BLUF:
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones are becoming standard for close-range strike and can support longer-range targeting. However, they are costly assets to risk at long range due to Russian counter-drone capabilities.
The European Innovation Council opened its first-ever dedicated call for defense startups. It targets startups around the Series B stage, which can obtain scale-up equity investments of up to €30 million each.
Germany’s Alpine Eagle is developing air-to-air reconnaissance drones to provide AWACS-style early warning of drone threats that ground radar misses. The company recently announced a partnership to integrate its Sentinel ISR drone system with ground-based interceptors supplied by Latvia’s Origin Robotics.
❝The Arsenal will be back next week with the first in a series of guest writers, who over the summer will provide deep dives on European and Ukrainian defense technology. Nicholas Wallace will return on 1 September.
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Israeli defense tech consultancy NEX42, which has an office in Munich, has hired retired German Bundeswehr officer Brigadier General Frank Schmitz as a senior defense advisor.
Lieutenant General Jonny Lindfors became Sweden’s military representative to the EU and NATO on 1 July.
Leonardo UK is looking for a new head of customs compliance and an export compliance lead for helicopters in Yeovil, Somerset.
Thales Research & Technology UK is hiring for several positions, including software engineers.
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French defense prime Thales announced that it’s signed a deal to buy a 35.51 percent stake in French undersea drone startup Exail, and intends to acquire the whole company.
Finnish startup NestAI has signed an agreement with the Finnish Ministry of Defense and Estonian Defense Forces to develop AI capabilities, according to a statement by the Finnish Defense Forces.
Britain, Italy and Japan have awarded a £4.6 billion (€5.4 billion) contract to consortium Edgewing to build a new fighter aircraft under the joint Global Combat Air Programme, Reuters reports. Edgewing, set up specifically for GCAP, is led by BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co., Ltd. (JAIEC).
The European Commission rejected a portion of EU arms procurement loans requested by France, which resisted British efforts to join the loan scheme, because they involved British-linked companies, the Financial Times reports.
Franco-German tank manufacturer KNDS has postponed its initial public offering on the Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges amid investor skepticism of its €12 billion target valuation, the Financial Times reports.
German drone maker Quantum Systems has raised $1.2 billion (€1.05 billion) in its Series D funding round.
