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- 🔷 Saved Rounds 9.30.25
🔷 Saved Rounds 9.30.25
Welcome to Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
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In that Number
200
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has launched over 200 satellites, creating a heavy demand signal for AI to help with resource tasking and collection.
Zoom in
How much will Golden Dome for America cost? Nobody knows. The cost varies widely depending on its design and assumptions. When we say ‘widely’ we're talking $252B to $3.6T
Zoom in here to explore the cost frameworks and tradeoffs.
They Said It
“We’re within, like spitting distance at this point.”
— Diem Salmon, Vice President of Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril, on the upcoming first flight of the YFQ-44A CCA prototype
Saved Rounds
Kreios Space (Spanish startup) won a $9.3M NATO innovation fund contract to advance its VLEO satellite vehicle
Firehawk Aerospace won a $4M AFWERX contract for extended range rocket motors
The Air Force is expected to soon award initial contracts for its CCA Increment 2 program
Raft won a $349M SOCOM contract to bring AI-based C2 to enhance decision-making on the battlefield
Spain is buying 45 Turkish Hürjets jet trainers to replace its SF-5M Freedom Fighter fleet
India ordered 97 Tejas Mk1A aircraft to replace its just-retired MiG-21 Bison fleet
Thailand is the first customer of Airbus’ upgraded A330 MRTT+ tanker transport
Anduril won a $1.1B contract from Australia to develop a fleet of Ghost Shark submarine drones
MITS Capital launched a new Danish-Ukrainian drone company to integrate products from 4 companies (EW payloads, drone platforms, etc.) to offer drones-as-a-service
Picogrid & Northrop Grumman are collaborating to integrate their counter-drone C2 system with Picogrid’s distribution platform
Viasat won a Space Force contract to build an encryption system to protect satellites from cyber attacks
The SDA is close to getting FAA approval to conduct Link 16 satellite testing over the US (after years of coordination)
AV was awarded a Space Force contract for 2 BADGER phased array antenna systems
Northrop Grumman signed an MoU to deliver TPS-78 S-band radars to Taiwan
Dynetics received a $92M Army contract mod for more IFPC Inc 2 missile launchers (Indirect Fire Protection Capability)
Raytheon received a $216M Navy contract mod to boost SM-6 missile production
Terran Orbital delivered all 42 satellite buses for the SDA’s PWSA Tranche 1program
Blue Water Autonomy & Conrad Shipyard signed a partnership for USV production
Voyager acquired BridgeComm’s optical communication tech
Regent & Fairlead formed a partnership to build SeaGliders for naval logistics
Lockheed Martin was awarded $26M to support Ukraine’s F-16 program
The Navy is set to issue a competitive solicitation for a Future X-Band Radar for its surface fleet
Raytheon won a $1.7B Army contract to deliver the LTAMDS to the US and Poland
The Space Force is finalizing its 15-year Force Design plan
SNC signed an agreement to buy an A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft from Embraer
Embraer & SNC pitched the A-29 Super Tucano as an option for counter-drone missions
Lockheed Martin delivered 21 satellites for the second launch of the Transport Layer program
GE Aerospace completed solid-fueled ramjet test flights
Bombardier Defense delivered its 9th Global aircraft to the Air Force for the BACN program
The Space Force’s new space domain awareness satellites will require on-orbit refueling
The Army is pausing efforts to put autonomy on GM’s Infantry Support Vehicles (ISV) and instead looking at purpose-built UGVs
Dyna Robotics closed a $120M Series A funding round to advance robotic foundation models
Germany will invest $41B for space-related defense projects by 2030
Sierra Space is pivoting its Dream Chaser unmanned spaceplane to focus on national security
Boeing signed a deal with Palantir to streamline its production line systems
Lehigh University received a $2M grant to research materials for rotating detonation engines
Raytheon was awarded a $498M contract to test and deliver Navy Multiband Terminals
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