🔷 Saved Rounds 8.5.25

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

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In that Number

33,000

The Pentagon has contracted US-German company Auterion to deliver 33,000 AI drone strike kits to Ukraine.

Central to the package is Skynode, a mini-computer that converts manual drones into autonomous platforms.

Zoom in

Effective logistics is the difference between winning and losing—it determines whether military forces can sustain operations and respond swiftly in times of crisis. Unfortunately, there is room for improvement: Strengthening supply chains, enhancing inventory visibility, and investing in skilled personnel are essential for readiness.

Zoom in here to get smarter.

They Said It

“I was not part of that particular analysis.”

— Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force, clarifying his role regarding the Pentagon’s evaluation of replacing retiring E-3 aircraft with joint E-2D platforms instead of the planned E-7A Wedgetail.

 ICYMI

In that Number

$50 billion

The Pentagon awarded a ginormous $50 billion 20-year sole-source agreement to RTX for systems production, spare parts, services, and support.

It doesn’t mean they get $50B, but it's one of the largest sole-source contract structures we’ve seen.

Saved Rounds

• Zepher Flight Labs’ hydrogen-powered Z1 drone reached a 12,000ft altitude milestone (large group 2 UAS)

• The UK fired UUV drone torpedoes from a nuclear submarine

• The Pentagon set a $1B investment in lifecycle support for its AGM-158 cruise missiles

• Booz Allen Hamilton won a $315M Army contract to develop a second TOC-L prototype (partnered with L3Harris)

• The US is building mobile vaults for nuclear weapons at remote bases

• Terma and Odd Systems partnered to develop an AI-powered drone interceptor

• Northrop Grumman received a $140M contract mod to further support Japan’s 5 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program

• Denmark ordered 4 MQ-9B SkyGuardians

• DIU announced the 10 finalists in its C-UAS Low Cost Sensing Challenge

• Ireland plans to have a $2B defense budget by 2030 (55% increase)

• TAI and Airbus inked a strategic partnership for Spain’s 30 Hurjet jet trainer program

• Joby Aviation announced a partnership with L3Harris to pitch a new hybrid VTOL aircraft for defense

• Egypt was approved to buy NASAMS defense systems (potential $4.67B deal)

• The Army tested GAMBLER, a system that combines AI, machine learning, and mesh networking to streamline real-time combat intel

• The Pentagon is set to test its X-37B space plane’s laser communications and a quantum sensor

• The Navy is starting another USV program, the Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC)

• Slingshot Aerospace unveiled an AI training system for the Space Force

• India successfully test-fired its new Akash Prime surface-to-air missile

• The UK trialed high-altitude ISR balloons

• The Space Force awarded 5 companies spots in the $4B Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Global (PTS-G) project

• Orkid (a Colombian company) is entering the US market with a new SATCOM-enabled VTOL drone

• The Air Force completed a stage-two motor qualification test in its Sentinel ICBM program

• Saronic Technologies unveiled Echelon, a new USV mission planning and C2 platform

• Palantir was awarded a $10B Army agreement to consolidate 75 contracts into a single arrangement

• Lockheed Martin received a $4.3B contract for more JASSM and LRASM cruise missiles

• RTX received a $3.5B contract for more AIM-120 missiles, the largest contract in the history of the program

• The Space Force is building plans to share classified threat info with industry

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