AI and Electronic Warfare Are Rewriting the Rules of Modern Defense
NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equity-Insider.com News Commentary – The Department of Defense's total IT budget for fiscal 2026 reached $66 billion, a $1.8 billion increase from 2025, with the Army boosting AI spending by 38.3% and the Air Force increasing force application funding by 143.8%[1]. Congress backed the shift with an $839 billion defense spending bill that allocated $7.6 billion for 47 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and $474 million in additional funding for the EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft[2]. VisionWave Holdings (NASDAQ:VWAV), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS), ParaZero Technologies (NASDAQ:PRZO), Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ), and BigBear.ai Holdings (NYSE:BBAI) are among the companies delivering the platforms and intelligence layers behind this transformation.
The counter-UAS market is expanding at 25.8% annually, projected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2026 to $19.06 billion by 2035 as governments worldwide scramble to counter proliferating drone threats across critical infrastructure and combat zones[3]. From AI-powered cargo inspection to battlefield ISR to counter-drone interception, the technology stack underpinning modern defense is shifting toward smarter, faster, and more autonomous systems.
VisionWave Holdings (NASDAQ:VWAV) has entered into a $10 million Statement of Work for the development of qSpeed-Mine, a cryptocurrency mining acceleration and orchestration platform built on the company's QuantumSpeed computational acceleration engine.
The fixed-fee, milestone-based SOW spans approximately 32 weeks, with $350,000 paid upon contract execution and the remaining balance tied directly to verified technical delivery and operational performance.
Approximately $1.0 million is earned through proof-of-concept completion, $6.0 million across scaled deployment and operational validation, and $3.0 million upon final delivery and full program acceptance. If milestones proceed as planned, the full $10 million in revenue is structured for recognition during calendar year 2026.
The platform targets existing mining infrastructure, designed to increase effective throughput and reduce non-productive overhead through advanced scheduling, orchestration, and latency reduction rather than requiring wholesale hardware replacement.
By improving how work is coordinated and executed across distributed systems, the platform aims to substantially reduce the cost of mining per unit of output.
The engagement calls for production-scale deployment across a distributed environment of up to 1,000 nodes, governed by reproducible benchmarks and KPI-driven acceptance gates. VisionWave views the SOW as the transition point for QuantumSpeed from acquisition thesis to paid commercial execution.
"This is about extracting materially more value from the infrastructure that already exists," said Dr. Danny Rittman, Chief Technology Officer of VisionWave. "The goal of QuantumSpeed is to improve system-level efficiency by optimizing how work is coordinated and executed at scale, which directly impacts unit economics without changing cryptographic assumptions."
VisionWave intends to use this engagement as the first commercial anchor for broader QuantumSpeed sales across additional compute-intensive markets, including AI/ML, defense, and large-scale infrastructure optimization. The company's wholly owned subsidiary Solar Drone recently reported executive meetings in Italy advancing business development for drone cleaning solutions in select Middle Eastern markets, following live demonstrations of its patented high-pressure drone payload system across multiple Italian sites.
VisionWave Holdings also demonstrated real-world performance of SaverOne's RF-based Vulnerable Road User detection before a major vehicle manufacturer, where the system identified pedestrians and flagged trajectory risks pre-visual contact, including detecting hidden individuals in darkness.
The company established a $7.0 million strategic exchange with SaverOne that could yield 51% fully diluted ownership, while continuing to advance its dual-market autonomous systems platform integrating QuantumSpeed with AI-driven sensing and autonomy technologies for defense, homeland security, and commercial infrastructure applications.
CONTINUED… Read this and more news for VisionWave Holdings at:
https://equity-insider.com/2025/09/25/the-ai-defense-technology-developments-on-the-rise-in-2025-26/
In other industry developments:
Kratos Defense recently announced it has been awarded contracts valued at approximately $65 million to design, develop, and deliver simulators and other solutions for warfighter training supporting operations and maintenance of key aircraft and other platforms. The contracts include awards from the U.S. Department of War and allied nations, covering training systems for the Army's CH-47F Chinook and UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, and the Air Force's UH-1 Huey, including purchases of the company's MBRAT multi-platform avionics maintenance simulator.
"2025 was another growth year for Kratos, particularly in the domain of air-based system platforms," said Jose Diaz, SVP of Kratos Training Solutions. "Our customers deeply appreciate our successful delivery of cost-effective solutions that produce highly effective training outcomes. Proven experience incorporating all immersive reality technologies on simulators enables us to apply the most suitable options to each training challenge."
Beyond aviation training systems, Kratos continued delivering simulation and training solutions throughout 2025 for ground combat systems, subsurface naval combat vessels, surface navy combat systems, naval weapon systems, and unmanned combat aerial systems. The MBRAT simulator enables avionics maintenance training for multiple platforms on a single device, requiring substantially lower financial investment while achieving training goals and proficiencies, reinforcing the company's reputation for affordable, high-performance defense technology.
ParaZero Technologies announced its participation in Enforce Tac 2026, Germany's leading trade fair for security and defence, held February 23 to 25 at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg. The company will exhibit its advanced DefendAir counter-drone systems as part of the Israeli National Pavilion, organized by the Israel Export Institute, following successful live demonstrations to German law enforcement leadership and senior NATO officers in late 2025.
"We are excited to bring DefendAir to Enforce Tac, one of Europe's most influential platforms for security and defence innovation," said Ariel Alon, CEO of ParaZero. "Following strong interest from European partners and our recent demonstrations, this exhibition represents a key milestone in expanding our footprint across the continent. We look forward to connecting with decision-makers to discuss how our C-UAS solutions can address the growing drone threat landscape in Europe."
DefendAir is a multi-layered, soft-kill counter-UAS platform featuring patented net-launching technology that has achieved 100% interception success in multiple field trials, including against high-speed FPV attack drones and heavy-lift logistics platforms. ParaZero has already secured strategic reseller agreements and initial orders from key NATO countries in Western Europe, positioning the company to capitalize on rising hybrid drone threats across the continent.
Innoviz Technologies announced the general availability of InnovizSMART, its off-the-shelf, ready-to-buy LiDAR solution designed for a wide range of smart infrastructure applications including perimeter security, traffic management, robotics, and aerial systems. The automotive-grade sensor delivers true long-range detection up to 450 meters, blockage resilience to dust, debris, and extreme temperatures, uniform resolution across the full field of view, privacy-conscious spatial data capture, and PoE-enabled connectivity for rapid deployment on existing infrastructure using standard Ethernet.
"The general availability of InnovizSMART marks a major milestone in our smart infrastructure strategy," said Omer Keilaf, CEO and Founder of Innoviz. "Customers can now procure a durable, reliable automotive-grade LiDAR with short lead times and no customization required. InnovizSMART is designed for 24/7 performance in harsh outdoor conditions and integrates seamlessly into existing infrastructure, delivering proven, reliable performance for a wide range of smart applications."
Innoviz is ramping InnovizSMART to full industrialization with production capacity designed to fulfill current and projected customer demand globally. The company also expects InnovizSMARTer, powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, to become available in Q2 2026, further expanding its smart infrastructure portfolio as it leverages proven automotive-grade sensing technology across security, intelligent traffic management, mobility, and robotics markets worldwide.
BigBear.ai announced the acquisition of certain technologies of CargoSeer, a specialized AI software company delivering cargo scanning enhancement and trade risk management capabilities for customs enforcement missions worldwide, for an undisclosed amount. CargoSeer's AI Shipment Inspection Platform supports enhanced Non-Intrusive Inspection for cargo by combining automated image analysis, computer vision, and machine learning with trade and cargo data to help operators rapidly identify high-risk shipments.
"The acquisition of certain technologies of CargoSeer aligns directly with BigBear.ai's strategy to deliver trusted technologies to customs agencies ensuring more efficient and secure movement of transported goods," said Kevin McAleenan, CEO of BigBear.ai. "Combining advanced computer vision with trade and cargo intelligence, we are expanding our ability to support customs agencies as they modernize enforcement operations, strengthen border security, and facilitate global trade."
The acquisition bolsters BigBear.ai's mission-ready AI portfolio for national security, adding capabilities that detect threats and improve inspection efficiency across ports of entry worldwide. The company continues expanding its border security footprint, recently deploying its veriScan biometric identity platform at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Enhanced Passenger Processing program, which has reduced average processing times from 60 seconds to just 10 seconds per traveler.
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SOURCES:
3. https://www.precedenceresearch.com/counter-unmanned-aerial-system-market
