🔷 Saved Rounds 8.20.24

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

They Said It
”Software has about a two-week lifespan on the battlefield today. It gives you a temporary tactical advantage, and then the Russians do something to counter it — that’s just the way the space works. And so, you need to be able to iterate inside of that timeline to extend your temporary tactical advantage and minimize your temporary tactical disadvantage.”

— Trent Emeneker, a Marine Corps aviator serving at DIU, on the software side of small drone warfare playing out in Ukraine

Check our exclusive interview with Anduril and General Atomics about the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. These 2 companies were recently selected to build the first air vehicles.

The Air Force expects to buy 100+ CCAs by 2029, with an overarching goal of fielding 1,000+ CCAs and realizing the program’s goal of cost-effective scalability.

Check it out!

YouTube 

Apple 

Spotify

In that Number

46%

The Air Force’s C-5M mission capable rate was 46% in 2023, despite investing $10 billion (yes, that’s a ‘B’) on upgrades to the 52-aircraft fleet under the auspices that it would increase readiness to 75% out to the 2040s.

Zoom in

No one can predict the future, but there is extreme value in future forecasting.

Zoom in here to get some insights from the US Army’s new take on conducting large-scale combat operations in the 2024-2034 operational environment. 

They Said It
“I could really envision—10 years, 15 years down the road—satellites being significantly more autonomous than they are today: like not needing operators, like being able to respond and take actions and do things on their own”

— Frank Calvelli, Space Force chief weapons buyer

Saved Rounds

• Poland signed a $10B deal to buy 96 AH-64E Apache attack helos, which would make it the second only to the US in AH-64 fleet size. This adds to the 90 medium-lift helos they are also buying (Blackhawks, AW101s, and AW149s)

• Sweden is modifying its UH60-M Black Hawk helicopter fleet to increase range by 50%

• The Pentagon is launching an Indo-Pacific partnership for buying and sustaining weapons that encompasses co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment

• Booz Allen won a $506m contract to develop and scale an open systems architecture across the Army’s aviation fleet

• Lockheed Martin & General Dynamics are partnering to enter the solid rocket motor market

• BlackSky’s revenue grew 29% year-over-year (space-based intelligence company)

• Rheinmetall reported 33% year-over-year growth amid surging orders for NATO and Ukraine

• An Air Force F-22 Raptor was spotted flying with a rare external missile config

• Microsoft & Palantir partnered to offer generative AI and software tools on classified military networks

• Lockheed Martin tapped Voyager Space to provide the upper-stage solid-propulsion subsystem for the company’s Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) MDA program

• Boeing delivered its first production MH-139A Grey Wolf helo to the Air Force

• Australia & Anduril agreed to co-fund production of their Ghost Shark submarine drone

• Anduril closed a $1.5B series F funding round with plans to build a next-gen factory to scale production of its hardware products

• Anduril’s autonomous underwater drones are a confirmed part of tranche 2 in the Pentagon’s Replicator program

• China launched the first satellites for its own Starlink-esque mega-constellation

• China flew a new cargo drone capable of transporting 2 tons

• Russia’s new SA-22 Pantsir variant is equipped with 48 counter-drone interceptors

• Germany was approved to buy $5B in Patriot missiles

• The Army is slated to evaluate a hypervelocity artillery projectile in 2025

• Italy was cleared to buy 6 MQ-9A Reaper drones for $738m

• Japan’s Coast Guard is buying 2 MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones

• The US lifted its pause on offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia

• Taiwan plans to develop a ramjet engine for hypersonic missiles

• Airbus and Astroscale expanded their in-orbit servicing partnership

• The Army is building a new missile defense strategy focused on the 2040 timeframe

• Norway was approved to buy 16 HIMARS for $580m

• India started flight testing a 1-ton glide bomb

• The Philippines is buying 2 long-range patrol aircraft from Israel

• Rheinmetall is buying US-based vehicle specialist Loc Performance for $950m, presumably to bolster its efforts to build the US Army’s XM30 infantry fighting vehicle

• Poland inked a deal for 48 Patriot missile launchers

• The Space Force issued a request for proposals to expand its missile-defense satellite network in medium Earth orbit

• MatrixSpace won an AFWERX TACFI contract to develop a base defense radar for the Air Force

And finally…

• Coherent (US chip company) ceased taking orders at its UK facility and may shut down after being dropped by Apple as a supplier—Coherent is also a key chip supplier to the UK’s defense industry

🎁Earn Free Merch!🎁 

Hey. Don't keep us a secret!
Share the Merge = earn free swag. It's that simple.

You currently have 0 referrals, only 3 away from receiving Stickers.

Or copy and paste this link: https://themerge.co/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER