🔷 Saved Rounds 5.19.26

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

📺 PODCAST: Check it out on YouTube or download the podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your content.

In that Number

$1.2 trillion

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that a national missile shield project could cost up to $1.2 trillion to develop and operate over 20 years.

The head of Golden Dome has refuted the estimate, saying it was based on flawed assumptions and that the team was not consulted before it was compiled.

Word of the Week

Sea-based Petroleum Distribution System: SPDS is a U.S. Navy logistical system designed to transfer bulk fuel from tankers to shore without a fixed port. The system uses a submersible bulk fuel barge, a floating refueling buoy, and hoses to deliver high-capacity fuel directly from seafloor to shore in austere environments.

Why It Matters: BlackSea Technologies was awarded a $256M contract to produce up to 5 SPDS units through 2031. This system really needs an OV-1 graphic to appreciate how it all works.

They Said It

“We have to be able to bring together our standard, exquisite weapons systems now with teamed and collaborative autonomy, and there are very few places inside the United States where that is an easy thing to do, in many places where it needs to be done, and we are working to do that.”

— Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

 ICYMI

Saved Rounds

• The Pentagon reversed course and requested to fund the E-7 Wedgetail

• GE Aerospace cleared the XA102 adaptive engine for F-47 fighter assembly

• Quantum Systems acquired Estonia’s SensusQ

• Pakistan debuted the Fatah-3 supersonic cruise missile 

• The MDA announced Project Maverick, a 2027 counter-hypersonic missile test

• South Korea approved the KF-21 fighter jet for combat deployment

• The Air Force will award counter-air missile program (CAMP) prototype contracts by September

• DARPA wants containerized systems to launch and recover drone swarms

• Front Ventures raised $5.4M to fund early-stage defense companies in Ukraine & Sweden

• Viasat won a $307M Marine Corps contract for SATCOM services

• Kratos picked Odon, Indiana, for a new hypersonic materials test facility

• General Atomics demoed APKWS on an MQ-9 Reaper for countering drones

• Lockheed Martin won a $407M contract for Aegis Guam Missile Defense

• PteroDynamics won a Australian contract for its Transwing drones

• The UK selected 4 companies for its Apache drone wingman project

• TrustPoint won a $4M Space Force contract for GPS-independent navigation

• Unither Bioélectronique flew the world’s first hydrogen-electric helicopter

• Rotron Aerospace tested its new SkyLance strike drone 

• The Air Force is seeking funding for a ship-killing hypersonic ARRW variant

• Kodiak AI partnered with GDLS to develop a new autonomous military vehicle

• EDGE & Baykar partnered to integrate Al Tariq munitions into Akinci drones

• Northrop Grumman is converting RQ-4s to monitor hypersonic testing

• AV won a $43M contract for PANTHER arrays for hypersonic telemetry

• Lockheed Martin received a $1B contract for F-35 electronic warfare kits

• Aeralis failed, ending hopes for a British advanced jet trainer 

• Turkey begins development of carrier-based jet trainer

• HII delivered 2 autonomous vessels to the Marine Corps

• Lockheed Martin closed a $61M deal for 2 Patriot enhancements

• Saildrone won a $15M contract for 16 Voyager vessels for the Coast Guard

• Anduril won an Army contract to develop a battle management solution

• Teledyne FLIR won an Army contract for Rogue 1 munitions

• NASA & Microchip unveiled a radiation-hardened chip for space computing

• Peru ordered a 5th C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter from Leonardo

• Rafael introduced Storm Shield, a mini electronic warfare system for drones

• Celeste Ecoflyers tested the inflatable wing drone for cargo deliveries

• Iridium is acquiring air traffic surveillance company Aireon

• Edge Group released test footage of the SHADOW 25 kamikaze drone

• Vantor & BAE Systems integrated Raptor software into GXP geospatial tools

• The Air Force’s KC-46 vision system upgrade is delayed until 2028

💎 Free Merch! 💎 

Don't keep us a secret!
Share the Merge = earn free swag.
It's that simple.

You currently have 0 referrals, only 3 away from receiving Stickers.

Or copy and paste this link: https://themerge.co/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER