Sticky US inflation and an enduring Middle East energy shock anchor today's outlook, while three technology forecasts — orbital data centers, NATO defense AI procurement, and Israeli counter-drone hardening — show how the post-Iran-war infrastructure cycle is reshaping capital flows from space ventures back to terrestrial and battlefield-proven systems.

Three independent analysts converged on the core signal — debate was only about scope, not direction. The European defense restructuring chain (473 clusters, lifecycle de_escalation but high spending continuing) provides strong macro support. Network Theory pillar: Ukraine validation creates a procurement-graph cascade through NATO interoperability requirements. Base rate: large defense AI vendors typically win at least one new NATO contract per quarter in elevated-spend periods (2024-2025 pattern: 3-4 per quarter). The Skeptic accepted at 0.69; I push slightly higher to 0.72 given the three-analyst convergence and confirmed European rearmament chain. Tech sector is my strong domain so I trust this assessment.