🔷 Saved Rounds 5.5.26

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

6,600 to 33,000

Depending on which Ukrainian official you source, Russia launched 6,600 to 33,000 drones at Ukraine in March. Almost 90% were successfully intercepted.

Zoom in

What is affordable mass? What does attrition actually mean? Does buying lots of low-cost things constitute a plan? How can the Pentagon sustain high rates of production?

Zoom in here for the answers.

They Said It

“The E-2 really doesn’t cut it. It’s like comparing a King Air to a 777, with respect to capabilities.” 

— Congressman Jake Ellzey, Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, comparing the E-2D Hawkeye to the E-7 Wedgetail

 ICYMI

Saved Rounds

• Mistral won a $20M Army contract for THOR drones

• Firestorm Labs raised a $82M Series B for expeditionary manufacturing

• GA-EMS was selected by the Space Force for laser terminal production

• Patriot won a $746M Navy contract for sub-hunting ship operations

• HII won a DIU contract to deliver submarine torpedo tube recovery systems

• Armolab unveiled a 6-wheel electric UGV for heavy battlefield logistics missions

• BAE Systems secured an $11M Space Force contract for the Link-182 system

• L3Harris secured a $1B DoW investment for missile production expansion

• Aurelius launched a division to produce defense laser components

• Northrop Grumman & Hanwha are developing a solid rocket booster for surface-launched long-range strike

• Colibrium Additive won a $3M Navy contract for metal 3D printing

• BAH invested in NODA AI to orchestrate mixed autonomous fleets

• Rune rolled out Saga, an AI agent for frontline military logistics

• The Marine Corps MQ-58 Valkyrie drones will be fielded in 2029

• The Air Force wants to revive the ARRW hypersonic missile

• Nominal acquired Fid Labs to integrate AI agents into hardware engineering

• PlanetiQ won a $15M Air Force contract for next-generation weather satellites

• Germany tested STARK loitering munitions within AI-enabled drone swarms

• Hungary received 2 new Saab Gripen C fighter jets

• Beehive Industries unveiled a 3D-printed jet engine with 1,000 lbf thrust

• DZYNE Technologies won an Air Force contract for 3 ULTRA Group 5 UAS

• Powerus won an Air Force contract for Guardian interceptor drones

• Online Oceans secured $5M in funding to scale autonomous vessel fleets

• The Air Force proposed increased EA-37B orders while retiring E-11A jets

• Shield AI opened a New Delhi office to deepen its Indian presence

• Argentina wants to buy 2 KC-135R tankers

• Spain is replacing its F-5 fleet with 30 jets based on Turkey’s HÜRJET trainer

• Textron is splitting its industrial segment to prioritize aerospace and defense

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