Defense

A collection of 98 posts

Markets

Firefly Projects $435 Million in 2026 Revenue as Launchers Slip to a Fraction of the Business

Firefly Aerospace forecast $435 million in revenue for 2026, with its launch vehicles accounting for only about 10% of that total. The company, whose current business leans heavily toward satellite systems for US civil and government customers, is emerging as a diversified space and defense manufacturer rather than a pure

Markets

Space Force Pays Five Companies $60 Million to Connect to SpaceX-Built Data Network

The U.S. Space Force awarded $60 million to five companies to demonstrate how satellites from multiple vendors can connect to its Space Data Network, a military communications architecture whose core backbone is being supplied by SpaceX. The awards represent a deliberate effort to keep the broader network from being

Markets

Intuitive Machines Posts Record $206 Million Quarter as Backlog Swells to $1.8 Billion

Intuitive Machines reported second quarter 2026 revenue of $206 million, more than four times its total for the same period a year earlier, alongside a record contracted backlog of $1.8 billion. The Houston company said the results position it for what it calls the next phase of its growth

Defense

Space Command Ranks Offensive Fires, Counter-Constellation Systems as Top Capability Needs

U.S. Space Command has named offensive space capabilities and systems for countering proliferated low Earth orbit constellations as its two highest priority needs for fiscal years 2029 through 2033. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of the command, unveiled the priorities Aug. 12 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in

Markets

Space Kinetic Wins $50M Space Force Award to Develop Whirlwind Maneuvering System

Space Kinetic has secured a $50 million Other Transaction Authority award from the Space Force to develop Whirlwind, a space maneuverability and deployment system that flings microsatellites from a host spacecraft without firing a thruster. The award is the largest yet for the startup, which raised a $12 million seed

Defense

Pentagon Pushes Interceptor Production Ramp as Army Seeks Deeper Missile Defense Arsenal

The Pentagon is pressing defense contractors to sharply increase production of missile interceptors after recent conflicts exposed how quickly the most capable U.S. air and missile defense weapons can be depleted. Army leaders say boosting output is only part of the answer, arguing that future defense will require a

Defense

Lockheed Martin's Next Generation Interceptor Clears Two Tests Ahead of 2026 Design Review

Lockheed Martin's Next Generation Interceptor, the missile designed to destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles, has passed two key tests ahead of a design review scheduled for 2026. The results mark the first concrete sign of progress for a program that previously slipped 18 months because of motor problems. The

Markets

Firefly Subsidiary SciTec Wins $93.7 Million Space Force Radar Digitization Contract

SciTec, a Firefly Aerospace company, has been awarded a $93,704,410 firm-fixed-price other transaction agreement for ground-based radar digitization. The contract funds modernization work to create a common architecture and design for upgrading ground-based radars, part of the U.S. Space Force's missile

Defense

Senate Confirms Schiess as Space Force's Top Officer Amid Push to Match China

The U.S. Senate on Aug. 6 confirmed Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess as the next chief of space operations, placing a career missile and space officer at the helm of the Space Force. He takes command as the service pursues a sharp expansion in funding, personnel and military missions driven

Defense

Space Force Seeks to Double Budget to $71 Billion for Orbital Combat Mission

The U.S. Space Force has submitted a fiscal year 2027 budget request of $71 billion, roughly doubling its funding as it shifts its core mission toward active threat mitigation, missile tracking, and tactical warfighting integration. Details of the request emerged July 30, 2026, marking a departure for a service

Defense

Australia Becomes First Export Customer for America's Classified AIM-260 Missile

Australia will be the first foreign buyer of the American-made AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a beyond-visual-range air-to-air weapon whose details remain closely held by the United States. Defense Minister Richard Marles announced the acquisition during a visit to the Pitch Black air combat

Markets

Telesat Lands Record C$2.3 Billion Contract for Arctic Military Satcom

Telesat has signed a C$2.3 billion contract, roughly US$1.64 billion, with Canada's Defense Investment Agency to provide military satellite communications in the Arctic using its Lightspeed constellation. The deal is described as a record for Canadian military satcom and delivers a major anchor customer

Markets

Rocket Lab Lands $397 Million Space Force Deal to Build and Fly SB-AMTI "Flatellites"

Rocket Lab has won a $397 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to build and launch satellites for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, known as SB-AMTI. The award, reported August 5, 2026, marks a significant step in the company's move from small

Markets

Neuraspace Raises 15.6 Million Euros to Build European Space Domain Awareness Platform

Portuguese space traffic management startup Neuraspace announced 15.6 million euros ($18 million) in fresh funding on Aug. 5 to expand European space domain awareness and defense capabilities. The financing will directly support NeuraspaceDEF, an AI-powered platform serving both civil and defense users, and advance Europe's push

Markets

Intuitive Machines Wins L3Harris Selection for 18 Missile Tracking Spacecraft

Intuitive Machines has been selected by L3Harris Technologies to design, build, and deliver 18 spacecraft platforms for the Space Development Agency's Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 mission. The selection, announced August 4, 2026, expands the Houston company beyond its lunar lander work into national security space and America&

Defense

True Anomaly Completes First In-Space Pursuit of an Evading Satellite Under VICTUS HAZE

True Anomaly said it has become the first company to execute an in-space pursuit of an evading target, a milestone reached during the Space Force's tactical responsive space mission VICTUS HAZE. The company's Jackal spacecraft tracked and imaged a Rocket Lab-built satellite called Puma

Defense

Stratolaunch Passes 10 Successful Talon-A Hypersonic Flights

Stratolaunch has now completed more than 10 successful flights with its reusable, autonomous Talon-A hypersonic aircraft, the California-based company announced late last month. The milestone marks a maturity marker for a test platform designed to make hypersonic flight data a routine service rather than a rare event. Talon-

Defense

Poland to Create Space Operations Command in Sweeping Armed Forces Reform

Poland plans to establish a dedicated Space Operations and Environmental Support Command as part of a broad overhaul of the Polish Armed Forces' command and control system. The proposal, outlined by Lieutenant General Krzysztof Król, would embed space capabilities within a new wartime command structure designed to operate seamlessly

Defense

Space Force Opens $981M Contract Pool to Fix Simulator Shortfall

The Space Force has established a $981 million contract pool to buy training capabilities after senior leaders acknowledged that Guardians across several key mission areas lack the simulators needed to practice their jobs. The move amounts to building the service's training infrastructure largely from scratch, nearly seven years

Markets

Space Force Awards All Points Logistics $250 Million for New Vandenberg Satellite Processing Center

The U.S. Space Force awarded All Points Logistics a $250 million contract to expand satellite processing capacity at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Announced July 29, the award calls for additional spacecraft processing facilities, where satellites are prepared for launch, to be available by 2029. It is the largest

Defense

DARPA Backs Seven Teams in Race to Build a Nuclear Battery That Lasts 30 Years

DARPA has funded seven competing teams under its Rads to Watts program to develop a new class of miniature nuclear power cell built on radiovoltaics, technology that could run devices from satellites to tactical radios to pacemakers for years or decades without recharging. The objective is a compact power source

Markets

Space Force Taps Sphinx Defense for $287 Million Nuclear Command Software

The U.S. Space Force awarded a $287 million contract to Sphinx Defense on Monday, July 27, 2026, to deliver mission planning software for the GRIFFON program, the ground control architecture supporting strategic nuclear communications. The award advances the software ground segment for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications system, which

Defense

Rocket Lab Wins $266 Million Space Force Deal for 12 Suborbital Launches, Anchored by New Alaska Site

Rocket Lab has won a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract to conduct 12 suborbital launches over the next three years, with options for six additional missions. The USSF award is the largest launch contract in Rocket Lab's history and will establish a new company launch location

Launch

Classified NRO Payload and Chinese Triple-Header Fill a Busy Launch Week

A classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite is set to launch from Cape Canaveral this week alongside three Chinese orbital missions, all scheduled within days of each other. The overlapping manifest illustrates the pace at which both the U.S. intelligence community and China are moving hardware to orbit. The week

Markets

Pentagon Deal Sets L3Harris to Quadruple THAAD Propulsion Output

L3Harris Technologies announced today that it has signed a seven-year framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War and Lockheed Martin to quadruple production of propulsion systems for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. The THAAD missile defense production agreement represents a major expansion of one of the