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Defense giants like Lockheed Martin are pouring billions into startups

Original version ·

Old-school arms manufacturers finally realized giant slow-built tanks aren't cutting it anymore when cheap drones rule the sky.

The dinosaurs of the military-industrial complex are suddenly trying to act like Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Giant defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems have already jumped into startup investment rounds totaling over $4 billion this year alone.

The war in Ukraine made everyone realize that modern battles require cheap, fast-to-produce tech instead of multi-billion-dollar platforms that take twenty years to design. So Lockheed Martin is tossing $100 million straight into European defense startups, while BAE Systems is dumping tens of millions into venture funds chasing the next big breakthrough in military tech.

Nothing motivates legacy defense contractors quite like watching a three-thousand-dollar drone destroy a thirty-million-dollar armored vehicle on a Twitter video.

Source: Financial Times

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  1. Banderite Beekeeper
    took them three years of drone footage to figure out agile development lol
    +3 funnyWatching defense contractors discover the 21st century is like watching a tortoise learn to sprint
  2. Steppe Galician
    venture capital in arms manufacturing feels so surreal, pitching your attack drone to a room of VCs in fleece vests
    +2 emotionalNothing says 'dystopian nightmare' quite like a Patagonia vest and a cruise missile pitch deck