Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter… and this week, there is somewhere between a buttload and an assload of them. ← That link is safe to click, because that’s not slang—they are actual units of measure.
The Show!
In this episode, Mike sits down with Kara Kramer from Vantor to dig into visual-based navigation (VBN) and GPS-denied targeting.
Check it out!
In that Number
390+ satellites
Amazon has deployed 390+ satellites in orbit, providing enough orbital assets to support continuous Starlink-like service across initial latitudes this year.
Zoom in
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would require military history by successfully executing three complex operations, each of which has never been achieved under modern threat conditions.
Zoom in here to learn about "Three Nevers" of the invasion sequence.
They Said It
“It would be… not misplaced to refer to their capabilities as akin to digital nuclear weapons.”
— John Ratcliffe, Director of the CIA, regarding the strategic national security implications of frontier AI models
Saved Rounds
Thales agreed to a $4.5B deal for underwater drone maker Exail
Overwatch Aero won a DOI contract for emergency fire UAS services
WZL Nr 2 will build Anduril cruise missiles in Poland
Poland teamed up with Spain to buy 4 Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft
HII added Halimar Shipyard to its ROMULUS USV production network
Ravee Optics raised a $6M seed round for compact laser terminals
Russia’s FMBA is developing a lunar test site to train astronauts
Raytheon & the Army partnered to sustain TOW missile targeting systems
Forterra deployed 105 autonomous vehicles to Ukraine
Anthropic restored global access to its AI models after US restrictions were lifted
X-Bow won an $11M MDA contract for solid rocket motors
Hitachi Kokusai Electric is developing high-power microwave tech
Fotokite & Stridar partnered to advance persistent aerial situational awareness
The Royal Navy completed the first warship launch of the Nyan drone
HII won a Navy contract extension for Lionfish undersea vehicle production
The Army selected five companies to develop tactical logistics robot prototypes
The Army tweaked its acquisition portfolios and realigned its autonomy office
DIU has reorganized its portfolio structure under new leadership
The Air Force cleared LRASM integration on the B-1B
Iridium closed its Aireon acquisition to expand its air traffic network
Isar Aerospace signed a $112M deal to launch rockets in Canada
L3Harris won a potential $500M MDA follow-on contract for airborne sensors
Kratos expanded its Oklahoma City facility to accelerate jet drone production
Indonesia dropped plans to manufacture South Korean KF-21 fighter jets
TKMS won Canada's largest defense competition to build 12 new submarines
The UK abandoned its Meteor missile upgrade to develop a successor
Poland launched a new proving ground for military technology testing
Quantum Cyber is developing a stealth drone in Germany
Machina announced Machina Bellator, a dedicated entity for defense work
Voyager Technologies secured a $250M credit facility led by J.P. Morgan
Surtr raised a $4.8M seed round for C-UAS integration software
AeroVironment won a $500M IDIQ contract for the Domestic Shield Program
Aalo Atomics achieved criticality with its Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor
Lockheed Martin & Rheinmetall agreed to co-produce ATACMS in Europe
DIU is looking for a low-cost MQ-9-like drone
Orbit Fab raised $25M to commercialize satellite refueling
Emesent secured $17M in funding for its autonomy platform
The Czech Air Force received its first C-390 Millennium aircraft
Impulse Space & Relativity Federal won spots on a $5.6B Air Force contract
Lockheed Martin won a $105M Space Force contract for GPS ground control
The Air Force Point Defense Battle Lab is looking for counter-drone options
Nordic Air Defense unveiled a 219-mph interceptor drone
Neros Technologies unveiled a new drone interceptor
SkyDefense unveiled a drone that shoots down drones
Aurelius Systems & Rheinmetall partnered to advance counter-drone defense
The Marine Corps created a new drone and counter-drone training unit
The JIATF 401 published a comprehensive counter-drone handbook
NATO is buying up to 5 MQ-4C Triton drones for maritime surveillance
NATO is buying up to 10 Saab GlobalEye aircraft for airborne C2
Rheinmetall won a German contract for high-energy laser weapons
BAE Systems received a $16M DoW investment for microelectronics
DARPA backed a nuclear waste-powered battery for 30-year drone endurance
Purple Rhombus entered an Army CRADA for lethal unmanned systems
SpaceX launched City Labs' BOHR, the first nuclear-powered commercial satellite
NATO selected Anduril UK to modernize its air command and control system
NGC Aerospace proved satellites can use atmospheric drag to steer in VLEO
MDA Space purchased a $615M majority stake in French satellite company CLS
Blue Origin is raising $10B in outside funding
MITS Capital invested in Dropla Tech, a Ukraine-tested threat detection company
AeroVironment was awarded a $30M German contract for Puma drones
Belgium signed an agreement to acquire 10 NASAMS air defense systems
Pulse Space won a $40M Space Force contract for laser-based links
The Army selected four companies for an autonomous breaching program
BlackSky secured US contracts to advance military target and strike damage AI
Accenture won an $821M contract to support the Pentagon’s CDAO platform
Kongsberg won a $50M Navy contract mod for launcher missile modules
Honeywell & Enigma Aerospace partnered to integrate advanced mission systems
Cligent Aerospace flight-tested a scaled eSTOL demonstrator
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