AIC Technical Briefing - 17 Oct 2025

This week in defence and mil-tech (Oct 10–17, 2025) — the signal, not the noise.

1) Air, land, autonomy: ADEX Seoul goes big on AI and unmanned

South Korea opened its largest-ever ADEX, showcasing unmanned and AI-enhanced systems across air and land, from KF-21 demonstrations to automated K9 howitzers and loitering munitions. Hanwha highlighted autonomous weapon stacks as Seoul targets an 8.2% defence-budget rise to ₩66.3T for 2026 and pushes exports amid regional tension. Reuters

2) Japan inches toward cruise-missile co-development

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is in talks to co-develop engines for Germany’s Taurus cruise missile line—another marker of Tokyo’s gradual shift from strict post-WWII constraints. Export-control nuance looms large (especially around re-export to conflict zones), but it’s a notable industrial signal alongside Germany’s Taurus modernization ambitions. Reuters

3) UK operational tempo and partnerships

• CSG drills with India: The UK-led Carrier Strike Group completed joint exercises with India in the Indo-Pacific (Operation Highmast), dovetailing with new defence deals and jobs. This continues London–Delhi alignment on maritime security and industrial collaboration. GOV.UK

• UAS for Ukraine at scale: The UK delivered 85,000 uncrewed aerial systems to Ukraine over the past six months—evidence of the West’s pivot to attritable drones, rapid replenishment and layered ISR/strike at volume. Default

• Policy & resilience: The UK articulated “comprehensive security” priorities at the OSCE, mapping military-civilian integration across cyber, infrastructure and crisis comms in the Strategic Defence Review 2025. GOV.UK

4) AUSA week: production, protected mobility, and sustainment

• Missile throughput: Lockheed Martin briefed continued ramp-ups to meet Ukraine/Middle East demand and allied stockpile backfills—part of a broader “industrial readiness” theme. euro-sd.com

• Infantry Squad Vehicles: GM Defense plans to deliver 1,200+ ISV-U variants by end-2026, underscoring light mobility and rapid deployment priorities for dispersed operations. Default

• Right-to-repair & data: US Army acquisition leaders emphasized contracting for the “right data” and embedding “right-to-repair,” aiming to reduce downtime and vendor lock-in across the fleet. Expect clauses that force interface docs and maintenance data into programs of record. DefenseScoop

5) Space & materials science

• Dual-use space: NATO allies gathered in the UK to tackle dual-use space-tech hurdles—think commercial imagery, LEO comms, SSA and norms. This directly affects ISR tasking, crisis comms, and alliance burden-sharing in orbit. space.blog.gov.uk

• Hardening spacecraft: DARPA is funding new protective coatings for LEO spacecraft—targeting erosion, atomic oxygen, and thermal extremes—to extend satellite lifetimes and lower lifecycle costs. News Center

• DARPA pipeline (near-term): Watch for Smart-RBC Proposers Day (Oct 20) and next-gen microelectronics manufacturing activity (NGMM Summit, Oct 27–28), both indicative of where US defence R&D dollars are steering. defencescienceinstitute.com+1

6) Identity, veterans and digital credentials (UK)

The UK launched a smartphone-based digital veteran card pilot via GOV.UK One Login—a bellwether for broader digital IDs. Backers tout simpler access to services and privacy-preserving tech; critics warn about centralization and surveillance creep. Watch the policy space: identity assurance intersects with veteran access, workforce verification and cyber doctrine. The Guardian

Military-themed gaming & simulation: what moved this week

Battlefield 6: monster launch, live-ops cadence—and early fixes

• Commercial & engagement: EA says Battlefield 6 hit 7M+ sales in its first week, the biggest launch in the franchise’s history, with record Steam concurrents (~747k). Season 1 (“Rogue Ops”) kicks off Oct 28 with Blackwell Fields, a 4v4 mode, and more content drops. GamesRadar++1

• Patch + issues: DICE acknowledged hit-reg/bloom bugs; hotfixes and tuning are rolling out, including backend stability updates reported mid-week. Translation: the live-ops loop is spinning up fast, but competitive balance will be a watch-item. PC Gamer+1

• Roadmap chatter: Datamines/press hint at more modes (e.g., Strikepoint, Sabotage) heading into Season 1. As always—treat leaks with salt until official notes land. Military.com+1

Arma Reforger (road to Arma 4)

Bohemia’s Reforger kept community energy high with a new Community Radar issue today and recent experimental build updates (v1.6.0.31). For mil-sim studios and mod teams, Reforger’s Enfusion engine continues to be the proving ground ahead of Arma 4. Arma Reforger+1

War Thunder & DCS

Gaijin’s latest digest breaks down recon drone mechanics and spawn-point recalculations—important for players who lean into scouting/combined-arms meta. DCS, meanwhile, is quieter this week content-wise (Autumn sale late September), with community coverage still buzzing from recent module and map threads. War Thunder+1

Why it matters (operator’s lens)

• Industrial surge meets attritable warfare: From AUSA production ramp-ups to the UK’s mass UAS shipments, the centre of gravity is shifting toward throughput, sustainment, and cheap/replaceable platforms—paired with smarter C2 and AI-enabled targeting. euro-sd.com+2Default+2

• Allied interoperability and Indo-Pacific posture: UK-India CSG activity and Seoul’s ADEX underscore a tightening lattice of tech-sharing, drills and export pathways—crucial for resilient supply chains and common TTPs. GOV.UK+1

• Space is getting “real-time”: Dual-use dialogues + materials hardening = faster adoption of commercial-mil integrations and longer-lived LEO assets—key for ISR persistence and resilient comms. space.blog.gov.uk+1

• Policy is part of the tech stack: “Right-to-repair” and digital ID choices will shape fleet readiness, lifecycle cost, and workforce/veteran access—don’t treat these as side quests. DefenseScoop+1