🔷 Saved Rounds 1.28.25

Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.

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Zoom in

SBICCT Initiative: The Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative is an effort from the Office of Strategic Capital to pool and coordinate investments to support national security.

Why it Matters: SBICCT Initiative expects to invest over $4B in 1,700+ portfolio companies focused on the Pentagon’s 14 Critical Technology Areas. Here is the first cohort of SBICCT investors.

In that Number

$1.7 Billion

Boeing’s defense unit lost $1.7 Billion last quarter as its fixed-price contracts continue to haunt the company.

The two biggest contributors are the KC-46 tanker ($800M loss) and T-7A trainer ($500M loss).

 ICYMI

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Saved Rounds

• Lockheed Martin’s NASA X-59 started engine runs, a key step to the first flight of the quiet supersonic test bed

• China’s CH-YH1000 cargo drone was caught on video doing taxi testing

• Redwire is buying Edge Autonomy for $925m to expand into the defense segment

• The Navy is testing a fully autonomous satellite designed to detect and characterize objects in space

• Zero Gravity switched from DJI drones to Freefly Systems’ Astro Drone to compete in the defense segment

• The Philippines wants to double its FA-50 and A-29B fleets

• Rolls-Royce was awarded a $11B contract for submarine nuclear reactors

• The UK Army is exploring AH-64E Apache manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T)

• Lockheed Martin was awarded a $270m contract to integrate a new Infrared Defensive System (IRDS) on the F-22 Raptor

• Honeywell’s new Anthem avionics system has AI and connectivity, permitting cockpit automation and predictive maintenance

• Elsight launched HeatSight, a cellular signal mapping tool to characterize high-altitude network coverage for drones

• The Air Force is exploring the combination of Quicksink seekers with its forthcoming ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munition) to create affordable anti-ship cruise missiles

• SMARTSHOOTER & HevenDrones announced a partnership to equip logistics drones with weapons

• India joined the Eurodrone program as an observer

• Airbus’s A320 ATRA flying test bed conducted its first flight with the Eurofighter E-Scan radar nose  

• Voyager filed to go public

• L3Harris acquired REDCOM’s Sigma C2 software and hardware product lines

• Baykar’s Bayraktar TB3 drone completed its first flights with MAM-T laser-guided bombs

• General Atomics unveiled an electric-launch system to put drones on ships

• The Army bought $55M in Switchblade attack drones

• Saab was tapped to provide TactiCall secure comms for Australia’s MQ-28 Block 2 Ghost Bat

• South Korea is creating an improved version of its 90-mile range L-SAM (long-range surface-to-air missile)

• Thales Alenia Space & Hispasat were tapped to develop a GEO satellite payload that uses quantum tech to distribute encryption keys in orbit

• Ukraine unveiled a new Group 2 ISR drone

• Windracers (UK) unveiled its next-gen autonomous cargo drone (twin prop with 50% payload increase)

• BAE received an $85M Navy contract for more Network Tactical Common Data Link (NTCDL) radios

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