Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
In that Number
$275 billion
The U.S. Navy's planned nuclear-powered Trump-class battleship program is estimated to cost an eye-watering $275 billion over its lifetime, with the lead vessel carrying a price tag of $23.4 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report.
Zoom in
Spruce Pine, North Carolina supplies 70% to 90% of the world's high-purity quartz, essential for the $1 trillion semiconductor industry. Controlled by two foreign-owned mines, this single-deposit supply chain lacks any U.S. strategic reserve backstop.
Zoom in here to learn more about high-purity quartz reserves.
They Said It
“HAVE HEAT represents a meaningful expansion of avionics capability towards integrated, AI-driven control of multiple sensors and air vehicles for mission autonomy.”
— Lt Col Joshua Strafaccia, Air Force test pilot, on the autonomous intercepts flown by the X-62 VISTA using an infrared sensor. Previously, the X-62 lacked tactical sensors and relied on simulated data.
Saved Rounds
The Air Force used robotic sheet metal forming to repair a damaged C-17
Mercury Systems & Palantir partnered to automate factory operations
Northrop Grumman secured a $3B Pentagon deal for missile rocket motors
Thales is acquiring drone maker Exail
Hadrian raised $1.37B in Series D funding to drive defense expansion
Blue Origin received an $11.7M contract mod for rocket cargo delivery
Valar Atomics raised $1B in Series B funding for nuclear power plants
K2 Space received a $22.9M Space Force contract for laser links
Hughes Network Systems filed for bankruptcy
Northrop Grumman won a $607M MDA task order for threat modeling
The Army tested a cannon-launched hypersonic warhead
AE Industrial acquired L3Harris's space units to re-establish Rocketdyne
Kreios Space selected Kongsberg NanoAvionics for a VLEO satellite mission
Kaizen won a $15M JIATF-401 contract to make a counter-drone marketplace
Mariana Minerals raised a $310M Series B for critical minerals production
The Space Force selected 15 companies to build test and training infrastructure
Northrop Grumman added 300,000 sq ft to its Melbourne, FL campus
Colombia finalized a $366M purchase deal for 2 Embraer KC-390 airlifters
TEKEVER’s AR5 was selected for the British Army’s CORVUS ISR drone program
Telesat secured a $1.7B military satcom contract in Canada
Rocket Lab won a $397M Space Force contract for tracking satellites
EDGE Group tested the JERNAS-M surveillance drone built from a kit plane
The Marine Corps evaluated a family of Perennial Autonomy drones
Raytheon’s autonomous multi-missile launcher passed an Army field test
Mitsubishi plans to make 1,000 humanoid robots monthly at an unused factory
Fire Point began integrating European tech into its missile defense system
The Army is looking for surface-to-air missiles to destroy small drones
Blue Water Autonomy won a Navy contract for open-ocean survey work
Capella, Iceye US, & Umbra received NRO contracts for SAR imagery
Anduril’s Pulsar-Lite jammers are being integrated on Marine Corps ACVs
Erez Defense Solutions tested a capsule launch mechanism for aerial defense
RENK Group posted a $1.39B record in first-half 2026 defense orders
SAIC won a $400M contract for ground-based intelligence programs
The Army & Tiberius Aerospace partnered on a Mach 3 155mm shell
Endeavor Optical Networks emerged with $10.8M in seed funding
L3Harris completed the first F-16 two-ship Viper Shield flight test
Aurelius Systems raised $40M for directed-energy counter-drone production
Swarmer & Oak Grove partnered to advance US drone swarming capabilities
India is developing a lightweight air-to-ground missile for drone missions
Kratos received an Army contract to develop Javelin missile infrared seekers
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