Defense tech funding surges to $28 bln in 2025 with autonomous systems investment.

Defense tech funding has surged to $28 billion in 2025, with a focus on dual-use innovations that combine commercial and military-grade capabilities. Venture capital investment in autonomous systems and communications technologies has more than doubled year-over-year. The Navy's collaborative combat aircraft contracts demonstrate the transition to coordinated autonomous networks across air, land, and sea domains. Companies positioned at the intersection of autonomous systems and defense-grade connectivity, such as VisionWave Holdings and Ondas Holdings, are well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities.

Defense tech funding has surged to approximately $28 billion in 2025, with a significant focus on dual-use innovations that blend commercial and military-grade capabilities. This surge in investment is driven by a more than doubling year-over-year increase in venture capital investment in autonomous systems and communications technologies Autonomous Defense Networks Grow as Approximately $28B Investment Wave Transforms Military Communications^[2]. The Navy's collaborative combat aircraft contracts, awarded to aerospace primes earlier in September, have further accelerated the transition to coordinated autonomous networks across air, land, and sea domains Autonomous Defense Networks Grow as Approximately $28B Investment Wave Transforms Military Communications^[2].

Companies positioned at the intersection of autonomous systems and defense-grade connectivity, such as VisionWave Holdings and Ondas Holdings, are particularly well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities. VisionWave Holdings, for instance, demonstrated its "precision at speed" technology during a live-fire trial at Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi, achieving millisecond track initiation and low false-positive rates against various threats Autonomous Defense Networks Grow as Approximately $28B Investment Wave Transforms Military Communications^[2]. The company has also secured a $50 million equity line facility to accelerate the development of its AI-driven defense platform, reflecting its strategic intent to lead in this rapidly evolving market.

Ondas Holdings, meanwhile, has secured a $3.5 million order from a major defense entity for multiple unmanned ground vehicles and designated mission payloads, expanding its customer's robotic capabilities for security, logistics, and tactical operations Autonomous Defense Networks Grow as Approximately $28B Investment Wave Transforms Military Communications^[2]. The order positions Ondas to capitalize on the growing ground robotics market, which has a total addressable market exceeding $3.0 billion according to Global Market Insights.

These developments underscore the growing demand for AI-powered capabilities that can operate across diverse environments. Defense organizations worldwide are scrambling to integrate such capabilities into their operations, creating a significant market opportunity for companies with cutting-edge technologies and strategic partnerships.