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- 🔷 Saved Rounds 3.31.26
🔷 Saved Rounds 3.31.26
Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
In that Number
40%
The Army is shifting its acquisition strategy to favor "good-enough" tech, with an appetite for accepting a product that is only 40% complete to allow for soldier-led iteration through real-world feedback.
Zoom in
What is the difference between a Transoceanic Navy and a Panoceanic Navy? We didn’t know either.
Zoom in here for an explanation about shifting away from projecting power ashore and toward reestablishing command of the sea to enable the flow of friendly military forces and trade while denying that movement to the adversary.
They Said It
“We have most certainly kept the cost control component of this program and done better than many people predicted that we would do.”
— Col. Timothy Helfrich, Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, stating that Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) is tracking below initial price estimates
Military software SUCKS.
Defense Unicorns is fixing it.
All modern hardware depends on good software, but in the U.S. military, most software sucks.
Rob Slaughter, co-founder and CEO of Defense Unicorns, joins the show to unpack why this is happening and what they are doing to fix it.
Why is the process broken? Is open-source software good or bad? Why are all the McDonald’s ice cream machines broken?
You’re gonna learn a ton about software—we guarantee!
Check it out!
Last Chance:
Defense Tech Conference at MIT & Harvard
In less than a week, the Technology & National Security Conference returns to MIT and Harvard Business School in Cambridge, MA, April 3–4.
Innovation for today's and tomorrow’s frontlines is being driven by founders, investors, and government leaders with a bias for action and urgency to win. Cambridge is a natural meeting point: radar, inertial navigation, guidance computers, and anti-jam communications were born steps from the venue.
Others carried the torch; now it’s on you to be a part. Acta Non Verba.
Saved Rounds
Enigma Aerospace announced its emergence from stealth for autonomous logistics
TransMIT & IQM developed an atmosphere-breathing propulsion system for space
Ekolot Aerospace & Defense conducted the first test flights of the ZEUS aircraft
The Pentagon designated Palantir's Maven AI as an official program of record
Gambit & Pendleton UAS Range partnered for Red Force counter-UAS training
Draganfly & Palladyne AI integrated SwarmOS for drone swarm capabilities
PBS Aerospace won a $3M Air Force contract for FAMM propulsion systems
Silvus Technologies announced its StreamScape ATAK Plugin for MANET radios
FlyFocus unveiled the KURIER unmanned helicopter that can carry 200kg
VICTUS Technologies closed a seed round for hardware-agnostic autonomy
Ondas is acquiring World View Enterprises
Powerus presented the Guardian-1 high-speed interceptor to counter drone threats
Destinus & Shield AI tested Hornet drones with Hivemind autonomy software
Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury CCA has entered serial production in Ohio
The Navy’s MQ-25 program missed its Milestone C due to production delays
Lockheed Martin tested its GRIZZLY launcher by firing a HELLFIRE missile
Applied Intuition developed DECK to turn Navy ships into AI-enabled platforms
L3Harris launched VAMPIRE production in Alabama to meet drone-killer demand
The Netherlands targeted a $1.1B rush order for an additional Patriot system
China unveiled its Atlas drone swarm operations system for autonomous combat
Lockheed Martin ramped Javelin production through supply chain automation
The UK & Turkey signed a multi-billion-pound deal for Typhoon jet training
The Navy unveiled a new MUSV marketplace for autonomous vessels
The Air Force unveiled plans for its low-cost cruise missile programs
No new F-35 combat capability was fielded in 2025 due to software issues
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