Defense- & Dual-Use Technologies Edition

Hamas to Disarm

Trump's Board of Peace allegedly struck a deal that will see the Palestinian terror organization disarm.

Jul 31, 2026

The U.S. responded to Iran’s ‘surprise attack’ as fears mount of horizontal escalation in the war. Hamas allegedly agreed to disarm, marking a significant turning point in the trajectory of Gaza. NATO’s eastern flank is having to take a harder line with Russia, even as the Pentagon has launched its wider review of the U.S. presence in Europe. And thousands of (young, male) migrants are jumping the border into Spain from Morocco.

No commentary this week, just the news in defense tech.

Epic Fury

Houthis’ Red Sea attacks prompt London insurers to widen high-risk zone (RT)
Trump claims Hamas agrees with Board of Peace on disarmament plan (AlJ)
U.S. launches fresh strikes on Iran after days-long pause, amid fears the war is widening (TG)
Trump pledged to "beat the f*cking sh*t out of Iran" (CNBC)
U.S., Saudi forces struck sites of Iran-backed groups in Iraq (RT)
U.S. military may require some troops in Mideast to surrender cell phones (MT)

News Headlines

Nearly 10,000 Germans have died in heat waves, this year (DW)
Moscow issues threat after Romania intercepts series of Russian drones (NW)
Spain mobilizes Army to reinforce Cueta facing illegal immigration surge (NYT)
Pentagon has ‘kicked off’ review of US force posture in Europe (MT)
Finland closes airspace, restricts maritime traffic near Russia over drone risk (DN)
Fed held rates steady at 3.5%-3.75% with three dissents (CNBC)

Pentagon calls for cheaper long-range strike weapons, with testing in just 3 months (DN)
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation acknowledges distributed operations are the correct response to the transparent battlefield (BI)
Bipartisan headwinds buffet $1B ‘anomaly’ for Trump battleship (RC)
Air Force asserts B-52 modernization remains on cost and schedule following June crash (DS)
Congress directs Navy to overhaul torpedos for two-war strategy (NN)
Navy Research Office unveils new science and tech strategy (TDP)

Threat Tech

China fires YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile from smaller Type 052 destroyer (TWZ)
Iran to get Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems in weeks, sources say (RT)
China is building more mock-ups of Taipei for military training (TT)

Foreign Defense Tech

Evidence of Ukraine using Dutch Ruta Block 1 cruise missiles emerges (TWZ)
French wildfires threaten nuclear deterrence industry, Rafale assembly (DN)

Defense Industry

European defense giants’ shares aren’t benefiting from defense push (TE)
First Anduril YFQ-44A rolls off production line for U.S. CCA program (MT)
Boeing: $280 million loss in second quarter due to Air Force One program (MT)
Kratos builds hypersonic test facility in Indiana (IE)
Ford, GM Defense, BC Customs to compete for US Army’s new infantry squad vehicle (DN)
Army adds $54B to Lockheed PAC-3 agreement, totaling $59B (BD)

Autonomous Systems

Marine regiment tests longer-range drone capability (MT)
Ukraine’s drone-filled ‘zero line’ so dangerous troops wait a week to sprint 300 meters (BI)
U.S. Navy deploys GARC uncrewed surface vessel in first live-fire training exercise (DN)

Finance & Deal Flow

Funds

Khosla Ventures is in talks to raise $5.5B for a new set of funds (PU)

VC

Anduril is in talks to raise a new round, three months after its Series H, increasing its valuation from $61B to $100B (DN)
Musk’s tunneling startup The Boring Company is in talks to raise a $4B round at a $20B valuation (TC)
K2 Space raised a $500M Series D at a $6.8B valuation led by Kleiner Perkins and Iconiq to scale defense satellites (PRN)
P-1 AI raised a $50M Series A led by NEA to expand its engineering-focused AI Archie into aerospace and defense (FSME)
Fast Metals raised a $4.3M pre-seed round led by New Climate Ventures to extract critical minerals from waste (TC)

PE / M&A / Exits / Other

Trive Capital-backed defense tech Lyntris filed for an IPO (PRN)

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Exciting Opportunities

DARPA will host a pitch day in November focused on breakthrough sensing, resilient systems, and advanced materials (SAM)
The Navy is looking for a multi-mission vessel that can host drones, helicopters, and other small boats (SAM)
The Coast Guard is looking for solutions to counter underwater drones (SAM)
The British MoD is seeking teams to participate in its Operation Scorpius to provide continued and resilient EW- based counter-drone capabilities to the Armed Force of Ukraine (DSP)