Whether you agree with it or not, recent geopolitical events have meant the defencetech industry is booming.
Focused on applying existing tech like cybersecurity and AI to military operations, it’s a sector that has been attracting a lot of interest, and a lot of investment. In fact, according to UK Tech News, the UK allocated £61.4B to defencetech investment in 2025 alone.
Why Are Countries Investing More In Defence Tech?
The past few years have shown the devastating effect that war can have. With the Ukraine-Russia war, as well as the Israel-Hamas war, it’s clear that wars are no longer only fought on the battleground, but in the cyber-sphere too.
With this has come a whole new wave of innovation, focused on protecting security, minimising casualties and strengthening defence.
And with technologies like drones, AI, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles and advanced GPS all now able to be applied to defence, it’s no surprise that VCs and governments are pouring capital into the sector.
But what does 2026 hold for defencetech? To find out, we asked the experts. Here’s what they had to say…
Our Experts
- Matthew Wragg, CEO of Gattaca Plc
- Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE, VP Europe, EMEA and APAC at Dedrone by Axon
- Rick Harlow, CEO of NovaSpark Energy
- Idan Levy, CEO and Co-Founder of Skana Robotics
- Loris Petro, Marketing Manager at Kratom Earth
- Paul DeMott, CTO of Helium SEO
- Saj Huq, CCO at Plexal
- Mike Kappes, Co-founder and CTO of NEXT Semiconductor Technologies
- Saachin Bhatt, Founder & COO of BRDGE.ai
- Richard Ellis, Managing Director of ATG Access
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Matthew Wragg, CEO of Gattaca Plc
Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE, VP Europe, EMEA and APAC at Dedrone by Axon
“The last year has shown how easily hostile drones can be transported and then activated deep inside a country – used to disrupt critical infrastructure or military installations. This will push governments to replace isolated “air walls” with fully networked Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS) systems that stretch across national territory and operate through shared intelligence layers.
European nations will move first, establishing regional CUAS coalitions that exchange real-time signatures, telemetry and incident data, with NATO and key Indo-Pacific partners beginning to follow the same model. This transition marks a fundamental move in how states think about airspace sovereignty. Defence will depend on distributed detection networks rather than geographic boundaries, and the speed at which nations adapt will shape their resilience for the decade ahead.”
Rick Harlow, CEO of NovaSpark Energy
“DefenseTech in 2026 will be defined less by any single platform and more by how well we connect autonomy, energy, and data at the edge. Forces are shifting from a few exquisite, centralized assets to networks of smaller, attritable and increasingly autonomous systems in the air, on land, and at sea. That shift only works if we solve two hard problems at once: contested logistics and resilient communications.
I expect to see rapid growth in mobile, self-contained energy nodes that can generate their own power and fuel, such as hydrogen, JP8 or Kerosene, from local resources to keep uncrewed systems, sensors, and operators online without relying on fixed bases or fragile fuel convoys. In parallel, AI will quietly move from buzzword to baseline, embedded in targeting support, maintenance, spectrum management, and decision support. The winners in DefenseTech won’t just build smarter hardware; they’ll design systems that assume disruption, operate in degraded conditions, and still give commanders trusted information and power when everything else is breaking.”
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Idan Levy, CEO and Co-Founder of Skana Robotics
“Through 2026, the industry will reflect a phase of active restructuring: integrating hybrid fleets, operationalizing autonomy step by step, and embedding resilience as a core design principle rather than a future aspiration.
“Rather than relying solely on singular, high-value platforms, maritime forces are restructuring around hybrid fleet deployment and orchestration. The goal is not replacement, but multiplication: extending reach, persistence, and operational tempo through distributed autonomous systems working alongside crewed assets.
“Manned–unmanned teaming will continue its gradual move from conceptual frameworks into working operational layers. Progress will be gradual, guided by human decision-makers who retain authority over mission direction and risk. Autonomy will expand around them – not replace them.
“At the same time, software-defined maritime systems will advance, and more platforms will be designed for continuous updates to mission logic, coordination behavior, and autonomy levels through software; allowing forces to adapt faster than traditional procurement cycles allow.
“The defence tech industry is in the midst of a profound transition, one shaped less by a single dramatic breakthrough and more by a growing imbalance in the operational reality. Threats are spreading faster than fleets can scale, forcing navies to rebalance through sophisticated yet immediately deployable systems. By 2026, this transition will be increasingly visible in how resilience is being rebuilt at sea.”
Loris Petro, Marketing Manager at Kratom Earth
“My job is to identify patterns in complex data that often resemble how predictive logic is used in military-type technologies. If we look at 2026 from this similar perspective, using a measurable evolution of capability and speed of deployment versus simple speculation, the fact that military technology will continue to develop systems capable of objectively demonstrating value via quantifiable accuracy rather than theoretical potential.
“The area of development that I am observing as the most substantial is in Micro Automation and Compact Sensor Intelligence, as the military desires technology that can perform at scale without increasing the cost of the equipment significantly. This is evident through the use of sensor grids of units below $40 each replacing older single-point surveillance systems with a greater than 300 percent increase in area to be surveilled along with low enough power requirements for weeks of operational use.
“As a result, we are seeing that Autonomous Platforms are becoming increasingly focused down to narrower realms of purpose. The military prefers options like drones or ground units that can execute one mission with a high level of dependability over multi-function units that experience failure due to complexity. One example of how this concept is applied is in Cyber Operations where there are countless breach simulations running hundreds of controlled breaches every hour demonstrating weak points much more rapidly than annual audits and ultimately changing the definition of how readiness timelines are created.
“To summarize, all major developments are connected through the theme of accountability within performance data, leading toward technology solutions that include real-time diagnostics for self-validation, thereby reducing the amount of human interference required in the decision-making processes and shortening the amount of time it takes to make a decision, from several minutes to only seconds. Consequently, within the year 2026, it is plausible to expect that instead of technological advances being measured on the basis of expected new market opportunities, the basis will instead be from systems that demonstrate stability, repeatability, and measurable military/tactical value, without exceeding budget limits or creating operational strain on resources.”
Paul DeMott, CTO of Helium SEO
“The AI will shift to operational decision support in threat detection, optimization of the logistics and predictive maintenance. It will be rather a matter of confidence and clarification, than the potential as defence organizations have to understand why AI presents specific advice before acting in a high-stakes setting.
“The idea of cybersecurity will be transformed into the perception of breach models where systems presuppose that the adversaries have already accessed them. Continuous authentication, segmentation systems, and zero-trust architecture become a common characteristic and not sophisticated one. The idea of supply chain security will dominate the purchasing decision as the commercial software and hardware are susceptible to national security threats.
“The most valuable one will be convergence of commercial and defence technology. Traditional contractors in the field of defence cannot keep pace with the commercial AI, cloud computing, and autonomous systems. Dual-use technologies and co-operations between defence companies and technology companies will be on the rise, but security clearance and regulatory concerns remain a major source of tension. The future of defence technology will depend upon the institutions that define the way of trading off commercial rates of innovation and the defence security requirements.”
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Saj Huq, CCO at Plexal
“A lot of the right intent showed up in the UK defence ecosystem in 2025, including through the Strategic Defence Review. In 2026, that intent must turn into execution to drive meaningful industrial change.
“What matters most – more than the technology promise itself – is whether that intent translates into sustained demand and genuine commercial opportunities for a growing community of dual-use and defence-focused tech companies. Without this, private capital will remain cautious, however strong the innovation and market narrative may be.
“There are big catalysts in play. Large demand signals such as the Digital Targeting Web, alongside a clear shift towards software-defined, AI-enabled and interoperable systems – increasingly underpinned by sovereign cloud – are changing how capability is built, procured and delivered.
“If system-level demand can move beyond discrete pilots, 2026 is when revenue and investment start to flow with confidence. That won’t benefit everyone.
Mike Kappes, Co-founder and CTO of NEXT Semiconductor Technologies
“The future of defence tech in 2026 will centre on unmanned semi-autonomous vehicles, a globally interconnected satellite network like the Golden Dome, portable nuclear power solutions, more precise AI-enabled reconnaissance and missile guidance systems rather than fictional battlefield intelligence, and a shift in personnel training toward logistics, supply chain management, and homeland responsibilities such as immigration enforcement.”
Saachin Bhatt, Founder & COO of BRDGE.ai
Richard Ellis, Managing Director of ATG Access
“As defence technology increases, there is a growing risk that physical security investment fails to keep pace. Next year, the defence sector must consider physical security more seriously to ensure that defence assets and infrastructure are protected against evolving and modern physical threats, which are becoming more advanced – the protection of critical sites needs to keep up.
“Modern hostile vehicle mitigation solutions must be built for contemporary risks. Defence sites increasingly require equipment capable of delivering higher stopping power, protection against layered attacks and to operate reliably in complex, high-profile environments. These systems must not only perform, but also integrate seamlessly into operational infrastructure without disrupting day-to-day activity.
“We are also seeing a shift toward connected security ecosystems, where automation, embedded sensors and predictive analytics work alongside physical assets to enhance situational awareness and response.
“Ultimately, defence estates must treat physical security as a core capability. Resilience will depend not just on innovation in defence technology, but on investing in smarter, future-proof protection for the infrastructure that supports it.”
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