Washington is buying missiles like it's wartime. Europe isn't.
Top story
Dozens of American and European components found in Russian ballistic missiles. Dozens of US- and European-made electronic components continue to appear in Russian short-range ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian intelligence reporting reviewed by Defense News. The findings indicate persistent sanctions evasion through third-country procurement networks, despite Western export-control tightening since 2022. Components identified include microcontrollers, navigation chips, and power-management modules originally manufactured by firms in the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands. Why it matters: Export controls are leaking — badly — and the same Western semiconductors powering European logistics also guide Russian warheads into Ukrainian apartment blocks. (Corroborated) Defense News →
The rundown
AI — Dataminr’s real-time event-detection AI will go live on NATO’s Maven situational-awareness platform, CEO Ted Bailey told Breaking Defense. The integration follows Dataminr’s recent $318 million contract with the Pentagon for global alert services. The system scans open-source signals — social media, sensors, satellite feeds — and flags emerging threats seconds after they surface, compressing traditional intelligence timelines from hours to seconds. (Single source) Breaking Defense →
PROCUREMENT — The State Department cleared a potential Foreign Military Sale to Iraq covering Bell 412EPX and 407M helicopters plus associated equipment, valued at $800 million. The package includes 12 Bell 412EPX utility helicopters and six Bell 407M armed reconnaissance variants, along with engines, weapon systems, training, and sustainment support. Congress now has 30 days to block the sale. (Corroborated) Breaking Defense → · Army Technology →
DRONES — Hanover-based Inleap Photonics closed a €20 million seed round led by UVC Partners to scale production of laser-based counter-drone effectors. Additional investors include HTGF, Balnord, Sentris, and Scale Capital. The company plans to use the funding to ramp serial manufacturing and expand across Germany and Europe. Inleap’s systems use directed-energy lasers to defeat small drones at close range. (Corroborated) Hartpunkt → · Militaer Aktuell →
NAVAL — German shipbuilder TKMS and Italy’s Fincantieri signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding to strengthen industrial collaboration in the submarine and underwater-systems sector. Both companies aim to establish a cooperation framework by year-end, subject to regulatory approvals. The partnership follows earlier agreements on surface vessels and marks an expansion into undersea domains, where TKMS holds deep expertise in diesel-electric and air-independent propulsion submarines. (Single source) Naval News → · Hartpunkt →
INDUSTRY — BWI GmbH, the Bundeswehr’s IT systems house, aims to increase annual revenue to over €6 billion by 2030 — roughly 2.5 to 3 times current levels — CEO Bernhard Günther told Hartpunkt. Revenue per employee is expected to double from €300,000 to €600,000 over the same period. The growth is driven by accelerating military digitalisation requirements and expanded cloud and network infrastructure contracts. (Single source) Hartpunkt →
By the numbers
6 events in this issue · 3/6 corroborated · €7.0bn in stated deal values · 4/6 European · busiest beat: industry
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