🔷 Vanquish

In That Number

$41.6B

The US approved a whopping $41.6B AIM-120 missile export package covering 30+ allied and partner nations. In case you’re wondering, that works out to roughly 15,000 missiles.

On the Radar

Royal Navy CCA. The UK Royal Navy has set a two-year goal to operate a jet-powered, carrier-launched Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP). The Vanquish tech demonstration program seeks to operate a jet-engined ACP on Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and eventually complement the UK’s F-35B fleet. Vanquish will be an ‘attritable Tier 2’ class of ACP.

• The Merge’s Take: This is the latest tech demo initiative supporting the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATX) effort and the UK’s Drone Defence strategy, but this is also somewhat connected to the RAF’s ACP Strategy. The high-subsonic jet-engine requirement eliminates GA-ASI’s Mohave, but they may have something up their sleeve so keep an eye on their Gambit drone offering. It will be interesting to see what (if any) mature, jet-powered, STOL platforms emerge that can meet the timeline and do so without any modifications or added equipment to the carrier.

Spain eyes KAAN. After deciding against buying F-35s, Spain is considering Turkey’s KAAN stealth fighter jet, seeking to fill capability gaps before the 2040 6th-gen FCAS program delivers. The Spanish government has $7.2B earmarked to buy jets—it just needs to decide which ones.

The Merge’s Take: KAAN is an interesting choice—prototypes are now flying, Turkey plans to have some operational by 2028, and several countries have signed agreements or are interested in purchasing them (Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and the UAE). That said, this announcement is likely less about KAAN and more about GCAS. The multi-national GCAP consortium has more relationship drama than 90 Day Fiancé—and is just as likely to break up as it is to deliver a 6th-gen fighter.

RUMINT: The Pentagon has decided to move forward with the Navy F/A-XX fighter, but nothing has been confirmed. This is likely to run the same play as the Air Force F-47 announcement, so expect a big splash in the media if/when it happens. Boeing and Northrop Grumman are contenders and we’ll share more thoughts when it happens.

TRIVIA

On this day in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt officially changed the name of the "Executive Mansion" to what? 

A) The President’s House 
B) The President’s Palace
C) The People’s House 
D) The White House 

They Said It

“All of the major C2 breakthroughs that we’ve had in the last five years are almost all a direct result of things that happened through either an exercise [or] experimental approach.”

— Maj. Gen. Luke Cropsey, Air Force program executive officer for C3BM

Knowledge Bombs

• Turkey’s Kizilelma CCA is now flying with munitions

• Denmark announced a $4.5B plan to buy 16 more F-35s, and that the deal also includes CCAs (more details are limited at this time)

• Firefly Aerospace announced plans to acquire SciTec in a $855M deal

• Sweden is buying 4 Embraer C-390 airlifters

• Minco Technologies won a $13.6M Air Force contract to develop a fuel-efficient drone engine

• Anduril & Raytheon completed a fire test of an HLG rocket motor for air-to-air missiles

• The Space Force established a $1.2B working capital fund for commercial space services

• Epirus & General Dynamics launched the Leonidas AR, a robotic mobile counter-drone system

• HavocAI raised $85M to accelerate the manufacture of its maritime autonomous systems

• Tycho AI raised $10M in Series A funding to advance UAV autonomy

• Lockheed Martin won a $4.94B Army contract for large-scale PrSM manufacturing

• Seasats won a $89M contract to deliver Lightfish USVs to the Marine Corps

• Trilogy Metals’ shares jumped over 200% after the US bought a 10% stake in the mineral explorer company

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ANSWER
D) The White House. The name had been commonly used but wasn’t officially adopted until President Roosevelt directed that all official papers and stationery be changed to reflect the iconic name. It was originally painted with lime-based whitewash (later replaced by white paint) to protect it from the elements, contrasting strikingly with nearby buildings of the time.