Shares in Defence Holdings PLC (LSE:ALRT), the cash shell led by a former Royal Navy officer, jumped 25% after it let investors know it has a five-year plan to scale up its technology-led defence capabilities to meet European security needs.
It said demand for information has been "exceptionally strong," so it will unveil its full strategy on Thursday, followed by an investor call next Monday, open to all.
The company will focus on four sections of the defence market: 'drone warfare & aggregation'; 'AI agents for defence operations'; 'information & influence warfare'; and 'critical infrastructure defence'.
Last week, the company proposed two new board appointments, including chairman James Norwood, formerly a Royal Navy officer and an ex-director of Babcock, Costain's defence arm and Raytheon Technologies.
He said the strategic plan "arrives at a defining moment for the UK and European defence landscape" and he felt that his experience in military operations and defence innovation "has underscored the need for agile, technology-first solutions in a rapidly evolving threat environment".
Another appointment was Ian Yarwood-Lovett as independent non-executive director, former creative lead for strategic wargaming initiatives at Microsoft, who more recently led a venture for US defence contractor SMX that applied commercial gaming and AI-enhanced technologies to strategic defence simulations.
Defence Holdings said the four areas of focus include ambitions that include building a software platform to organise a large fleet of autonomous and commercial off-the-shelf drones, launching an in-house defence AI studio, offering counter-disinformation software to European governments, and delivering AI-enhanced OT security services for critical infrastructure operators.
The shares added 25% to 0.63p on Tuesday morning.