Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we share all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
In that Number
5%
NATO Allies have agreed to increase their defense spending from 2% to 5% of their annual GDP by 2035.
But the commitment broadens the definition of defense spending, so it's not a direct comparison. The 5% comprises 3.5% for core defense needs and 1.5% for critical infrastructure and their industrial base.
Zoom in
DARPA made stealth aircraft real, but do you want to know what they're thinking next?
Zoom in here for a video interview with DARPA’s Deputy Director, Rob McHenry.
They Said It
“I like to say the B-21 is put together by bartenders, babysitters, and baristas. Why do I say that? Because when I go out and walk the floor and I talk to people out there, I go, ‘What was the last job you had before you came here?’ And those are the answers I get: ‘I was a server at TGI Fridays.’ Right now, they’re putting together the most sophisticated aircraft in the history of the world, right? And doing a hell of a good job at it.”
— Tom Jones, Northrop Grumman Corporate Vice President and Aeronautics Sector President at Northrop Grumman
Saved Rounds
Australia completed its first MQ-28A Ghost Bat flight from an operational base and (video!)
France conducted the first live fire test of its next-gen MICA air-to-air missile
Saab ordered 2 Global 6500 aircraft from Bombardier Defense
Thales unveiled a mini electronic warfare (EW) payload for drones
India is buying 6 Tejas combat jets
Turkey’s new indigenous F-16 EW pod (EDPOD) entered production
Hoverfly delivered its tethered drone system to the Australian military for experimentation
Belgium plans to buy 10 NASAMS air defense batteries from Kongsberg ($3B deal)
IdeaForge sold $16M worth of indigenous mini-drones to India
Maxar Intelligence launched Sentry, a geospatial intelligence service for surveillance
NATO ordered 2 more A330 MRTT aircraft, bringing the planned tanker-transport fleet size to 12
Denmark & Sweden joined NATO’s Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) pooling program
France is phasing out its aging KC-135 fleet for A330 MRTT aircraft
The MDA’s Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) completed the first successful test that tracked a live ballistic missile surrogate
Japan conducted its first domestic missile test shot (prior to this, all missile testing was done in the US or Australia)
Obviant raised $7.1M in seed funding to develop a defense data intelligence platform
Muon Space released its first multispectral thermal satellite imagery
The Navy is building a 400kW laser weapon called SONGBOW to shoot down aerial threats
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