Policy and Budgets

Companies

GM Defense Scaled Commercial Pickup Architecture Into a 12,000-Vehicle Army Standard

The U.S. Army expanded its Infantry Squad Vehicle requirement by 1,750% to nearly 12,000 units, scaling GM Defense's commercial-chassis platform across 39 brigades.

Aerospace

The Army Moves to Buy Five Contractor-Flown Spy Jets to Cover a Deep-Sensing Gap

The Army intends to buy five contractor-flown ISR jets and take ownership by November 2027, covering a deep-sensing shortfall after it cut planned HADES production from as many as 14 aircraft to six.

Aerospace

Lockheed Redesigned the Patriot Interceptor to Survive the Hypersonic Era

Lockheed Martin debuted PAC-3 Edge, an in-house seeker and multi-pulse motor upgrade designed to counter hypersonic threats while reusing the Patriot production base.

Drones

The Pentagon Is Bringing Counter-Drone Lasers and Microwaves to Domestic Bases

JIATF-401 selected four directed-energy systems for a homeland C-UAS pilot. Lasers and microwaves now head to U.S. bases, with FAA airspace rules and a December Dugway shoot-off still ahead.

Naval

The Navy's New Shipyard Will Not Build Submarines

Anduril and the Navy are standing up a Maryland module yard to unclog Virginia-class assembly. Taxpayers take a 40 percent stake as gating hardware moves off the nuclear primes.

Funding

Europe's Defense Tech Boom Is Outrunning the Ministries That Buy It

Dealroom's 2026 defence tech report shows European startups racing toward $10.5 billion in venture capital. The money is clustering in Munich, while ministries still stall at pilots and production contracts.

Funding

Speed of fielding, not first invention, is the Pentagon's new critical-tech test

Assistant Secretary Michael Dodd's office has partnered with In-Q-Tel to scout commercial technology, run due diligence, and move validated prototypes into combatant-command field evaluations within 12 months.

Aerospace

The Pentagon Is Putting Agentic AI Aboard the Next Doomsday Plane

The Air Force expanded Scale AI's E-4C contract to $44.3 million, putting agentic software on the next nuclear command jet as Sierra Nevada converts 747-8s into flying command posts.

Naval

Why the Navy's $24 Billion SM-6 Bet Hinges on a Stalled Budget

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $24.4 billion multi-year pact for SM-6 interceptors, testing whether factory lines can surge past 500 missiles a year amid budget gridlock.

Drones

The Army Turned Counter-Drone Buying Into a $4 Billion Catalog

The Army and JIATF-401 awarded 10 firms $4.15 billion in counter-drone IDIQ ceilings, from gun turrets to jammers. Only $50 million is obligated so far, leaving the rest to Congress.

Aerospace

How Pentagon Data Privileges Turned Starlink Into Orbit's Traffic Cop

The Space Force granted SpaceX exclusive access to classified Vector Covariance Messages while Starlink offers free collision screening. Competing with that stack is nearly impossible.

Policy and Budgets

How a Stalled Reconciliation Bill Is Trapping the Pentagon's Multi-Year Munitions Strategy

Pentagon buyers pressed defense primes to expand munitions plants against promised multi-year contracts. With a $350 billion reconciliation add-on frozen in Congress, those factory investments are left hanging while the department prepares to reshuffle base spending or defer work into FY28.