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Step inside the high stakes world of defense contractors and discover who's developing technology for the battlefield of tomorrow.
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00:00The global defense industry represents a staggering $2.5 trillion market,
00:05with the United States alone investing nearly $1 trillion in its military capabilities.
00:10From company boardrooms to Pentagon briefings,
00:13the decisions made today are reshaping how nations protect themselves and project power.
00:18In the next half hour, we'll take you inside this high-stakes world.
00:22We'll meet the industry's most influential players,
00:25explore cutting-edge innovations and artificial intelligence,
00:28examine the next generation of smart tanks, ships, precision-guided missiles,
00:33and reveal the breakthrough technologies that are redefining modern warfare.
00:37This is the Business of Defense.
00:52Welcome to Business of Defense. I'm J.D. Durkin.
00:55As global threats continue to evolve, so too must the industry's approach to innovation and partnership.
01:01We're here at DSEI-UK to uncover who's winning the contracts,
01:05who's driving innovation, and who is shaping the future of global defense.
01:09The battlefield of tomorrow won't just feature human soldiers.
01:13Autonomous systems are transforming how wars are fought,
01:16from unmanned ground vehicles to precision missile systems that can operate independently.
01:21Leading the charge of these game-changing technologies is Milram Robotics.
01:26What are we standing in front of? Tell me all about the Havoc.
01:28Yeah, so this is the first time she's ever been out in public.
01:31We have electric axles, and so we have instant torque, like a Tesla.
01:35So when you press the gas, there's no lag.
01:38And so we've designed this vehicle to be able to go approximately 70 kilometers an hour,
01:41both in forward and in reverse.
01:43Because we have eight-wheel steering, and we have an autonomy kit on both ends.
01:47I've never seen anything like that in my life.
01:49The idea being is she can come up out of a hide site, engage a target,
01:52and then quickly get back to hide from FPV threats, anti-tank missiles, anything like that.
01:57Who are some of the other crucial partnerships, either on software or the hardware side,
02:01that are required to make something like the Havoc a reality?
02:04Open architecture.
02:06So that's the reason we did it that way.
02:07So if our customer wants to use Starlink, hey, here you go, we'll plug it in.
02:12Open architecture on the inside, open architecture with ARKOS communication systems
02:16and situational awareness.
02:18One C2 system in UAE is not the same C2 system in the Netherlands.
02:22So we have to have that open architecture that allows us to be more flexible
02:25to our customers' requirements.
02:27Today, if you look at operations in Ukraine, there are no tanks, there are no APCs.
02:32All of these capital assets full of people are unable to go and operate on the front lines.
02:38It's because they have no protection.
02:39So you take a vehicle like Havoc here today, you take the turret off,
02:42and we put a counter-UAS system on top of this vehicle.
02:46And then with the autonomy kit that Milram has developed over the course of the last 10 years of existence,
02:52you say, hey, here's five vehicles.
02:53Stay in the middle and protect them from threats above.
02:56And so with something like a 30-millimeter cannon, we can project force out to 15, 20 kilometers
03:01and protect those capital assets from the FPV threat at a really low cost-per-kill ratio.
03:07But the Havoc is just one part of Milram's broader strategy.
03:11The company has also developed the Themis, a smaller but equally capable platform
03:16that's already being deployed in combat.
03:18What we're demonstrating here is the ability and the flexibility of Themis to integrate any system.
03:24As long as it weighs 1,000 kilos or less, we're able to integrate local products,
03:28we're able to bring local industry into our baseline,
03:31and then we're going to take this system and we're going to offer it to Ukraine.
03:34In fact, there's a 100,000 euro bounty by the Russians on capturing one of our systems
03:40with the base station and with the controller.
03:42Some of the tech specs that most stand out to you are personal favorites on this particular piece of machine.
03:46Yeah, so Silent Watch.
03:48So we've been in Ukraine under our own investment for the last 18 months,
03:52and we've been working all the time with them trying to figure out what the best mix of gas versus electrical power is.
03:58And so we've tuned Themis to have enough Silent Watch mobility that we can turn the engine off,
04:06we operate at night, there's no thermal signature, and so she can go up, pick people up,
04:11she can come back and as soon as she's out of the threat environment, turn the engine on, and continue on her way.
04:16We just did that mission a few weeks ago where the gentleman who got struck by an anti-personnel line,
04:22he was stuck in a field, it was nighttime, it was too dangerous because of the FPV threats.
04:27So they turned the motor off, they sent her in, the guy crawled up into the basket,
04:32we brought him home, the guy survived, kept both of his legs.
04:35You know, like these are things that we see every day and these are missions we're doing all the time.
04:39From land to sea, autonomous systems are reshaping military operations.
04:44L3 Harris is pioneering new tech that removes human operators from dangerous situations.
04:50So I think this ship is a very good example of like L3 Harris as a whole,
04:53we've got a maritime ship that has an autonomous capability,
04:56that autonomy is a thing that we do at L3 Harris, we can build autonomous systems.
05:01This boat is kind of an example of that.
05:02And that little green mushroom is actually a sensor, it's called the MUSE,
05:06and MUSE is a COM sensor.
05:08So it senses communication, radio frequency, emissions,
05:11then we use that sensor to identify the location that's transmitting
05:15and perhaps even who it is or what it is that's transmitting.
05:18This for us is new because previously we've worked in radar, our radio frequency,
05:24think radar, think anti-surfaced air missile or another airplane.
05:28Now what we're demonstrating is we can take the entire electromagnetic spectrum
05:32from RF comms to RF radar, take all of that and look at it real time.
05:37So various segments of our company coming together to produce
05:39actually an entire defense article with modern capability.
05:44While L3 Harris may dominate the surface,
05:47BAE Systems is pushing autonomous technology beneath the waves.
05:52What are we standing in front of?
05:53So we're standing in front of a representation of our extra large autonomous underwater vehicle.
05:58So it's 12 meters long, about eight tons, so a bit of a beast.
06:02This is a machine, a tool used to autonomously navigate the deep oceans
06:08and fulfill a range of jobs, use cases from hunting submarines
06:12to firing torpedoes to conducting spying missions.
06:16It's got a super long range,
06:17so you can either fit lithium-ion battery solution in it or hydrogen fuel cell.
06:22It will give it a range of up to 5,000 kilometers, 45 days,
06:26so huge endurance.
06:28You know, you can get to most parts of the world to do various missions with that.
06:32And the other key thing is advanced autonomy.
06:35Ultimately, the robots are there to get the user out of harm's way
06:38so they can operate them from quite a distance.
06:40Traditionally, we'll be in a car bomb, those kind of areas.
06:44Let's start right here. What are we looking at?
06:45So T-7 is a large one, so despite the size of it,
06:48you can actually use and go very intricate in its controls
06:52in the deactivation of the bombs, in fact, actually.
06:55But typically, it allows you to drag even cars out of areas of operations.
06:59So, for instance, if you're in an urban context,
07:01you could potentially drag the car away
07:03before you actually go in and start deactivating the bomb that may be in there, in fact.
07:08The other things that we've really done,
07:09and we think are real differentiators,
07:11we've got a thing called a haptic fingers in there,
07:13which are really intricate fingers,
07:15which almost emulate your hands in its operations.
07:18So when I talk about unzipping, cutting wires, for instance,
07:23that's what we can actually do in this capability.
07:25So whilst it's quite capable in its operation,
07:29it's actually quite intricate in how it operates at times as well.
07:32Precision missile technology represents another frontier in autonomous warfare.
07:37German defense contractor Diehl is developing systems
07:40that can protect entire regions from aerial threats.
07:43The system is already in operations in Ukraine.
07:46So the task or the mission of the system
07:48is to protect larger areas against aerial threats.
07:53Those threats are mainly jets or fighter aircraft
07:56or air-to-ground ammunition
07:59or especially like we see in Ukraine on a daily basis,
08:02it's cruise missiles or even drones that we need to intercept
08:06to protect civil infrastructure or critical assets on the ground.
08:11Let's talk about the mid-range missile.
08:12What are we looking at?
08:13And if I'm not mistaken, this is essentially one-to-one.
08:16This is the actual size that we're talking about.
08:18What should we know?
08:18This is a 40-kilometer range, 20-kilometer altitude interceptor.
08:23We have a direct hit capability in this interceptor.
08:27That means we hit the target structure directly.
08:30This is done with the imaging infrared seeker.
08:32We have under-the-nose cone you see on top of the missile.
08:37So with pinpoint accuracy, we are capable to hit the target.
08:41And this reduces, let's say, the impact on the ground
08:44and fratricide we might cause with the debris coming down.
08:48So a very precise interceptor
08:51that has a very high single-shot kill probability.
08:54Yeah, the construction of the missile is one thing.
08:56The full stack and the delivery is something altogether.
08:59Tell me about what we got.
09:00This is essentially the launcher, the IRIS-TSLM launcher,
09:04built on a 20-foot ISO container frame.
09:06So we launch the interceptor vertical.
09:09And from the vertical start, it can go into any direction
09:13to protect against threats coming in from 360 degrees.
09:17Normally, they are remotely controlled from the second element
09:20we see down here from the tactical operation center.
09:23So this is the only manned element during operations.
09:27We have three operators sitting there doing all the air defense.
09:31How important is it for you and the team at Deal to stay agile,
09:34to stay mobile, to be able to use and embrace new technologies
09:39on top of your core existing products?
09:41Yeah, I think we learn this on a daily basis right now
09:44in the conflicts like in Ukraine, where the system is involved,
09:49that you need to continuously improve the capabilities of the systems.
09:53You need to embrace new technologies,
09:56find ways how to harvest new capabilities
09:58that might come up through new technologies
10:01and figure out what makes sense and what doesn't,
10:05and really improve the systems and stay ahead of the threat.
10:09Welcome back to the Business of Defense.
10:25I'm J.D. Durkin.
10:26Behind every major defense contract are all of the strategic decisions
10:30that shape which technologies make it,
10:32from the laboratory to the front lines.
10:35And as we uncovered, the stakes could not be higher.
10:37Modern warfare isn't just about having the most advanced weapons.
10:41It's about connecting those systems
10:43and making sense of vast amounts of data in real time.
10:47But how do companies build the digital backbone of tomorrow's military?
10:51Obviously, the big topic right now is Golden Dome,
10:53and we're very proud to be a part of standing ready
10:57to execute the Golden Dome initiative.
10:59We have currently 39 satellites on order
11:02to perform the missile warning missile defense mission.
11:04We have the hypersonic HBTSS satellite on orbit now as the proven solution.
11:11And we're very excited to be able to move forward
11:13and accelerate that program in coordination with the president's executive order.
11:18A lot of the opportunities associated with that
11:19is continuing to partner with a wide range of companies
11:22across our industrial base, such as Palantir and Shield AI,
11:26to bring in AI ML solutions
11:29and try and continue to make those proven hardware solutions ever more capable.
11:32We do multi-domain electronic warfare, both sensing and jamming,
11:37as well as data sharing.
11:38So DISCO stands for Distributed Spectrum Collaboration and Operations.
11:43It is a bit of a pivot for our company
11:45where we have traditionally made hardware
11:47that protects aircrew or warfighters in various platforms
11:52against enemy radar threats.
11:55We do that really well.
11:57We build the jammers, the sensors, and the user interfaces
12:01to make sure that warfighters come home alive.
12:04So an example of how we would do this in an operational vignette,
12:08this is more airborne focused,
12:09so imagine all domains are at play here.
12:13You have stand-in jammers
12:14that are going after a particular target set.
12:17They detect an enemy signal
12:19that may or may not be in their library.
12:22So when that happens, the sensor on board collects that data.
12:27And through the power of DISCO,
12:29we can move that data that is interesting up into an edge node
12:34or a cloud services type environment.
12:37Because once you get that data to the cloud
12:39or to an edge processing node
12:41where human decision makers can do something with that information,
12:45really the sky is the limit.
12:47You can start bringing in third-party applications,
12:49our own algorithms.
12:50You can pull in data from various sensors.
12:54Some of those would be from our company,
12:56some would be from other companies.
12:57Can you tell me quickly any real-life use cases
12:59where DISCO technology has already been used
13:02or potential use cases where you can see this being used?
13:05We detected an incoming assault force,
13:08and we not only were able to characterize those signals
13:12and identify what those were,
13:14we could get precise geolocation
13:16and feed that up to the commander
13:18so that that commander could react in real time
13:22to these evolving scenarios.
13:24Traditional defense contractors like RTX
13:27are evolving beyond just building weapons.
13:29The company is focused on creating integrated systems
13:32that work together seamlessly.
13:34You've seen some of the weapon systems,
13:35you've seen the work that we're doing on Javelin.
13:37There's also a range of weapon systems
13:38that the UK engineers also get involved in and manufacture.
13:41So we manufacture a huge number of components
13:43up in Scotland that we then export
13:44to the rest of the world in particular back to the US.
13:47One of the things we work quite hard as well
13:49is understanding all of the threats
13:51that you see in operations.
13:52So in particular,
13:53the importance of position, navigation and timing.
13:55So one of the things we've been talking about
13:57is a program that we have is called LandShield.
13:59So what this system can do,
14:00can actually look and identify
14:01what's trying to jam you,
14:03what's trying to spoof you,
14:04and basically provide that operational effect
14:08of exact position back to those rest of those systems.
14:11We're standing in front of something
14:12that a lot of people may be familiar with,
14:14but actually know very little about.
14:16H, what is this?
14:17What you see in front of you is a Javelin missile.
14:19Talk to me a bit about the production
14:20for a piece of machinery like this.
14:22I know it's not just Raytheon.
14:23Lockheed Martin oftentimes is involved
14:25with that joint production.
14:27How does it actually come together physically?
14:29Predominantly, the missile is produced
14:31and assembled by Lockheed Martin,
14:34and the command launch unit is produced by Raytheon.
14:36Typically, you'll have a two-person team.
14:40The gunner and the commander,
14:42and they will operate that system in tandem.
14:44And not only is it used in a kinetic role
14:46to engage targets, predominantly armored targets,
14:49but it's also used as part of, for example,
14:51a recce screen,
14:52and that the optics on the capability
14:55give the commander of that battle group
14:58or that company group
14:59the opportunity to see what's out there
15:02and then decide where he's going to engage or not.
15:04How far can this go,
15:06and how fast can this go?
15:07So typically, right now,
15:09the in-service capability has got a range
15:11of about two kilometers,
15:13and that is predominantly constrained by the,
15:18not the missile,
15:19the missile can go further,
15:20but the ability for the operator,
15:23the gunner,
15:23to identify a target.
15:25What we don't want to be doing
15:26is firing at something we think might be a target.
15:29Therefore, in the next year or two,
15:33the lightweight clue,
15:35a new iteration of the command and launch unit
15:38is going to be introduced,
15:39and that has improved optics
15:40and will enable the gunners
15:43to fire Javelin out to ranges
15:45of about four kilometers.
15:46So a massive increase in the range
15:48and the capability of the Javelin.
15:50While companies like RTX focus on current systems,
15:53others are already developing
15:54in the connected warfare platforms of 2045.
15:58Deal is bringing a unique perspective
16:00on how information management
16:01will reshape air combat.
16:03Let's talk about F-CAS Future Combat Air System.
16:06I know this is something
16:07that is still coming together.
16:08What is it now,
16:10and what do you hope it will be?
16:11It's a concept.
16:13It's very complex.
16:14I'd say the biggest deal
16:15is to find a way
16:17to solve the problem with information.
16:19There's a lot of information
16:20on the battlefield.
16:21For example,
16:22the sensors out there,
16:23they're detecting a threat.
16:25Then the information level changes
16:27in the air combat cloud.
16:29There will be information
16:30going back and forth
16:31between all the players
16:32that are involved in the operation.
16:35Then there will be made a decision,
16:37a tactical decision.
16:38And after that,
16:39for example,
16:39we get depicted here as a swarm.
16:41The whole thing calms down,
16:42and then there will be
16:43like remote carriers or aircrafts
16:45taking care of the problem,
16:48I'd say,
16:48and solve it.
16:49I was really surprised
16:50with the timeline.
16:50I believe you said 2045 or so?
16:52Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:53That's the official timeline
16:54of the Future Combat Air System.
16:57Everybody would like
16:58to have it done before,
17:00but in reality,
17:02it's a complex.
17:03The Future Combat Air System
17:04is made out of three partners.
17:07Main partners is France,
17:09Spain, and Germany.
17:10And we all three try to find
17:11a good solution
17:12of who is responsible
17:14for what part of the project.
17:16What are a few of the realities
17:17of using a remote carrier like this
17:19that you think people
17:20might be most surprised to know?
17:22And how are you envisioning
17:23remote carriers like this
17:24can be used to better enhance
17:26the efficiency of fighters?
17:28It has to be fast.
17:28It has to be undetected.
17:29So it's low observable,
17:31as I said.
17:32And, you know,
17:32just let's crack down the name,
17:34the Phoenix,
17:34because the Future Effector
17:35is adaptable to the mission.
17:37So we have a couple of sensors
17:39that we can build in there
17:40just to make sure
17:41whatever is the task,
17:43we find the right way.
17:45Then networking,
17:46or networked,
17:47that means it's connected
17:48to the air combat cloud.
17:50All the information
17:51is going back and forth
17:51between the air combat cloud
17:53and these remote carriers.
17:55And if I say plural carriers,
17:57there will be not just,
17:58it's not just like
17:59a cruise missile with one.
18:00There will be a whole swarm
18:01of these, you know,
18:03and just being deployed.
18:05Intelligent,
18:05even if the air combat cloud
18:07falls apart,
18:08is jamming,
18:08or whatever happens,
18:09the Phoenix,
18:11or this type of remote carrier
18:12is able to continue
18:15the mission by itself,
18:16not just falling down.
18:19An expandable means,
18:20obviously,
18:21it's not a loyal wingman.
18:21It will not come back.
18:23Just give you a rough number,
18:23it will fly half an hour,
18:25and in the half an hour,
18:27it has to do its job.
18:28Why do you think
18:28technology like this
18:29will be increasingly important
18:31to fight the battles
18:32of tomorrow?
18:33Because it's getting complex.
18:35There's also like a trend
18:37that they're putting
18:38a lot of mass
18:39and trying to overwhelm
18:41the enemy
18:42by,
18:44it's just a ground-based
18:45air defense,
18:45just by drones,
18:46by missiles,
18:47rockets,
18:48whatever flies,
18:49you know,
18:49throwing a lot of stuff
18:50at the enemy.
18:51And I think that these
18:52make a difference
18:53because, as I said,
18:55we try to keep
18:56a low price tag on it.
18:57So it makes it affordable
18:59and you can actually
19:00also put a lot of these
19:01out there
19:02and that will make
19:04the difference in the end.
19:05You know,
19:05if two or three of these
19:06get through
19:07and make the job,
19:10then it will make
19:11the difference.
19:12That's at least the idea.
19:27Welcome back
19:28to the Business of Defense.
19:29I'm J.D. Durkin.
19:30The future of global security
19:32depends on understanding
19:33both emerging technologies
19:35as well as geopolitical realities.
19:37These companies are all racing
19:39to develop new tools
19:40that can mean the difference
19:41between mission success
19:42and failure
19:43on the battlefield of tomorrow.
19:45The ultimate advantage
19:46in modern warfare
19:47may not come from
19:48the biggest gun
19:49or fastest plane,
19:50but instead,
19:51the ability to process information
19:53faster than your opponent
19:54and make better decisions.
19:56The team at Palantir
19:57is reshaping military strategy
19:59through human-machine interfaces
20:01and artificial intelligence.
20:03We allow our customers
20:05to build on an ontology,
20:07a map of their business,
20:08an understanding of their world.
20:11And on top of that,
20:12we're then able to apply
20:13the latest advances
20:15in machine learning
20:16and AI technologies,
20:18not least agentic AI.
20:20So taking a set
20:21of highly powerful AI tools
20:23and giving them
20:24this map of the business,
20:26all of the data
20:27that the customers need
20:28to be able to make
20:28these decisions
20:29and allowing then
20:30those agents
20:31to thoroughly embed
20:33and enable
20:34these customers of ours
20:36to make very high-quality decisions,
20:39taking the work
20:40or the time
20:42that may previously
20:43have been weeks or months
20:44and turning that
20:45into minutes and seconds.
20:47But before AI can make decisions,
20:49the underlying systems
20:50must be secure.
20:52Cybersecurity companies
20:53like Arkit
20:54are building the foundations
20:55that keep military networks
20:57safe from digital attack.
20:58What Defence is seeking
21:00and what the operators
21:01are seeking
21:01are rapid-to-market,
21:04rapid-to-deployment technologies,
21:06but they cannot be compromising
21:08the security
21:09or the safety
21:10or indeed the effectiveness
21:11of those technologies.
21:12So Arkit feels
21:13it has a very strong role
21:14to play in that.
21:15We are a very modular approach
21:18to how you might go about
21:20protecting the sort of
21:21digital battle space
21:22and the technologies
21:23that operators
21:25and warfighters
21:25are deploying
21:26in today's modern
21:28sort of conflict environments.
21:29Everybody needs
21:30to secure their data
21:31and that would be
21:32as applicable
21:32in a modern threat landscape
21:34to banks,
21:35to telecoms companies,
21:36to other CNI,
21:39you know,
21:39energy supplies.
21:41So these are just as critical
21:42to the national interest
21:43as indeed the sort of front
21:44of the tip of the spear
21:45warfighter capabilities are.
21:47However,
21:47all of this advanced technology
21:49means nothing
21:50without properly trained operators.
21:52Babcock is revolutionising
21:54how military personnel
21:55learn to use
21:56these complex systems
21:57in real-life situations.
21:59Byte,
22:00which is the Babcock
22:01immersive training experience,
22:02it's a system we've developed
22:03over the last couple of years
22:04to deliver realism
22:06to our frontline operators,
22:07whether that's airmen,
22:09sailors,
22:10or our soldiers.
22:11We've also used it
22:12for emergency services.
22:13It's a super adaptable
22:14training solution.
22:15Today,
22:16which we're going to walk inside,
22:17we've got a urban command bunker
22:19training our soldiers
22:21to be able to operate
22:22in really disrupted,
22:23difficult,
22:24and dislocated locations.
22:25How important
22:26is customer feedback
22:27to the overall process?
22:29Massively important.
22:30So,
22:30some of the original
22:32light bulb moments
22:33for the development
22:34of the system
22:35came from customers saying,
22:36hey,
22:36these are my current
22:37training issues.
22:39And it's kind of fed
22:40to where we've gone.
22:41So this is a deployable solution.
22:42It's a modular
22:43and scalable solution.
22:44And then the key piece
22:45that we really honed it on
22:46was that ability
22:47to deliver immersive
22:48but repeatable training.
22:49So,
22:50you've got a preset
22:51UAV flight path here.
22:53It's flying over
22:54hostile territory.
22:56What you're looking to do
22:57is identify
22:58key capabilities
22:59that are out there.
23:00For example,
23:01that might be a suspicious
23:02vehicle at the top.
23:04And then you're going to use
23:05our Babcock
23:05vehicle recognition tool
23:07or virtual recognition tool
23:08to cooperate
23:10and positively identify
23:11what it is.
23:12Okay,
23:12so T-90,
23:14Russian main battle tank.
23:15You would then send up
23:16a sighting report.
23:17I've seen a T-90
23:18at NAI1.
23:20My recommendation
23:20is to engage.
23:21And then you'd report
23:22that up to your commander.
23:23Really, really important tool
23:24on the modern battlefield
23:25to get that information
23:27up to the commander
23:27as quickly as possible
23:28so they can act on it.
23:29The future of warfare
23:30will be decided
23:31not just by who has
23:32the most advanced systems
23:34but by who can best
23:35integrate autonomous systems,
23:37process information faster,
23:39and train their people
23:40more effectively.
23:42From the autonomous vehicles
23:43of Milram
23:44to the AI-powered
23:45decision systems
23:46of Palantir
23:47to Deal's remote carriers,
23:49we've seen how innovation
23:51is reshaping the battlefield.
23:53Thank you for joining us
23:54on the Business of Defense.
23:55I'm J.D. Durkin.