This week’s defence AI stories converge on a single urgent theme: the threat timeline is collapsing. The UK’s NCSC has revealed that 75% of attacks on critical national infrastructure are now state-linked, with AI expected to supercharge exploitation of legacy systems by 2028. Meanwhile, the Pentagon launched its ‘Agent Network’ agentic AI tool for live targeting — signalling that AI is no longer experimental in warfare, it is operational.
Top story: UK’s NCSC reveals hostile states behind 75% of critical infrastructure cyberattacks, warns AI will weaponise legacy vulnerabilities at scale by 2028.
UK Cyber Chief: State Actors Behind 75% of Critical Infrastructure Attacks
The Record from Recorded Future News · Risk
NCSC CEO Dr Richard Horne, speaking at RUSI’s Annual Security Lecture on 17 June, disclosed that more than 200 cyber incidents hit UK critical national infrastructure in the year to May 2026 — with approximately 75% linked to hostile state actors including Russia, China and Iran. He warned that the NCSC assesses it ‘highly likely’ that AI-enabled capabilities will be used to exploit known vulnerabilities in legacy critical infrastructure at scale by 2028. The speech marks a deliberate shift in UK government framing: cybersecurity is no longer a risk to be managed, but an active ongoing contest with capable adversaries.
https://therecord.media/britain-nation-state-cyberattacks-richard-horne-rusi
Pentagon Launches ‘Agent Network’ AI Tool for Real-Time Battlefield Targeting
Defense Mirror · Generative AI
The US Department of War launched ‘Agent Network’ on 26 June — an agentic AI system designed to continuously scan defence intelligence and operational systems, compressing the time from intelligence discovery to commander decision-making down to seconds. Built on Palantir’s Maven Smart System and Lumbra’s AI orchestration technology, it transforms what the Pentagon calls ‘traditional targeting’ into a modern AI-enabled process. The launch is a core deliverable of the Department of War’s AI Acceleration Strategy, and signals that autonomous decision-support in live targeting has moved from pilot to production.
Europe’s LEAP Initiative Bets on Ukraine Drone Expertise for NATO Defence
GIS Reports Online · Strategy
In February 2026, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK formally launched the Low-Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative, a joint programme to manufacture low-cost air defence systems and autonomous drones that leverages battlefield-proven Ukrainian expertise. The initiative sits alongside an 800 million-euro Build with Ukraine joint venture signed by four Ukrainian companies with Danish and Lithuanian manufacturers, covering drone production at scale. For European defence practitioners, LEAP represents a strategic pivot: treating Ukraine’s AI-drone innovation loop — which iterates hardware and software in weeks — as a model for NATO procurement reform.
https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/drones-warfare-strategic-outcomes/