🔷 Saved Rounds 6.24.25

June 24, 2025

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

🔷 Your mission: Read. Enjoy. Learn. Share. Don’t forget the last step—it’s what keeps us going.

In that Number

$10.4 billion

Germany has pledged $10.4 billion in aid to Ukraine for 2025, including $2.2 billion for joint military-industrial projects and expanded air defense systems.

This commitment builds on Germany’s total of $55.5 billion in aid since the war began, making it the second-largest supporter of Ukraine (after the US).

Zoom in

The Marine Corps’ MQ-9A drone fleet is finally fully equipped and flying missions across the world. But there are still significant growing pains with integrating the intel into the force.

Zoom in here to get up to speed, straight from a Marine officer living it.

They Said It

“Credulous investors are eating up industry claims about a so-called ‘revolution’ in warfare, hastening the premature adoption of unproven technologies.”

— Jonathan Panter, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, on companies overstating lessons from Black Sea USV operations on how they transfer to the Pacific.

Episode 48

🎧 On the pod: Mike and Jake catch up on defense tech happenings.

Behind the scenes on the frothy state of defense VC investing.

Golden Dome: breaking down the problem, the solution, and the challenges ahead.

DIU: A viral LinkedIn post sparks conversation about innovation, Ukraine, and a potential reckoning in the US innovation space.

The next thing: forget about the third offset, what is the fourth offset?

Check it out!

 Together with 1440 Media

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Saved Rounds

  • Australia revealed it demoed a live flight of manned unmanned teaming (MUM-T) with 2 MQ-28A Ghost Bats and an E-7 Wedgetail

  • Mach Industries closed a $100M Series B round to expand production of its vertically-integrated drone products (including propulsion)

  • BAE and Avioniq tested Rattlesnaq, a cockpit AI assistant that helps fighter pilots dodge missiles

  • CX2 raised a $31M Series A to develop attritable electronic warfare systems

  • BlackSky unveiled a wide-area imaging satellite called Aros

  • Edgewing is the new name of the joint venture to build the 3-nation GCAP fighter (will be headquartered in the UK)

  • Redwire finalized the acquisition of Edge Autonomy

  • Lockheed Martin received approval to use synthetic fuel for F-16s and C-130s

  • The UK approved $277M to produce the ECRS Mk2 next-gen radar for its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter fleet

  • Poland killed the program to buy 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters

  • OpenAI won a $200M Army contract to put generative AI to work for the military

  • Borsight won a $2.2B contract to upgrade the Air Force T-6A fleet’s avionics

  • Allen Control Systems opened an innovation lab to combat drone threats

  • The Netherlands was approved to buy $215M of Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM)

  • Italy was approved to buy $211M of AIM-120 missiles

  • MBDA unveiled a new large one-way attack drone

  • Portugal plans to buy a 6th KC-390 Millennium

  • Germany’s Air Force is buying 3 more Heron TP drones from Israel

  • Airbus & Quantum Systems partnered to integrate autonomous ISR drones with command and control systems

  • Ultra I&C was tapped by the Army to supply its Archer troposcatter system for secure communications

  • The Army is set to produce over one million 155mm artillery shells next year

  • Auterion signed an MoU with Taiwan for drone swarming tech on unmanned platforms

  • The Air Force’s B-52 bomber engine replacement program has inlet design issues

  • Maxar Intelligence partnered with Array Labs to boost 3D imaging technology

  • Boeing completed Increment 3 Block 2 P-8A Poseidon upgrades for the Navy

  • Turkish Aerospace plans to have an indigenous KAAN jet engine by 2032

  • The US approved a $2B deal for F/A-18F and EA-18G sustainment for Australia

  • Lithuania announced it will purchase 3 C-390 transport aircraft

  • Pratt & Whitney’s F-35 engine upgrade is delayed by a year

  • The Eurofighter consortium plans to ramp up production to 30 Typhoon jets per year by 2028

  • General Atomics unveiled a new sidekick drone called PELE for MQ-9B operations

  • France signed a declaration of intent to purchase Saab’s GlobalEye early warning aircraft

  • Saab tapped Anduril to develop solid rocket motors for its ground-launched small-diameter bomb

  • France awarded contracts to 5 companies to develop MALE drone demonstrators for ISR and light attack

And Finally…

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