materials needs significantly change. As larger drones (class 2 and larger) proliferate, mass savings become paramount. 1 kg of mass saved in the airframe (or elsewhere) can be used for payload. Composites and advanced materials are now starting to play a larger role as drone systems become larger and faster. Several composite materials manufacturers are starting to play an important role in the sector.

Some pictures from the show:

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Ukraine has secured $43 billion this year to supercharge its domestic defence industry, and is rapidly developing domestic interceptor drones to shoot down Russian Shahed kamikaze swarms.

Airbus has completed assembly of its first SIRTAP tactical drone prototype in Getafe, Spain, and it’s now entering ground tests. A maiden flight expected by the end of 2025.

Airbus spinoff Aalto will fly its solar-powered Zephyr “pseudo-satellite” over the Mediterranean this summer to help France monitor and operate in the stratosphere as a new military domain.

AeroVironment’s ship-deployable JUMP 20 VTOL drone spent six months operating with the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet during Operation Southern Spear—providing fully autonomous, hands-free maritime surveillance.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is developing a new export‑compliant small UAS—dubbed “PELE” debuted at the 2025 Paris Air Show.

Invariant Corporation successfully conducted a live-fire, ship‑mounted demonstration of its STAKE surface-to-air system to intercept unmanned aerial targets from a moving naval vessel.

Bluelight

Louisiana has become the first U.S. state to empower local police—under the new “We Will Act” law—to intercept and disable drones posing credible threats near schools, events, or critical infrastructure using both kinetic and non-kinetic tools.

Commercial

Delair has launched the DT61—a heavy-lift, VTOL-capable fixed-wing drone with over seven hours of endurance, 100 km communication range, and a 15 kg payload.

Partnerships

France’s Ministry of Armed Forces and Airbus Helicopters (with Naval Group) have signed a framework agreement to equip French Navy frigates with the VSR700 UAS.

General Atomics is partnering with Saab to outfit its MQ‑9B drone family—including SkyGuardian, SeaGuardian, Protector, and a carrier-capable STOL variant—with Saab’s podded airborne early warning sensors.

Anduril Industries and Rheinmetall have teamed up to produce European versions of Anduril’s autonomous drones—Barracuda and Fury—and explore joint production of solid rocket motors.

Thales and Boreal have joined forces to develop a new long‑range loitering munition.

Quantum Systems and Airbus Defence & Space have teamed up (along with AI startup Spleenlab) under Germany’s KITU 2 research program to develop and trial AI-driven swarms of tactical eVTOL drones.

DroneSense and Parrot have partnered to deliver an ultra-secure, NDAA‑compliant “Blue UAS” drone solution.

Apian has partnered with Matternet to expand the NHS’s London-area drone delivery network.

Thales has partnered with Skydweller Aero to build a solar‑powered, Boeing 747‑size drone equipped with Thales’ AI‑powered AirMaster S radar capable of flying continuously for weeks or months.

Money Matters

Contracts

American Robotics: received a purchase order from a major U.S. urban public safety agency for its Kestrel counter‑UAS system (amount undisclosed).

Investment and M&A

Red Cat Holdings has raised $46.75 million through a direct stock offering to fund its newly launched maritime drone (Unmanned Surface Vessel) division.

AERIUM Analytics has acquired all assets of The Drone Bird Company (Clear Flight Solutions B.V.) to better serve aviation, agriculture, energy, and wildlife management sectors.

Recommended Reading this Week

Top 100 Drone Defense Companies in 2025

Le Bourget—A Subdued But Substantial Paris Air Show

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their growth in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

It’s been a busy week(end) preparing for the Paris Air Show, so today’s newsletter is vanilla. Just covering the news headlines. Enjoy, have a great week, and let me know if you’re around at the Paris Air Show.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Russia launched a record 479 drones and 20 missiles, with Ukraine intercepting most and limiting damage. They have also deployed a new AI-powered “kamikaze” drone near Sumy, Ukraine, using Western tech parts despite sanctions.

France is discussing drone production with Renault to support Ukraine’s defence efforts against Russia.

Poland is becoming a key hub for Anduril’s AI-enabled combat drones to strengthen NATO’s defences.

Australian firm DroneShield is opening a European factory to boost local counter-drone tech amid rising demand.

Airbus Helicopters introduced HTeaming, allowing crews to control drones from helicopters to enhance missions.

The UK MOD’s Project VOLLEY aims to launch five drones quickly from vans, focusing on stealth and ease of use.

Quantum Systems opened a large US facility to accelerate AI-powered drone production for North and Latin America.

South Korea revealed a drone carrier that launches unmanned air, surface, and underwater vehicles.

Taiwan requested India’s D4 anti-drone system to counter growing drone threats from China using advanced tech.

Bluelight

European gangs increasingly use drones and trains to smuggle illegal cigarettes.

Commercial

China’s export controls have doubled drone component prices, pushing buyers worldwide to seek alternative supply chains.

Altitude Angel patented ARROW, a ground-based system enabling safer, cost-effective drone flights beyond visual line of sight.

Zipline received FAA approval to fly drones BVLOS nationwide, expanding its medical and retail delivery services.

Partnerships

Wingcopter partners with Ansys to improve drone design and increase flight range for medical deliveries.

UK firms Cambridge Pixel and OpenWorks developed a new AI-powered counter-drone system for police forces across Europe.

Leonardo and Baykar launched LBA Systems, a new UAV joint venture showcasing advanced drone tech at the Paris Air Show.

Money Matters

Contracts

General Atomics: signed the UK PASS contract with the UK MOD to support and maintain the RAF’s Protector RG Mk1 drones as they move into full operational use.

Skyways: secured a $37 million U.S. Air Force contract to mass-produce its V3 autonomous cargo drone, designed for long-range military and commercial logistics.

Aeronautics Ltd: secured $50+ million in contracts to supply its Orbiter 4 drones.

L3Harris: secured a US contract to provide VAMPIRE counter-drone systems that turn vehicles into rapid-defence units.

Investment and M&A

Unusual Machines is acquiring Rotor Lab in a $7 million deal to boost drone motor production with dual facilities in the U.S. and Australia.

Subscribe now

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their growth in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

Last week, the UK Government published its 2025 Strategy Defence Review (SDR) policy paper. It highlights why UK defence needs to transform in the increasingly volatile and uncertain world, the role of defence, how to fight, the allies and partners, and the capabilities with which it needs to fight.

The report makes 62 recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the government.

There is a clear (unsurprising) focus on uncrewed and autonomous systems and a recognition that they are redefining warfare.

Here are the key points from the SDR to pay attention to for the drone industry:

1. Shift towards greater use of autonomous systems and AI as an immediate priority for force transformation.

   1. “exploit the parallel development of a common digital foundation, a protected Defence AI Investment Fund, and an initial operating capability for a new Defence Uncrewed Systems Centre established by February 2026.”

   2. “Uncrewed and autonomous systems should be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years. They should be networked with crewed fifth- and sixth-generation assets as part of a ‘high-low’ mix of capabilities…“

2. Recognition of ‘Digital Integration' in developing a force dominated by AI, uncrewed, and autonomous systems. This means “Embracing open architectures and shared technical standards, from standardised drone hardware ports, to universal communications and AI protocols.“

3. Create an ‘Integrated Force Model’ that “is more lethal than the sum of its parts and skilled in warfare in different forms.”. This would be through the digital targeting web informed by lessons from Ukraine. Here is an illustration of the ‘digital targeting web’ part of the Integrated Force Model from the report:

4. NAVY: “…the Royal Navy should engage with commercial partners—including private finance—and other Governments to rapidly deliver an integrated frigate force for anti-submarine warfare, comprising crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms.“

5. ARMY: “Autonomous and uncrewed (land and aerial) systems are now an essential component of land warfare, integrated with core armoured platforms in a dynamic ‘high-low’ mix of capability. A ‘20-40-40’ mix is likely to be necessary: 20% crewed platforms to control 40% ‘reusable’ platforms (such as drones that survive repeated missions), and 40% ‘consumables’ such as rockets, shells, missiles, and ‘one-way effector’ drones. Investment in attack and surveillance drones should be prioritised, along with counter-drone systems.“

6. AIR FORCE: “To assure the future of UK combat air, investment in autonomous collaborative platforms (ACPs) should be considered alongside investment in FCAS and the Global Combat Air Programme. The ACPs must be designed to operate in collaboration with the fourth-, fifth- and future generations of combat aircraft and to operate from the UK aircraft carriers.“

7. Multi-domain integration: Project ASGARD to enhance the Army’s ability to find and destroy enemy targets. “It will fully integrate surveillance capabilities (including cyber and space) with firepower (such as artillery, long-range missiles, aircraft, and single-use uncrewed aerial systems) via the digital targeting web.”

8. Protecting Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) onshore, offshore, and in space: while the report recognises a more substantive body of work needs to be carried out on CNI, it is obvious that counter drone systems will be part of that solution for onshore and offshore CNI protection. Novel Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) have also been mentioned as a key focus area long with ‘EW jammers’ as part of ‘CyberEM’ (Cyber and ElectroMagnetic) domain.

Recommended Reading section at the end of this newsletter has some good commentary on thoughts on the 2025 UK SDR from various experts.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

On June 1, Ukraine launched Operation "Spiderweb," deploying 117 AI-powered drones to strike five Russian airbases, destroying dozens of bombers and dealing an estimated $7 billion in damage.

Ukraine is forming new air defence units and expanding electronic warfare training to counter massive drone attacks, including a recent record-breaking assault involving 472 drones.

Ukraine’s new AI-powered “Sky Sentinel” turret is already proving effective by automatically spotting and shooting down Shahed drones. In recent tests, a single unit downed six drones and costs just $150,000.

The UK pledged £350 million to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by 2026, alongside artillery support and troop training funds.

Latvia announced that Turkey and Belgium will join the 20-member Drone Coalition, which has pledged €2.75 billion in 2025 to support Ukraine with technology and joint procurement.

Russia has introduced a national drone curriculum for 8th and 9th graders, aiming to train one million operators by 2030 across more than 500 schools and 30 colleges.

Israel’s Iron Beam laser system became the world’s first operational high-energy laser weapon, effectively intercepting drones, rockets, and mortars in combat.

The Royal Navy successfully integrated a Puma drone with a crewed helicopter, marking a key advancement in hybrid maritime air operations.

France has deployed mobile micro-factories near the front lines to produce FPV drones on demand, boosting tactical flexibility and reducing supply chain reliance.

The U.S. Air Force has equipped F-15E jets with APKWS II rockets, enabling each aircraft to engage up to 50 drones per mission at significantly lower cost.

The UK announced a £5 billion investment in advanced drones and laser weapons, including plans to deploy the DragonFire laser on naval destroyers by 2027.

Bluelight

San Francisco is expanding citywide drone surveillance with a $9.4 million donation from Ripple’s co-founder.

Hong Kong police are using drones with loudspeakers and autonomous patrols to deter rural crime, raising questions about surveillance overreach.

Commercial

Walmart and Wing are expanding their drone delivery service to 100 stores in major U.S. cities, promising deliveries in under 19 minutes to millions of households.

Japanese researchers have developed a wireless energy beam that powers drones mid-flight without interfering with their onboard equipment, extending mission durations.

Portugal’s Marina de Lagos will become the first in the country to adopt Altitude Angel’s drone approval platform, enabling near-instant flight authorizations via Drone Assist and DroneSafetyMap.

Policy and Regulations

President Trump signed executive orders to fast-track U.S. drone innovation, strengthen airspace security, and reduce dependence on foreign technology. DJI has responded to these, expressing support for U.S. drone innovation and regulation improvements like Remote ID and BVLOS capabilities.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reintroduced the DFR Act, proposing tariffs on Chinese drones and funding for U.S.-made alternatives to secure critical infrastructure.

Partnerships

Nokia is leading an EU initiative with partners like Nvidia to develop autonomous drones and robots that protect vital infrastructure across land, sea, and air.

GE Aerospace and Kratos are partnering on affordable jet engines for next-gen unmanned aircraft.

Alpha Unmanned Systems and Airbus Helicopters España are teaming up to integrate tactical drones with manned missions.

Money Matters

Contracts

Terra Industries (Nigeria): won a $1.2 million deal to provide aerial security for two hydropower plants using autonomous drones and surveillance towers.

Xplorate (Australia): secured a contract (amount undisclosed) to inspect long-range gas pipelines using BVLOS drone operations, integrating AI to predict maintenance needs and extend infrastructure lifespan.

Vigilant Aerospace Systems (US): selected by the U.S. Air Force under the $46B EWAAC program to supply its FlightHorizon detect-and-avoid software for safer, autonomous drone operations.

SmartShooter (Israel): secured a $13 million U.S. Army contract to deliver AI-powered SMASH 2000L rifle-mounted systems for enhanced drone and ground threat targeting.

Picogrid (US): received a $1.1 million U.S. Army contract to deploy its Legion platform, which fuses data from legacy and modern military systems into battlefield tools like TAK.

General Atomics (US): won an $8.2 million U.S. Air Force contract to arm Spain’s MQ-9A Reaper drones under the Foreign Military Sales program, and a $34.9 million Navy contract to supply spare parts for MQ-9 Reapers and ground control stations, supporting U.S. Marine unmanned operations.

Investment and M&A

Drone detection startup Hidden Level raised $100 million to expand production of its passive radar tech, which detects both traditional and stealth drones for military and public safety use.

Recommended Reading this Week

Some thoughts on the UK 2025 Strategic Defence Review from elsewhere on the net:

Strategic Defence Review signals change, but without troops, nukes or funds, it's just words

The UK Strategic Defence Review lays out an ambitious roadmap for reform. Will the government deliver?

War plan or wish list – The UK Strategic Defence Review (audio podcast)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their growth in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

Something different today than usual (because variety is the spice of life).

Capability (i.e. technology /innovation) development is often given too much importance. Don’t get me wrong — it is very important and should not be ignored. But it’s not everything.

Way too many drone industry start-ups focus on developing new technologies and features in the name of ‘innovation’, ‘cutting edge’, ‘disruption’, <insert clichés here>.

Design for scalability. Not just the product or technology, but the business too. How?

In my childhood friend Baloo’s words:

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities

Focus on the bare necessities.

Focus on being f**king good at 1-2 things that really matter (i.e. bare necessities) and build a simpler product, a simpler business. Simplicity is scalable — faster, better, cheaper.

Scaling up unlocks economies of scale. Economies of scale lowers costs and increases profits, which can be re-invested into building more capabilities without having to fully rely on life-support. Life-support is money from grants, seed, VCs, etc.

The goal of any start-up is (or should be) to get off life-support ASAP, or not need it in the first place (ideal but not always practical). Businesses that focus on the bare necessities can scale faster.

Scalability is a super power and a competitive advantage.

On a tangential note:

I wrote about cost vs capability of drones in warfare. Here’s the article if you haven’t read it yet:

From the defence point of view, scalability (and cost effectiveness) of drone production is key. Swarm sizes are increasing to near ridiculous numbers.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Ukraine has deployed the AI-powered Sky Sentinel turret to automatically shoot down incoming drones, and a newly introduced Ukrainian handheld anti-drone pistol jams enemy drone signals up to 100 meters, improving frontline electronic warfare.

Russian operators are now controlling Shahed drones via Telegram bots and Ukrainian networks, making them harder to jam and more capable thanks to AI enhancements.

The Kremlin staged a fake drone attack on Putin’s helicopter to boost his wartime image, The Moscow Times found.

Russia has repurposed its Dan-M target drone into a fast, short-range strike UAV, and old Russian Yak-52 trainer planes are being converted into low-cost drone hunters.

Iran unveiled three new VTOL drones — Homa, Dideban, and Shahin-1 — for reconnaissance and kamikaze missions.

Türkiye successfully tested its jet-powered carrier drone, Bayraktar Kızılelma PT-4.

Canada’s Roshel introduced a counter-drone version of its Senator vehicle, using UK tech to protect against drone swarms and airborne threats.

India installed an anti-drone system at the Taj Mahal that detects threats up to 8 km away and blocks unauthorised drones near the monument.

Policy and Regulations

Donald Trump is planning executive orders to block Chinese drone makers like DJI from U.S. markets, citing national security risks and aiming to boost domestic drone production.

Partnerships

Flytrex and Wing launched a coordinated drone delivery system in Dallas, using shared flight paths to improve safety and scale future operations.

Aloft and UAS Sentry have teamed up to add real-time drone detection to public safety tools, streamlining airspace monitoring and threat response.

Money Matters

Contracts

NV5: a $10 million contract from North Carolina’s DOT to use drones and LiDAR for creating detailed 3D maps that will improve infrastructure planning.

QinetiQ US: a $41 million deal to boost the U.S. Army’s counter-drone systems with integrated sensors and tracking technologies.

SmartShooter: a $13 million U.S. Army contract to supply its AI-enabled SMASH rifle sights for precise targeting of drones and ground threats.

Elsight: a $9.63 million expanded deal with a European defence drone manufacturer to supply secure BVLOS communication tech for unmanned systems.

General Atomics: a $99.3 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop the GHOST, a hybrid-electric drone for surveillance and strike missions.

General Atomics is also in negotiations with Saudi Arabia to purchase up to 200 MQ-9 drones as part of a $142 billion defence package.

Investment and M&A

Motorola Solutions is acquiring Silvus Technologies for $4.4 billion to strengthen its secure wireless communications used in military and counter-drone operations.

Recommended Reading this Week

Allies are more than customers of America’s defense industrial base. They can help rebuild it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their growth in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

This is part 3 of 3 for breakdown of strategies to navigate China’s rare earth elements (REEs) export controls. Read parts 1 and 2 here:

Last but not least, let’s look at “buyback schemes”.

Part 3: Buyback Programs

Buyback programs are the enabler reuse and recycle, we already covered in part-2 of this series. Putting in place these programs encourages customers to return equipment. Some drone re-sellers already offer trade-in and buyback programs.

For example, some drone resellers like RMUS offer a trade-in through their “Fleet Renewal” program paying users hundreds of dollars for old drones like DJI Phantom or Mavic. These programs both upgrade the user’s equipment and reclaim the old parts for the company. Manufacturers and component providers can work with companies like RMUS to implement buyback programs.

Overall, depending on where you are in the value chain, consider these steps:

#1 Trade-In Incentives

Offer discounts or credit when customers return old drones. This might be a direct cash rebate, a discount on next-gen models, or additional service contracts. For instance, a police department upgrading a drone fleet could get $500 credit per old unit turned in. Even if the credit is smaller than retail value, the program can be used to secure the rare-earth components by working with the upstream supply chain.

#2 Lease and Refurb Programs

Instead of one-way sales, lease drones for a service fee. When the lease term ends, the company gets the equipment back automatically for redeployment or recycling — similar in some ways to car leasing. Defence and enterprise drone programs often have maintenance and upgrade cycles built in; formalising this ensures no stray units clog the aftermarket.

#3 Warranties and Bulk Buys

Offer premium maintenance or upgrade plans that include equipment refreshes. If a customer is paying for a multi-year support contract, part of that fee could cover systematic hardware turnover. This way, the manufacturer recovers expensive components directly and in bulk.

These buyback loops create a steady feedstock for the reuse and recycling strategies in part-2. Collecting used parts internally is far more reliable than hoping to scavenge them later. It also gives companies more control over pricing: by recovering magnets and oxides themselves, they offset market volatility. In effect, the buyer’s old drone becomes a deposit.

Together, these strategies form a comprehensive approach: diversifying the supply chain tackles the problem at the source; reusing and recycling extends the material’s and component’s value; and buyback programs ensure nothing falls through the cracks. For drone designers and manufacturers, each tactic reinforces the others.

These all require the resellers and distributors, OEMs, component suppliers, and the upstream supply chain working together. The result of these is a stronger, more diversified, and a more sustainable supply chain. Regardless of the politics and China’s REE dominance, this is something the drone industry can benefit from.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Ukraine and Russia are increasingly using fiber-optic drones. Furthermore, Ukrainian drones are now equipped with metal "cope cages" to protect against enemy interceptors. Last week, Ukrainian drones hit a Russian Black Sea gas platform, destroying a radar system and depots.

China is preparing its massive Jiu Tian SS-UAV drone mothership—capable of deploying 100 drones over 4,350 miles.

To boost self-reliance, Taiwan is investing $212 million in domestic drone production and AI-powered systems free of Chinese components, while exploring European partnerships.

Raytheon has opened a facility in Abu Dhabi to locally assemble Coyote counter-drone systems.

Estonia’s Meridein Group to launch a facility by 2026 to produce up to 2,000 drones daily.

DARPA’s POWER program set a new record by wirelessly transmitting 800+ watts of laser power over 8.6 km.

General Atomics has begun ground tests for its YFQ-42A drone, which will fly alongside U.S. Air Force jets as part of its next-gen autonomous combat aircraft program.

The U.S. Air Force is developing air-launched "fighter drones" to assist manned jets in missions like surveillance and strikes, expanding the CCA program’s capabilities.

Mitsubishi and Yamaha tested a hybrid UAV carrying 200 kg over 200 km, designed to serve hard-to-reach regions and debuting at Japan Drone 2025.

Rohde & Schwarz’s ARDRONIS Wi-Fi system can identify, track, and neutralize Wi-Fi-controlled drones without disrupting other signals, ideal for use in sensitive public areas.

Commercial

The UK CAA has funded the nation’s first live demo of overlapping drone traffic systems, aiming to modernise airspace governance for commercial and emergency drone use.

DoorDash and Wing launched drone food delivery in Charlotte, NC, offering 15-minute deliveries from restaurants within a 4-mile radius.

Amazon is now FAA approved to deliver lithium battery products by drone in Arizona and Texas.

Policy and Regulations

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has revamped its Blue UAS program with a two-tier system to streamline the approval and deployment of secure, high-performance military drones.

MFE and Skydio received FAA approval for fully remote drone inspections using autonomous drones, setting a new standard for industrial operations.

Partnerships

Anduril and Archer are developing a hybrid eVTOL cargo aircraft for rapid, cost-effective deployment in military and civilian missions across the UK.

High Lander and INVOLI have teamed up to merge drone traffic management with real-time manned aircraft surveillance for safer BVLOS drone operations.

Aloft and uAvionix are integrating ADS-B tracking and optical detection into a unified platform to enhance BVLOS drone visibility and airspace safety.

Sagetech and MatrixSpace are building autonomous “detect and avoid” systems for drones using AI radar and certified safety tech to improve BVLOS safety in national airspace.

Money Matters

Contracts

DroneShield: $1M+ contract secured with an Australian law enforcement agency to deliver AI-powered counter-drone tools like the DroneGun Mk4.

Investment and M&A

John Deere has acquired Sentera to integrate its drone imaging and analytics tech into the Operations Center, enhancing precision agriculture and data-driven farming.

Recommended Reading this Week

CCA sticker shock: Coming soon to a congressional hearing near you?

What if our assumptions about a war with China are wrong?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, founder of Elantar, a UK-based boutique strategy consulting firm specialising in helping companies accelerate and de-risk their growth in aerospace, defence, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

This is part 2 of 3 for breakdown of strategies to navigate China’s rare earth elements (REEs) export controls. Last week, in part 1, we looked at supply chain diversification. you can read it again here:

This week, let’s look at “reuse and recycle”.

Reuse and Recycle

Once you’ve taken supply chain diversification as far as possible, reusing and recycling materials introduced in the supply chain make it more efficient.

For example, permanent magnets use neodymium (a REE) and are often used for electric motors and electronic parts. Being able to reuse components can ease supply chain pressure. Refurbished components can be used for non-critical applications, and new components can be used for critical applications.

In practice, this means 3 things.

#1 Salvage for reuse and recycle

When a drone is retired or at the end of life, salvage its motors, sensors and power electronics. These components can be tested for performance. If performance and condition meets a set criteria, it can be refurbished for reuse in repairs. By reconditioning bearings, re-coating magnets if needed, and balancing rotors, these “used” motors can fly again.

#2 Work with recycling plants

Salvaged components that don’t meet a set criteria can be sent for recycling. Recycled materials may not have the same level of performance, but still good enough for non-critical applications. Working with recycling plants as part of the supply chain is important for this.

#3 Design for modularity

Drones and drone components can be built for modularity. For example, motors can be designed to be easy to disassemble so that magnets can be salvaged and replaced easily. This makes reuse and recycle easier, cheaper, and more attractive. REEs are not lost, but salvaged and the supply chain gets more value out of them.

The Challenge

Challenges exist with reuse and recycling. Degradation and miniaturisation of components makes it difficult to disassemble components, and extracting REEs from alloys is not efficient.

The Opportunity

Reuse and Recycling is an opportunity for building better, more sustainable supply chains. It is bigger than REEs. Today's drone industry is not built with reusing and recycling in mind. However, initiatives like this and this do exist, that the drone industry should tap into and leverage.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

The UK has delivered eight innovative "FrankenSAM" Raven air defense systems to Ukraine, combining ASRAAM missiles with Supacat trucks to counter drones and cruise missiles up to 15 miles away, with five more units on the way.

Ukraine has discovered that Russia’s new Banderol cruise missile contains over 20 foreign parts, including 10 American chips. Sanctions are being bypassed through third countries like Armenia and the UAE.

To simplify maintenance and boost frontline readiness, the U.S. Air Force is standardising parts across its Collaborative Combat Aircraft fleet.

Greece will deploy two U.S.-made V-BAT drones—donated by the Laskaridis Foundation—to enhance border surveillance.

The UK’s RAF has tested launching FPV drones from a Chinook helicopter in the "Hornet’s Nest" trial.

UK’s Evolve Dynamics has unveiled two ISR-focused drones—Foxe and Wolfe—offering rapid deployment, weather resistance, and long-endurance surveillance options for harsh field conditions.

AV (formerly AeroVironment) introduced the Titan 4—a compact, powerful RF-based C-UAS system capable of neutralising small drones in diverse operations.

Kratos is developing two new affordable loyal wingman drones, Apollo and Athena, tailored for NATO allies with modular designs supporting electronic warfare, sensors, and weapons payloads under $5 million each.

Australia’s Mission Syracuse aims to develop sovereign counter-drone systems by 2027, supporting its National Defence Strategy through a two-stage procurement process.

Policy and Regulations

The Trump Administration advanced BVLOS and Section 2209 drone regulations to the White House. The BVLOS rule would simplify approvals for long-range drone operations, and Section 2209 proposes restricted airspace around critical infrastructure.

Partnerships

Pierce Aerospace and MITRE have teamed up to advance Remote ID technology by testing real-time drone identification systems at the MITRE National Range.

Altitude Angel and NexG CSA have partnered to deliver drone traffic management services across Malaysia.

Money Matters

Contracts

WB Group: Poland to acquire nearly 10,000 Warmate loitering munitions to support decentralised, precision-focused defense operations.

AV: The Dutch Ministry of Defence is upgrading its Puma AE drones to the Block III variant with VTOL and improved sensor performance.

Quantum Systems: signed two contracts with Spain to supply 182 Vector drones and several Twister systems for ISR operations.

General Atomics: secured an $11 million contract to support the UK’s MQ-9B Protector drones through 2028.

Investment and M&A

Arrive AI has gone public on NASDAQ as ARAI, aiming to scale its AI-powered last-mile delivery platform using drones and robotics. With $52 million in funding, the company plans to expand its autonomous logistics network across the U.S.

Recommended Reading this Week

Advanced industries: New technologies and supply chain shifts are driving key portfolio and investment decisions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, a UK-based business and strategy consultant specialising in aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

A few weeks ago, China imposed stringent export controls on rare earth elements (REEs) as part of the escalating U.S.-China trade war. While not an outright ban, it requires onerous licenses that may take several months to process, more if it is for exports to the U.S. This impacts industries globally, not just the U.S.

The newsletter on this topic (link below) last month was well received.

As this was well received, let’s break down the four strategies into more detail in this 3-part series to understand how to successfully implement each.

1. Supply Chain Diversification (this newsletter)

2. Reuse and Recycle

3. Buyback

Supply Chain Diversification

Drones, like most modern equipment with electric motors and electronic components, depend on REEs. China currently dominates REE mining and processing. More countries are becoming REE suppliers, however even by 2030, China is expected to have more than half of global REE production and 3/4th of global processing. U.S. imports 80% of its REE from China.

Diversifying supply enables companies to mitigate impacts on price spikes and export restrictions. Most companies in the drone sector don’t directly buy REEs, component manufacturers downstream in the supply chain will. It is crucial that companies work together with their supplier base to ensure diversity and limited reliance on just one country or source. Build this part of your supply chain assessments on a regular basis.

As part of developing and implementing supply chain diversification strategies, work with downstream suppliers who use REEs for components and parts production. Here are three key ways to diversify:

• Allied Suppliers: Work with trusted partners like U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK. For example, Australia’s Lynas Corporation is building a rare-earth separation plant in Texas, and heavy-REE processing with $258M U.S. funding. The U.S. now treats Australia, Canada and the UK as “domestic” under its Defense Production Act. Nearer to home, MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine in California produces light REEs and is adding a magnet plant in Texas. Likewise, the Lacoste and Rare Element Resources mines in North America, and the NioCorp project in Nebraska, are being fast-tracked.

• Emerging Regions: Look to new projects in Brazil, Vietnam, India and Africa. For instance, Brazil’s Serra Verde project is ramping up “magnet-grade” REEs for electric motors. Vietnam and India are also exploring REE deposits, though many still rely on Chinese processing. By pre-qualifying materials and stockpiling from these sources, drone component and part manufacturers relying on REEs can hedge short-term shocks.

• Strategic Stock and Allies: Build inventories of critical REEs and magnets. Engage in “friend-shoring”: favour supply chains with like-minded allies that offer legal stability and long-term commitments. The goal is to create a near-shore network (North America, Europe, Japan, Australia) that can supply drone motors and sensors independently of China.

By diversifying across multiple countries and suppliers, manufacturers can reduce the chance that one export ban cripples production. Diversification by having 2 to 3 supply sources is usually enough to mitigate risks. Anything more is usually expensive as materials and suppliers need to be qualified.

In this series next week, risk mitigation through ‘reuse and recycle’ will be covered.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

The use of drones in last week’s India-Pakistan conflict following the Pahalgam terrorist attack is being called the first drone war between nuclear powers. India has utilised Israeli-made Harop and Heron drones for precision strikes and surveillance, while Pakistan has deployed a diverse fleet, including Chinese CH-4, Turkish Bayraktar Akinci, and indigenous Burraq drones.

The UK has certified the RAF’s Protector RG Mk1 drone to fly unrestricted over civilian airspace, making it the first large military UAV to meet NATO safety standards.

Rebranded as ‘AV’, AeroVironment has unveiled Red Dragon™, a fully autonomous, GPS-free drone designed for high-risk attack missions across land, sea, and air.

NATO and Russia are racing to develop Arctic-ready drones, with Russia currently leading as both sides confront extreme environmental and geopolitical challenges.

Policy and Regulations

The UK CAA has proposed a major update to drone laws, aiming to simplify rules, boost safety, and future-proof regulations with changes phased in from 2026 to 2028.

Partnerships

Singapore’s DSTA and Europe’s MBDA are teaming up to develop smart, cost-effective defences against growing drone threats.

Draganfly and Autonome Labs are building a drone-based landmine clearance system, with field tests set for 2025 to aid post-conflict recovery.

Money Matters

Investment and M&A

Germany’s Quantum Systems raised €160 million to scale up its AI-powered drone operations and expand globally across defence and commercial markets.

Recommended Reading this Week

How Drones in Ukraine are redefining battlefield tactics with motorcycles

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, a UK-based business and strategy consultant specialising in aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

Last week, Trump completed 100 days of his second term as POTUS. A lot has happened in 100 days.

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen."

This quote, possibly misattributed to Lenin, seems to be true.

Let’s look at the major happenings from Trump’s first 100 days that have (or will have) an impact on the drone sector and around the globe.

Defence and Security Sector

Trump proposed a $1.01 trillion budget for defence and homeland security for FY2026 (a 13% increase) to “strengthen the safety, security, and sovereignty of the homeland; deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific; and revitalise America’s defence industrial base“. Congress backed this with a $150 billion reconciliation package that specifically funds new UAV programs – for example, it includes $1 billion to expand the industrial base for kamikaze (“loitering”) drones and additional hundreds of millions for AI-enabled UAS development and counter-drone systems.

Trump signed executive orders directing the Pentagon to deploy counter-UAS defences along the southern border, responding to reports of drug cartels using small drones for surveillance and attacks. Trump administration even considered (and faced backlash for) authorising armed drone strikes against Mexican drug gangs.

Commercial and Civil Sector

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in March 2025 that the FAA will soon propose new rules to allow expanded drone deliveries and services beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). This aims to “give more authority and clarity” to companies testing delivery drones, saying clear rules are needed to keep U.S. industry competitive.

Security driven regulations continue to impact the U.S. drone market. The American Security Drone Act of 2023, during Biden administration, prohibits federal agencies from buying drones from “countries of concern,” effectively barring Chinese brands like DJI and Autel. A late-2024 mandate already threatens to ban DJI /Autel sales in the U.S. DJI has one year to “prove its innocence” but may get banned automatically if Trump does nothing.

Trade

The first 100 days also saw aggressive moves on trade and technology. Trump’s aggressive “Liberation Day” import tariffs, especially for Chinese goods. This may reach up to 245%. This has been, and will continue to disrupt the drone sector that still relies on Chinese drones, components, and raw materials. This has been covered previously in this newsletter:

On exports, Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security is poised to follow the Project 2025 blueprint: analysts note it calls for sharply tightening export controls (reclassifying China /Russia as “group D or E”, cutting license exceptions, lowering de minimis thresholds).

China’s recently announced stringent export controls on rare earth elements (REEs) as part of the escalating U.S.-China trade war has been having adverse effects on the drone sector directly and indirectly. This has also been covered recently:

Startups and Innovation

Despite the more restrictive trade backdrop, Trump’s known penchant for deregulation (the first term saw an 8:1 ratio of repealed to new regs) suggests a lighter touch on startups. Moreover, Congress has created new funding streams: the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act established the first federal grants for drone infrastructure inspection programs and workforce training. Defense R&D programs are also funding autonomy and sensors – for example, the early FY2026 budget carves out over $190 million for AI-enabled drones ($145 million) and attritable drones ($50 million).

Startups in logistics, agriculture, emergency response and AI-powered surveillance are already attracting venture investment in anticipation of a boom. In short, while tariffs and bans squeeze some markets, the overall environment under Trump appears to reward U.S. drone companies who can fill the void (for example, domestic OEMs eager to replace Chinese drones).

Global Ripple Effects

Trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Commenting about annexing Greenland and making Canada the 51st state. Launching “Trump 2028” merchandise. And more. Trump’s policies and comments go from horrific to hilarious and back again.

These have sent shockwaves across the globe, and the rest of the world has been scrambling to adjust as the world order is being overturned. Many European governments reacted to Trump’s “America First” stance by pledging higher defence spending and boosting home-grown UAV projects.

The UK, treading the fine line between the U.S. and Europe, is increasing its defence spending. (covered previously in the newsletter)

The EU launched a €150 billion defence fund with a potential to unlock up to €650 billion more — a total of €800 billion to European defence spending.

A non-significant portion of these budgets will go to drones and related areas.

Other U.S. allies (e.g. Japan, South Korea) are accelerating local UAV programs or eyeing drone imports from non-U.S. suppliers as trust frays. Experts warn that Trump’s tougher China policy and strained alliances could spur a drone “arms race”: if U.S. allies feel they cannot count on American drones, they will invest in indigenous systems, making drones a new axis of global competition.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Latvia has delivered 1,500 more combat drones to Ukraine as part of its joint 12,000-drone commitment with the UK for early 2025.

The U.S. Congress has proposed a $150 billion defence bill with major drone investments, including $1 billion for attack UAS production and $1.1 billion for small UAS development.

The RAF has unveiled StormShroud, an autonomous drone built on the Tekever AR3 to jam enemy radars and shield F-35Bs and Typhoons using BriteStorm EW systems.

The Royal Navy has completed Banshee jet drone trials, using 400 mph uncrewed jets to simulate threats and strengthen air defense training.

The UK MoD has introduced a 600 kg “super heavy-lift” drone by ISS Aerospace, capable of autonomously delivering 250 kg of cargo to frontlines and ships.

TEKEVER will invest £400M in the UK over five years through its OVERMATCH initiative, advancing autonomy, EW, and the StormShroud program with 1,000 new jobs.

NATO must urgently adapt its drone defense strategies, says Maj. Gen. Adrian Ciolponea, warning that drone swarms—not single drones—pose serious military risks.

Airbus’ solar-powered Zephyr UAV set a new world record with a 67-day stratospheric flight, showing the promise of high-altitude platforms for persistent surveillance.

The U.S. Air Force has begun testing autonomous YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A drones under its CCA program, preparing for scalable human-machine operations.

General Atomics has delivered an MQ-9A Block 5 ER drone to the U.S. Marine Corps, expanding long-endurance surveillance capabilities.

AEVEX Aerospace’s Atlas Group II drone will be tested by U.S. Army units in a demo focused on launched effects for frontline support missions.

Anduril has launched Pulsar-L, a 25-pound EW system that detects and disrupts drones at the tactical edge, with plans to scale production to thousands annually.

Commercial

Silicon Valley’s SiFly has debuted long-range drones like the Q12 and Q250, offering helicopter-like endurance for emergency response and industrial tasks.

Partnerships

Airbus U.S. and Shield AI partner to equip the MQ-72C drone helicopter with Hivemind autonomy for autonomous logistics under the Marine Corps’ ALC program.

Altitude Angel and AirHub are partnering to bring unified airspace management to Europe, integrating real-time data and compliance into drone operations.

Baykar and Leonardo have formed a strategic UAV partnership to co-develop systems in Italy, deepening Türkiye-Italy defense ties and targeting Europe’s drone market.

Money Matters

Contracts

Near Earth Autonomy x Honeywell: $15 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army to upgrade Black Hawks with autonomous tech to enable pilotless supply missions in dangerous zones.

Investment and M&A

Piasecki Aircraft has acquired Kaman’s KARGO UAV program and plans to fast-track development of the 1,400-pound-capable drone for military cargo by 2026.

MBDA has invested in UK-based Hybrid Drones to co-develop the Hydra 400, a heavy-lift UAV designed for cargo, casualty evac, and weapon integration.

Recommended Reading This Week

Silicon Valley’s Military Drone Companies Have A Serious ‘Made In China’ Problem

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, a UK-based business and strategy consultant specialising in aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

Drones are quickly becoming a commodity. Winning in commoditised markets is difficult as products converge into a few well-defined categories. Yet, there are some companies who win in these markets. Nintendo was one that we have covered previously, here:

Today, let’s focus on Lego’s success in the very commoditised industry of toys, and what the drone industry can learn from Lego’s success.

First, some background.

Founded in the 1932, Lego never posted a loss until 1998. By 2003, it was $800 million in debt. Lego tried everything from jewellery and clothes to theme parks and even a video-game studio. None of it stuck – only licensed tie-in sets (Star Wars, Harry Potter) sold well, and even those only around movie releases.

By 2009, Lego was profitable again. In 2024, Lego posted record revenues and operating profit. Here are three lessons from Lego’s success that can be applied to the drone sector.

Double down on your core

Lego learned that the brick was the star product even though it felt like a commodity. It is what the customers expect from Lego. Instead of ditching it in the name of ‘innovation’, Lego double downed. Lego built new worlds around it through stories, games, and movies.

Avoid ‘shiny object syndrome’

Lego’s near-collapse was worsened by chasing shiny objects — fashion, parks, and whatnot. Lego only went after a few trends (like the Lego movies) and focused on making these work.

Build an ecosystem, not just hardware

Some of the most successful businesses build ecosystems. Lego’s Bionicle line, launched in 2001 — soon after Lego’s financial troubles. Bionicles wasn’t just another toy line. It came with deep lore, comic books, movies, even an online game. Bionicles were selling like hotcakes. In just 2 years, Bionicles was 25% of Lego’s revenue.

Lego also launched ‘Lego Ideas’ platform where over 2.8 million customers contributed and debated over 135,000 ideas. By doing this, Lego created a self-sustaining ecosystem where customers wanted to contribute, innovate, and advocate.

The takeaway:

Even for commoditised products, doubling down on the core and what customers expect from the brand, not chasing hot trends, and building a self-reinforcing ecosystem will help companies win in the fast-commoditising drone industry.

The Headlines

Defence and Security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Chinese citizens may be helping Russia build drones, risking technology theft and global drone industry disruptions.

The UK and New Zealand have signed a $39.9 million deal to supply advanced drones to Ukraine, boosting its defense and creating new jobs in the drone sector.

British troops successfully tested a new radio-frequency weapon in West Wales, disabling over 100 drones at low cost.

ELT Group unveiled KARMA, an AI-powered, mobile counter-drone system that silently detects and neutralises threats without radar, offering flexible protection for military and critical infrastructure.

Partnerships

Sentrycs and Xtend have joined forces to combine drone interception and AI-driven autonomy, aiming to better detect and neutralise rogue drones for military and special ops teams.

Avtrain and ANRA Technologies partner to launch SORA-Mate in May 2025, an automated tool designed to simplify risk assessments and speed up regulatory approvals for UK drone operators.

Korean Air and Doosan Enerbility have partnered to develop advanced aircraft engines and hydrogen-powered drones, strengthening South Korea’s push into aerospace innovation and green technology.

Money Matters

Contracts

Modini Limited: £4.5 million contract from UK MOD to deliver One Way Effector (OWE) precision strike drones.

Near Earth Autonomy: won a $790,000 contract to provide its Firefly Miniaturized Autonomy System for the U.S. Marine Corps' TRUAS program.

AeroVironment: secured a $46.6 million contract with the Italian MOD to supply JUMP 20 VTOL drones.

Investment and M&A

Certo Aerospace raised over £3 million to accelerate UK flight trials of its CAPSTONE uncrewed helicopter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This newsletter is authored by Adit Shah, a UK-based business and strategy consultant specialising in aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For contact, please get in touch via LinkedIn.