Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
In that Number
1,775%
The U.S. Department of War’s use of AI exploded by 1,775% over the past year, with the user base expanding from 80,000 to approximately 1.5 million personnel. This massive adoption surge spans administrative, intelligence, and warfighting layers.
Zoom in
A May 2026 CSIS analysis warns that the U.S. will require at least 3 years to restore its critical weapons inventories to prewar levels.
Zoom in here to see the breakdowns by missile type, but if you’re like us, we like pictures, so here are a few of the charts from the report:
They Said It
“Whether it swims, it flies, it has feet, whatever it does, we have to make it do what we want it to do when we want to do it.”
— Marine Corps Gen. Frank Donovan, Commander of U.S. Southern Command, on the data network focus of the new SOUTHCOM Autonomous Warfare Command (SAWC)
Saved Rounds
AV expanded its Huntsville facility to accelerate Freedom Eagle-1 production
AV added 2 more software products to its AV_Halo platform
Poland received its first 3 F-35 fighters
The US approved a $108M package for Ukraine’s FrankenSAM program
Dell won a $9.7B Pentagon software license contract
The Space Force will demo on-orbit refueling early next year
Lyntris validated its new autonomy module in a live flight
Terra Drone deployed its A2 interceptor drone in Ukraine
Tiltan closed a deal for Israeli defense UAS simulation
South Korea to develop a domestic drone jet engine
Raytheon & Lockheed Martin delivered next-gen Javelin launchers to the Army
Canada ordered 6 M-346T jet trainers from Leonardo
The Air Force’s F-47 engine program is delayed until 2031
Rocket Lab won a $90M Space Force contract for GEO satellites
Nominal was tapped as the data backbone for DARPA's CyPhER Forge program
The Air Force integrated GBU-39B bombs into MQ-9 Reaper drones
Lockheed Martin received a $100M contract to fix F-35 brake problems
Thales tested its X-Fire rocket system to replace US HIMARS
SOCOM selected Stennis Space Center for an autonomous systems proving ground
Survice Engineering & BAE tested a rocket-launching TRV 150 drone
Rune unveiled an Autonomy Development Kit for vehicle logistics
Airis Labs exited stealth with $60M for its video-intelligence platform
Voyager Technologies entered phase 2 of DARPA's rocket program
Raytheon entered phase 2 of DARPA's rocket program
Carlyle launched an investment unit focused on the defense sector
The Air Force is speeding up electronic warfare upgrades for the F-15E
Airbus may partner with Saab to develop a sixth-generation fighter
Australia received its 14th and final P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft
Rheinmetall received a $1.1B German contract for 2,000+ military trucks
Raytheon won a $1B Pentagon contract to supply NASAMS to Kuwait
Tycho.AI developed a new high-speed drone with AI capabilities
Tycho.AI secured a $2M AFRL contract to advance maritime autonomy
Ukraine agreed to buy 20 Gripen jets while Sweden donates 16 models
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