AI and other technological advancements in defence & security

The global defence sector continues to experience technological transformation. While some AI applications can now be said to be well established – particularly where AI is integrated with autonomous systems for intelligence gathering – other innovative military use cases are evolving. The US Army’s recent development of a smartphone application that uses AI to quickly identify military equipment in combat areas exemplifies this creative approach. Looking ahead, military planners anticipate the near-term advent of AI-enabled battlefield advantages including enhanced command and control (C2) capabilities and improved situational awareness. Recent experiments demonstrate this potential: the US Air Force’s Maven Smart System, for example, now provides real-time targeting recommendations to reduce cognitive load in operations. In May 2025, Helsing, a German-based defence technology company, released Lura, a software platform and AI system used for underwater surveillance.

The war in Ukraine in particular has demonstrated the critical importance of technology-driven war fighting capabilities. Military advantage now depends on integrating operations across multiple domains, while making fast, data-driven decisions. This contrasts with traditional reliance on conventional hardware. Companies such as SpaceX, AWS and Microsoft have become essential providers of satellite imagery, data storage and cloud infrastructure that support modern military operations. For example, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network has become essential to Ukrainian military operations, providing communications for drone operations, artillery coordination and command and control functions. This growing reliance on commercial providers of advanced technologies creates opportunities for innovation; however, governance and regulatory complexities arise as the line between commercial and military capabilities gets blurred.

This brief overview forms part of our contribution to the publication of ‘Lexology Panoramic: Defence & Security Procurement’. You can access more on our Defence and Security Procurement Hub.

Our international Defence & Security team have written the global overview, the Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and UK chapters, and Mark Leach and Jono Ellis are contributing editors for the publication. All content on the hub is reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd and was first published in Lexology Panoramic. For further information please visit: https://www.lexology.com/panoramic