🔷 Saved Rounds 10.21.25

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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In that Number

$1.5 trillion

JPMorgan Chase launched a $1.5T, 10-year Security and Resiliency Initiative to finance and invest in industries critical to the US economy and national security.

Zoom in

Japan is facing increased security threats from China, North Korea, and Russia. In response, it is bolstering defense capabilities, enhancing ties with allies like the U.S., and fostering regional partnerships.

Zoom in here to see Japan’s new defense strategy. Warning, it’s 500+ pages, but at least the official cover is anime.

They Said It

“We cannot f-ing wait to innovate until Americans are dying on the battlefield. We must act now to enable our soldiers. Our window to change is right now, and we have a plan to do it. We will set the pace with innovation, and we will win with silicon and software, and not with our soldiers’ blood and bodies.”

— Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Army

 ICYMI

Saved Rounds

• Rafael unveiled the rocket-powered L-Spike 4X launched effect

• Anduril won an Army competition for a new counter-drone fire control system

• Redwire & Edge Autonomy partnered to integrate their Group 1 and Group 2 drones

• Planet Labs won a $12.8M NGA contract for maritime intelligence

• Sweden is about to get its first JAS 39 Gripen E fighters

• Sweden allocated $524m to upgrade its Gripen fleet

• Saab received a $238M contract to advance studies and technology development for Sweden’s next-gen manned and unmanned fighter

• Dark (French space startup) ceased operations

• PDW unveiled multi-mission payloads for its C100 drones

• AV plans to open a new production facility in Utah next year to boost Switchblade production

• India is buying Thales multi-role missiles totaling $468M

• Lockheed Martin test-fired a JAGM ground launcher for a naval counter-drone role

• Sigma Defense acquired Aries Defense

• Boeing & Leonardo partnered to propose the AW119T helicopter as the Army’s next training helo

• GrandSKY announced the deployment of a foundational C-UAS at Grand Forks AFB

• Anduril & General Dynamics partnered to integrate the Spark radar into ground platforms

• L3Harris introduced new variants of its VAMPIRE counter-drone system

• Boeing was awarded $2.7B in contracts to boost PAC-3 production for the Army

• MatrixSpace closed a $20M Series B funding round for AI-enhanced radar products

• Germany signed a deal for 20 more Tranche 5 Eurofighters

• The Army contracted General Atomics to add a new EW system to its MQ-1C Gray Eagle fleet

• The Air Force reversed course on plans for an Integrated Capabilities Command to centralize tech acquisition

• Atomic-6 unveiled Space Armor, a new composite to protect spacecraft from orbital debris

• The Army’s first hypersonic missiles will be fielded with Dark Eagle units by the end of the year

• IAI & AEVEX unveiled a new VTOL drone

• Lockheed Martin was tapped to develop a second interceptor for the Enduring Shield system

• Pyka unveiled a new long-range heavy-lift cargo drone

• Boeing announced plans to modernize the CH-47 Chinook to keep it flying into the 2060s 

• L3Harris & IAI are teaming to offer the Blue Sky Warden to Israel’s light attack program

• Razor's Edge closed a $560M investment fund to scale defense and aerospace tech firms

• ZeroEyes launched a drone detection product

• Molex agreed to acquire Smiths Interconnect (electronics connectors)

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