In today’s era of machine-speed warfare, the decisive edge no longer lies in firepower — it lies in decision speed. From Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, battles are increasingly won not by who has the most hardware, but by who can see faster, decide faster, and act faster.
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The new arms race isn’t about firepower — it’s about decision speed.
Modern conflicts move at machine speed. In the fog of war, the real advantage lies in the ability to see clearly and act faster.
That’s why the U.S. Department of Defense and allied nations are doubling down on AI-powered decision superiority — the capability to fuse data from sensors, detect threats instantly, and coordinate actions across every domain: land, air, sea, space, and cyber.
But the future won’t be built by defence primes alone.
Innovators are leading the charge:
Helsing 🇩🇪 — edge-deployable AI for real-time sensor fusion and situational awareness.
Anduril 🇺🇸 — autonomy and C2 tools that accelerate decision-making at the tactical edge.
Palantir 🇺🇸 — defence operating systems used from Ukraine to the Pentagon.
Opteran 🇬🇧 — biologically inspired AI delivering lightweight, explainable autonomy.
A wave of younger startups is now rising to challenge even these new incumbents — proving that innovation in defence AI is far from settled.
The mission is clear:
Turn data into dominance — at the speed of relevance.
🎙️ As Alain Gavin notes, this theme will feature in upcoming episodes of the Tech Command Investing podcast, spotlighting the frontier technologies transforming modern warfare and defence innovation.
🔗 Watch here

