We never know quite who is funding highly innovative dual use startups, or quite why. The govt (CIA I think) funded Oracle and Google into existence solving their own problems but didn't advertise that. SpinLaunch is very dual use. The problems cited go away on the moon; and as a way to launch smart anti-tank missles etc it's already almost there. Smart artillery shells are even more expensive than a highmars missle; there's every incentive to develop something less expensive per shot but with more range than either. I could easily be wrong but I rather doubt the true purpose of this project is to compete with SpaceX.
