🔷 Saved Rounds 8.19.25

Today is National Aviation Day, which is set on Orville Wright's birthday. When you step outside today, take a moment to look up into the sky.

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They Said It

“DARC can be like a lookout for the lookouts … those important systems, like missile warning assets in geosynchronous orbit.” 

— Kevin Giammo, Director of Northrop Grumman’s space surveillance and environmental intelligence organization, explaining how the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) enhances space domain awareness by supporting other critical missile warning systems.

Zoom in

Usually, we find a long article for you to read—but not this week.

We found a browser-based air-defense simulator that lets users deploy sensors, position anti-air batteries, run engagements, and get effectiveness assessments—all using open-source data to play around with air defense strategies.

Zoom in here to try it out.

 ICYMI

Saved Rounds

• Piasecki Aircraft unveiled the KARGO II, a larger VTOL cargo drone variant of KARGO, which it acquired from Kamen last year.

• HawkEye 360’s RF data was integrated into operational military platforms for the first time

• Indonesia unveiled its first Rafale F4 fighter (42-jet order)

• Australia’s KC-30A tanker was cleared to refuel US Air Force F-15EX and F-15E fighters

• Blue Canyon Technologies unveiled its Saturn-400 spacecraft with increased payload capacity

• DARPA christened its new USX-1 Defiant system ahead of at-sea demos

• General Dynamics completed its first test-fire of the Army’s new HIMARS rocket motor

• Rocket Lab finalized its acquisition of Geost for $275M

• Viasat unveiled its HaloNet portfolio for advanced network communications

• The Space Force finally launched its NTS-3 spacecraft to experiment with GPS alternatives (delayed 3 years due to Vulcan rocket issues)

• The Air Force purchased more than 40 TOC-L mobile command centers (built by BAH and L3Harris)

• Rise8 was awarded a $399M AFWERX contract mod for its Autonomy Prime its software services

• Switzerland may reduce its F-35 order of 36 jets amid a cost dispute with the US

• Torch Technologies revealed a new line of China HQ-22 replicas for US Air Force training purposes

• Merlin is going public via a SPAC merger

• Advent is buying Coherent’s aerospace and defense business for $400M

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