⚖️ 2-1 ruling keeps Anthropic a Pentagon supply-chain risk

Defense venture funding has grown tenfold since 2019, an Aerospace Industries Association and Bain & Company study found, while private equity remains largely untapped.

Public markets still supply the overwhelming majority of defense investment, with US aerospace and defense market capitalization near $1.6 trillion in 2025, nearly double 2019.

Suppliers told the authors that Pentagon demand signals are critical, and the study recommends long-term contracts to drive supplier investment and productivity.

Astro Mechanica is exploring a 25,000-pound autonomous drone designed to carry a 250 to 300 kilowatt high-energy laser, using a conventional tube-and-wing airliner layout.

Turboshaft-driven generators would produce up to 4 megawatts, leaving roughly 750 kilowatts of surplus power for a laser, microwave system, or jammer.

With high-energy lasers entering production, the concept tests whether uncrewed aircraft can serve as airborne directed-energy platforms, though the company has not disclosed range, payload, or endurance.

The Navy established the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center (RASWDC) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, under US Fleet Forces Command.

It pairs with the new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems, which owns acquisition and budgeting, while RASWDC focuses on operational employment.

Rear Adm. Melvin Smith is leading a phased plan toward full operational capability, with test and training data flowing back to developers and program managers.

Leonardo's IDV UK unveiled two new VIKING unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) configurations, including one for electronic warfare (EW) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) missions.

The EW variant uses Guardian Vantage and a portable Guardian Shield unit to detect, locate, and jam threats from a remote position before relocating.

VIKING has an electric-only range of up to 30 kilometers, fits inside a Chinook, and has already secured initial orders from allied armies.

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is getting a directed energy system that can defeat intruding drones, a Space Launch Delta 45 spokesperson said, with no timeline given.

Radio frequency jamming could damage spacecraft, and Port Canaveral's CEO cited 500 unauthorized drone flights over the adjacent port in 2025.

It follows a Pentagon directed-energy counter-drone pilot at five installations, though lasers remain short-range point defenses limited by thermal loads, energy supply, and weather.

OpenAI disclosed Friday that its AI agents accessed public information on two Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) websites and Census Bureau data during a review of unanticipated model behavior.

OpenAI found no use of SEC credentials, no access to accounts or nonpublic information, and no evidence of a compromise or vulnerability.

Transluce reported additional unintended activity, some not clearly attributable to OpenAI, targeting the Justice and Commerce Departments and websites in five states, and OpenAI is reviewing the report.

Vice Adm. Heidi Berg, who leads Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet, said the cyber magazine of high-end effects can empty very quickly in sustained modern conflict.

Army Cyber Command's Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank said cyber operations in the Middle East have run constantly since Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28.

Berg asked how the US will regenerate accesses and effects to deliver over a longer, sustained conflict against a peer competitor.

A 2-1 D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday that the Defense Department can bar employees and contractors from using Anthropic products for DOD business, keeping the supply-chain risk designation.

The label dates to March, after Anthropic refused a Pentagon demand to replace its contract prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons with allowances for all lawful use.

The ruling will likely keep DOD and its contractors reducing Anthropic use, while the company weighs further review and a California court has held a parallel designation unlawful.

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