In a world that increases turbulence and tension, and with the burning of new conflicts from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea, the World War industry enters an unprecedented stage led by emerging companies that adopt artificial intelligence, robots and digital technologies, in a path that redraws the features of military power and changes the rules of the game that ruled the defense market long decades.
In this context, the New York Times reported that the trillion dollars spent by governments in anticipation of a trend of high -tech wars in a flammable world, which prompted Europe to search for new methods to update its arsenals.
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This trend was particularly attributed to Russia’s excessive use of the aircraft to bomb Ukraine and test the stiffness of NATO (NATO).
A new generation of companies
The newspaper pointed out in a report of its correspondent Patricia Cohen, the emergence of a new generation of startups that exceeded the traditional model that the countries were building their military arsenals.
She explained that these companies are no longer awaiting government financing or long military contracts, but investors depend on their own money to accelerate research, development and production of initial models in the hope that the buyers will come later.
Gondbert Sherf, a former adviser to the German Ministry of Defense and one of the founders of the emerging Healing Defense Company, describes this shift as a “major revolution in the defense industry” and a “completely different business model”.
Accelerated updates
According to the newspaper, the German -based Helsing Healing began to supply Ukraine with drones and then update them every few weeks to keep pace with changes in technology and strategy, as its market value is now 12 billion euros, making it one of the largest emerging companies in Europe.
The news report states that this new competitive approach “from bottom to top” is considered faster and more efficient innovations, but it is not without risks.
The first priority of investors is profit, which may conflict with the security and strategic goals of countries, and there are concerns about the amplification of the military industrial complex and the abuse of advanced technology.
The war in Ukraine was the major turning point, as American companies such as (SpaceX) and (Balnter) have been introduced since the beginning of the millennium, the Silicon Valley mentality in innovation and risk to the world of defense.
Ukraine is the turning point
McKinsey Estimates show that investments in defensive companies associated with the risk capital jumped globally to $ 31 billion last year, an increase of 33% over the previous year, while investments in European defense companies doubled 5 times between 2021 and 2024 compared to the three years before.
The New York Times considered that the war in Ukraine was the major turning point, as American companies such as (SpaceX) and (Balnter) have been introduced since the beginning of the millennium, the Silicon Valley mentality in innovation and risk to the world of defense.
But it believes that the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 hastened to move this model to Europe. In this regard, it quoted Torstene Ryle, one of the founders of Helsing Company, saying: “Previously, no European investor in the capital of the risk was interested in defense … As for now, everyone wants to invest in it.”
The newspaper added that this change has also affected old companies, such as the German “Euro Atlas” that was selling submarine energy systems before directing their activity to develop underwater underwater vehicles to monitor vital communication cables.
Electronic spy cockroaches
The Russian invasion and the decline in US President Donald Trump’s support to Europe increased European military spending, and Germany led the new wave of startups, including Helsing and (ARX Robotics), and (Piottexx), which developed small spy robots similar to cockroaches to collect information in rugged sites.
According to the news report, analysts believe that these companies provide more flexible and speedy solutions than the traditional defense industries that take years or contracts to develop systems such as the American fighter (F-35) that began to work in in 1995 and did not enter production until 2006.
As for startups- such as (Sarronic Technology)- they move at a different pace, and adopt uninhabited ships with their own financing.
The New York Times proceeds to say that this company intends to launch its ship (Maruder) with a length of 150 feet next December, and the British government announced that (Saronic Technologies) will invest $ 50 million in a new production facility in the city of Portsmouth in southeastern England.
Fighters and self -driving boats
Britain is also witnessing the rise of companies such as (Cambridge Airbis) specialized in running aircraft interception systems and the company (Krakon Technology), which produces custom -made self -driving boats used in monitoring, search and rescue, at low prices amounting to 250 thousand dollars per boat. Its founder Chris said: “We have a preliminary model in 10 weeks and we can produce a boat in just two days,” said her founder Chris Mal, Mal Chris.
As for the New York Times, the New York Times highlights its expansion significantly in the purchase of the German aircraft company (Group), the development of artificial intelligence programs that coordinate reconnaissance tasks and implement electronic warfare, as well as manufacturing small submarines and offensive offensive aircraft.
The company recently announced that it will produce its uninhabited fighter-which is called CA-1 EUROPA at the Group facility near Munich, and is expected to be ready to carry out tasks within 4 years.
The American newspaper revealed the company conducting a combat experience at the Munich Training Center, which showed the ability of the artificial intelligence system (Senthor) to take 10 decisions per second and to shoot down two arterial pilots in a simulation of a military battle. “You have to start developing these systems before the government begins to finance them,” says Torstein Rill.
The founders of Helsing and several other start -up companies said that many investors who joined this wave of transformations were not actually realizing what success in this field required.
Success in this field – as the New York Times concludes – does not depend on technology alone, because a limited number of startups have experience in dealing with governmental procedures related to purchases.
In this regard, the newspaper quotes Chris Silvan, the founder of Cambridge Airbis, saying: “The sale of the government is difficult, but it should be. This is the money of taxpayers.”
(Tagstotranslate) Politics (T) Germany (T) Germany (T) Europe (T) Ukraine