The end of 202t5 is approaching and now it's time for us to list the 10 Most Interesting Military Technology News of 2025. This year, the use of AI is increasingly enhanced by major powers and a major scandal involving Azure technology being misused by Israel to commit genocide against Palestine.
1. Israel Uses Microsoft Azure to Monitor Palestinians
Last year, Israel carried out bomb attacks on pagers and two-way radios. This year, they were also exposed for using Microsoft Azure services to spy on Palestinian phone conversations since 2022 with the data collected later used to help carry out airstrikes and have planned military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Microsoft finally blocked Israel from using Azure in September. In leaked documents, recordings of Palestinian phone calls were stored in Azure data centers located in the Netherlands and Ireland. In the Dutch database alone, more than 200 million hours of audio recordings were stored, taking up 11,500 TB of storage space.
Microsoft is among the companies included in the list of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement due to their involvement with the Zionist regime which is actively committing genocide in Palestine according to an official report by the United Nations.
2. Malaysia and South Korea Expand Defense Industry Cooperation Including Weapons Development
Malaysia and South Korea have expanded defense industry cooperation with a focus not only on arms procurement but also on defense technology development, joint production of military equipment and long-term research and development.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur in October by Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and South Korean DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun.
Malaysia had previously signed a cooperation agreement with South Korea in the purchase of K200 armored personnel carriers in 1993 and later the purchase of 18 KAI FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft in 2023 for the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
3. Russian Bomber Destroyed by Ukrainian Low-Cost Drone
The Vietnam and Afghanistan wars are two examples of the most advanced military technology not promising victory. Now in Ukraine, Russia is once again facing a smaller enemy that has managed to cause major damage using low-cost weapons. Last Sunday, it was reported that 41 Russian bombers were destroyed or successfully damaged using drones launched from containers.
The attack was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) using hundreds of small drones hidden on the roofs of containers. When they arrived at the Russian bomber airbase, the drones were launched, which is believed to have been done by swat using the open source software Ardupilot. There are reports that artificial intelligence (AI) was used to direct the drones to attack the parts of the aircraft that caused the most damage.
The small quadrotor drones used successfully bypassed the air security and radar systems used by Russia to defend their airbase. Among the aircraft that were successfully attacked were the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bomber, the Tupolev Tu-22M Backfire and the Beriev A-50 Mainstay AWACS aircraft.
The damage is estimated at $9 billion, causing Russia to lose 34% of its strategic bomber fleet. The attack has been nicknamed the Russian Pearl Harbor because it was carried out by surprise.
4. Anduril EagleEye Provides Iron Man-Like Capabilities on the Battlefield
Anduril took over the development project of the augmented reality (AR) headset IVAS from Microsoft last year. After AVAS failed to meet the needs of the US military, Anduril said they would develop a new set called EagleEye. Last October, the actual design of the EagleEye was finally officially shown.
EagleEye is equipped with various cameras and sensors that can provide night vision and lenses with built-in screens to display important information on the battlefield. Maps, enemy location, compasses and control of various devices are among the supported features. On the battlefield, EagleEye can be used like a regular helmet or with a mask that protects the face, making the wearer look like Iron Man.
According to Anduril founder Palmer Luckey – EagleEye also allows infantry soldiers to control drones and robots. Eagle Eye supports the Lattice ecosystem developed by the company, which also supports drones and missiles developed by the company. To make EagleEye a success, Anduril is working with Meta, OSI, Qualcomm and Gentex Corporation.
5. Anduril and Blue Origin Now Also Developing Cargo Rockets for Military Use
The United States Air Force (USAF) wants to have the ability to deliver supplies anywhere in the world within an hour. Therefore, the Rocket Experiment for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) project has been underway since 2020. After appointing SpaceX and Rocket Lab to develop military cargo rockets, the USAF also appointed Anduril and Blue Origin.
Blue Origin has aerospace expertise through the New Glenn and New Shepard rockets and received a contract to build one of the Artemis Mission landing vehicles to the moon. Anduril is better known as a drone company that recently entered the missile production arena and took over the IVAS headset project for infantry from Microsoft.
Under the REGAL project, the cargo rocket must have the capacity to carry up to 82 tons of cargo, which is equivalent to the capacity of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane currently in use.
6. America Will Build a “Golden Dome” to Defeat Missile Attacks Worth $175 Billion
The Golden Dome is the name of a character in the comic Dewata Raya by Tony Wong, which was popular in the 90s. It can ward off attacks from Mr. Muscle, the Bones Comedian and President William Gates. This Hong Kong comic fiction became a reality after the Golden Dome project was announced by President Trump in May to protect the United States from Russian and Chinese attacks.
The Golden Dome defense system will cost $175 billion (~RM 744 billion) with Trump wanting it to start operating as early as 2029 before the end of his term as President. The Canadian government has also shown interest in collaborating on developing a system to detect intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile launches using a network of satellites in space.
In addition to intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles, the Golden Dome is also designed to intercept missiles, hypersonic weapons and drones. The idea of developing this system was inspired by the Iron Dome system used by Israel.
Among the companies that may receive large contracts are Palantir, Anduril, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp. This Golden Dome project is similar to the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), better known as the Star Wars Program announced by President Reagan in 1983. SDI did not become a reality because the technology for a satellite network to detect missiles and laser systems that could intercept them did not yet exist 42 years ago.
7. OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI Allow Their AI to Be Used for Military Purposes
OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI have each been awarded contracts by the US Department of Defense to increase the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes. The contracts are reportedly worth up to $200 million each, with targets including the use of AI agents by military personnel and addressing critical national security challenges.
The June announcement follows a contract awarded to OpenAI earlier this year. OpenAI for Government is already in use by the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, NIH, and the Treasury Department. Also announced by Anthropic is Claude Gov, which is specifically designed for government operations such as strategic planning, operational support, and intelligence analysis.
AI is expected to double military capabilities on the ground and provide an advantage when confronting enemies. Last year, AI was used to identify 85 targets for bombing in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Israel used AI The Gospel to bomb more than 200 enemy locations in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
8. America Wants to Build a Space Carrier
Aircraft carriers are used by major powers to expand their military capabilities. Aircraft can be sent to attack enemies from any location when needed. Now the concept of a carrier ship will also be used in space through a project supported by the United States Space Force.
The first step has been taken with the contract for a prototype space carrier being awarded to Gravitics, Inc. The United States wants to have a carrier ship that can house several space vehicles. It will only be launched when needed. This could be in the form of a replacement satellite if the existing spy satellite fails or is destroyed by the enemy.
In the current situation, replacement satellites need to be launched from Earth and this may take several weeks because the cargo needs to be inspected, stored in the rocket's cargo bay and the rocket itself needs to be inspected before it can be launched. Then there are weather factors that can cause the launch to be canceled. With a space shuttle, the replacement satellite is launched immediately because it is already in orbit.
9. Boeing F-47 Is the United States' Gen-6 Fighter
Boeing was announced as the winner of the contract to produce the United States' sixth-generation fighter aircraft under the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. This new United States fighter aircraft since the F-35 will use the official name F-47 with Boeing successfully beating their competitor Lockheed Martin.
For the development of the F-47, Boeing will receive funds worth $20 billion (~RM 88.5 billion) with each aircraft then being sold for around $300 million (~RM 1.33 billion). As a sixth-generation aircraft, the F-47 still requires a human pilot but will be able to operate alongside drones under the previously announced Skyborg and Replicator programs
Previously, in a leaked image shared by Boeing, their NGAD aircraft will not have a vertical tail, but will have delta wings and canards on the nose. It is similar to two prototypes of China's sixth-generation fighter aircraft that suddenly appeared in December last year. Above is the first official image of the F-47 shared by Boeing, which clearly has the same design as the NGAD design.
Boeing did not say why the F-47 name was used. Previously, the same number was used on the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft that operated during World War II.
10. Israeli Army Mandates iPhone
Due to security reasons, the Israeli Army (IDF) has now banned the use of Android smartphones by military officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel and above. They are required to use only iPhones from now on, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post.
The use of Android is banned to prevent the devices belonging to officers from being accessed by enemies, thereby revealing sensitive information such as the location of military personnel. Israel said there were efforts by Iran to use social engineering tactics to access personnel's devices.
The new directive is an effort to strengthen existing security, including increasing officers' awareness of social engineering tactics. The ban only applies to devices used by officers for duty. They are still allowed to use personal devices that use Android.
