AUKUS Review. The Pentagon has completed its review of the trilateral AUKUS security agreement, top department spokesperson Sean Parnell has confirmed. While the review has yet to be released publicly, Parnell in a statement affirmed the department concluded the security pact between the U.S., Australia and United Kingdom should move ‘full steam ahead’ consistent with President Donald Trump’s guidance. “The purpose of the review was to identify opportunities to strengthen AUKUS and ensure its long-term success, in alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda. During the review, the Department consulted extensively with the U.S. interagency as well as Australia and the United Kingdom…The review identified opportunities to put AUKUS on the strongest possible footing. This review is intended to inform the President and our allies as we move forward with the historic and ambitious AUKUS agenda,” Parnell said.
…Courtney Perspective. Rep. Joe Courtney, ranking member on the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee, confirmed lawmakers have also received the Pentagon’s AUKUS review, adding the assessment “correctly determined that its framework is aligned with our country’s national security interest.” “The AUKUS report reaffirms that Congress and our Australian allies must continue that effort to achieve the goals of AUKUS. Expanding the submarine workforce, supply chain, and facilities to even greater capacity is the clear pathway to meet the demands of U.S. submarine fleet requirements and those of our ally Australia,” Courtney said in a statement. The AUKUS agreement includes the future sale of Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia.
President Deep. General Dynamics on Dec. 5 said that Danny Deep, currently executive vice president of global operations, has been promoted to president of the company. The 20-year-plus veteran of the company has previously GD’s Combat Systems and its Land Systems businesses.
100th KC-46. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) said that Boeing delivered the 99th and 100th KC-46A Pegasus tankers, which began their time in service on Dec. 2 at Travis AFB, Calif. The company delivered the first two KC-46s to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing (ARW) at McConnell AFB, Kans., on Jan. 25, 2019. “The KC-46A continues to serve as a proving ground for new operational capabilities,” AMC said last week. “Airmen at the 22nd ARW completed a mission with only a pilot and a boom operator, testing the tanker’s ability to execute its primary mission with a reduced crew on Oct. 25, 2022. During the mission, a second instructor pilot onboard the aircraft served as a safety observer. The mission demonstrated how the KC-46A could rapidly launch in response to incoming threats and sustain long-range operations using offset aircrews…The 22nd ARW also completed a nonstop westbound circumnavigation flight in a KC-46A — a 45-hour Maximum Endurance Operation that showcased Airmen’s ability to extend missions over even greater distances, June 29-July 1, 2024.” As Boeing continues to work on fixing deficiencies in the KC-46’s Remote Vision System 2.0, the Air Force has said that it expects to field a fix for the stiff aerial refueling boom on the aircraft late in fiscal 2027. Air Force KC-46s are in service at McConnell, Travis, Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H., Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
CBP MQ-9s. Customs and Border Protection last week said it is increasing its contract ceiling with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to buy up to 11 MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude, long-endurance drones. Agency spokeswoman Tammy Melvin told Defense Daily last Thursday through an email response to questions that CBP will purchase seven new MQ-9s using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The eventually purchase will bring to 16 the number of MQ-9s CBP operates to patrol America’s land borders for illegal activity between ports of entry.
New Blue UAS Owner. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) on Dec. 3 formally took control of the Defense Department’s library of vetted unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in July in his “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” memo. The Blue UAS Cleared and Select Lists, and the Blue UAS Framework are now managed by DCMA’s Unmanned Systems Experimental (US-X) Command. “The Blue List onboarding process is still being prototyped, but the concept is straightforward, focus on components rather than full systems,” Air Force Col. Dustin Thomas, DCMA US-X commander, said in a statement. “To meet the secretary of war’s intent for faster, easier onboarding, we designed a process where a military unit sponsors a desired (small) UAS, delivers the aircraft for inspection, and every component is logged against the Blue List.”
…Future Marketplace. The Blue UAS Lists were previously created and maintained by the Pentagon’s innovation arm, the Defense Innovation Unit, displayed trusted drones and related components on a website. Under DCMA, the “goal is for the website to become a true marketplace for military services by the end of 2027, expanding supplier onboarding, assessor coverage, and service integrations,” the agency said last week. “The Blue List will evolve into an interconnected ecosystem where manufacturers, researchers and end-users work together within the procurement process to drive innovation and efficiency at the speed of the warfighter,” Army Maj. Eric Scholl, Blue UAS program manager, said in a statement
SIGINT Startup. Sky Spy, a startup that has developed a 500 gram signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload that enables drones to hunt for hostile emitters, has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed round, the Delaware-base company said last week. Sky Spy was founded by a team of Ukrainians and is operating in the U.S. and Europe. The Agent 001 payload combines radio frequency intelligence and visual confirmation to detect, classify, and localize radio emitters in real-time in jammed and GPS-denied environments, the company says. Sky Spy said Agent 001 has been successfully validated with front line units in Ukraine. The oversubscribed funding round was co-led by Expeditions Fund and Superangel and will be used to expand the team and launch production.
Igniter Supplier. Solid rocket motor (SRM) developer X-Bow Systems last week said that it received a potential $8.9 million contract from military services contractor V2X to develop and produce “next-generation igniters for solid rocket motors.” The igniter will be a “form-and-fit replacement for the MK-290 igniter” used on many SRMs currently, the company said. “X-Bow’s work under this contract aims to address obsolescence and supply chain challenges, ensuring a reliable production source for these critical components,” the New Mexico-based startup said. “The project includes the development, testing and qualification of the new igniters prior to production.” Deliveries of the new igniters are expected to begin in early 2026. Igniters degrade over time, requiring installation of replacements. X-Bow makes igniters for its own SRMs but the V2X award could open a new product category for the startup to supply to other companies.
xTechOverwatch. Scout AI said on Dec. 2 it has been selected as a winner of the Army’s xTechOverwatch competition, which is part of the Army’s overall xTech effort to identify innovative technologies for rapid fielding opportunities. The company’s selection follows its participation in Army Human Machine Integration Summit where it had showcased its AI-powered Fury platform on Hendrick Motorsports Technical Solutions’ NOMAD unmanned ground vehicle platform. Scout AI described Fury as a “camera-only system that utilizes an end-to-end learned vision-language-action foundation model…to support navigation, ISR, and coordinated multi-robot maneuvers.” “xTechOverwatch is a huge win for Scout AI and an even bigger validation of what Fury makes possible,” Colby Adcock, co-founder and CEO of Scout AI, said in a statement. “We’re in the business of delivering AI agents to our customers. They’re easy to use, extremely capable, and they’re ready to transform how unmanned systems across the Army think, move, and fight.”
ACV-30 Order. The Marine Corps on Dec. 1 awarded BAE Systems a $184.4 million order for 30 more turreted variant Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV-30). Work on the deal is expected to be completed by March 2028, according to the Pentagon. The Marine Corps is pursuing a family of vehicles approach for ACV, which includes the ACV-30, the base personnel platform and a command and control version in full-rate production and a recovery variant going through development.
Loitering Munitions. Teledyne FLIR Defense said on Dec. 5 it has received a $42.5 million award from the Marine Corps to deliver more than 600 of its Rogue 1 lethal loitering munitions for the Organic Precision Fires-Light program. The deal is the company’s first production contract for the loitering munition and follows a previous delivery orders that covered systems for test and evaluation. Under the larger $249 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for OPF-L, a Teledyne FLIR Defense spokesperson told Defense Daily the company has delivered 270 Rogue 1 systems to the Marine Corps for testing to date. “Teledyne FLIR’s Rogue 1 has proven highly successful in multiple exercises against moving and stationary armor, soft-skinned vehicles, and dismounted targets,” the company said in a statement.
Smiths Detection Sale. Britain’s Smiths Group last week said it has reached a deal to sell its Smiths Detection business to CVC Capital Partners in a deal with an enterprise value of $2.7 billion. Smiths Detection is one of world’s leading security detection companies. Its products are used to screen and scan baggage, vehicles and cargo at airports, borders and ports worldwide. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Iridium Space Force Award. Iridium last week said it received a potential five-year $88.5 million contract from Space Force’s Space Systems Command Commercial Space Office. The System Infrastructure Transformation and Hybridization (SITH) contract will provide upgrades and security enhancements to the Defense Department’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services Center, an operational hub managed by the Space Force for the DoD’s secure personal satellite voice and data services. Iridium is the incumbent on the Gateway Evolution Contract, which SITH succeeds.
Electra Defense Unit. Hybrid-electric aircraft developer Electra.aero last week formally launched its defense unit, which is focused on bringing the company’s dual-use EL9 ultra-short takeoff and landing plane to military customers. The Northern Virginia-based company said it plans to accelerate development of the EL9 for military customers and begin flight testing in 2027. The EL9 can carry 1,000 pounds more than 1,000 nautical miles for missions such as last tactical mile logistics, sustainment support for agile combat employment, ship-to-shore transport, quiet infiltration and exfiltration of Special Forces and maritime patrol, Electra says.
Power Grid C-UAS. Fortem Technologies has partnered with Southern States LLC, to add its counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) solution to the high-voltage switching company’s new Airspace Awareness product line for the electric power industry. Fortem is providing its TrueView radar, DroneHunter F700 interceptors and SkyDome command and control software as a comprehensive C-UAS solution to protect the infrastructure of power grid operators.
Deloitte Satellites. Deloitte has contracted with Satellite manufacturer and operator Spire Global for eight satellites that will be equipped with radio frequency and geolocation payloads for cybersecurity of space assets. The new satellites follow the launch earlier this year of Deloitte’s first satellite, Silent Shield, which is designed to detect cyber intrusions and anomalies impacting satellites on orbit. “As space becomes even more critical to our technology and security, our focus on cyber resilience and reliable access to space data enables our clients to operate even more confidently and adapt to more sophisticated threats,” Brett Loubert, leader of Deloitte’s U.S. Space practice, said in a statement.
C-UAS Radar. Low-cost radar developer and manufacturer Echodyne last week said that Zone 5 Technologies has selected the company’s EchoFlight multi-role electronically scanned array radar for integration on its Paladin low-collateral effects interceptor drone. The radar is mounted on the front of the counter-drone interceptor and provides data to track adversary drones. Paladin is equipped with a gun system to shoot threat drones from the sky.
People News. Boeing’s board has elected Bradley Tilden a its newest director. Tilden, 64, previously was president and CEO of Alaska Air Group. Parsons Corp.’s board has elected Robert Smith, a senior advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as a director. Smith previously was CEO of the launch services company Blue Origin. The tungsten mining company Almony Industries has hired retired Army Brig. Gen. Steven Allen as chief operating officer.
$2.8 Billion Valuation. Finland’s ICEYE said on Friday that it has secured 150 million Euros in a Series E funding round led by General Catalyst and that the new financing, which also includes a 50 million Euro secondary placement, values the company at $2.8 billion. ICEYE said that it has 62 commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in orbit, including five fourth-generation spacecraft with a resolution of 16 centimeters over a 240 mile coverage area. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, managing director and head of Europe at General Catalyst, said in an ICEYE-released statement that “Europe’s security starts with sovereign space capability” and that ICEYE “enables that, with the world’s largest SAR constellation, software-defined satellites, and fully sovereign missions that put independent visibility back in Europe’s hands.”
Shield AI in India. Shield AI and its manufacturing partner in India, JSW Defence Pvt. Ltd, last week broke ground on a 250,000 square foot facility in Hyderabad to produce V-BAT unmanned aircraft systems under a technology transfer agreement. The partnership was first announced in November 2024. JSW is investing $90 million in the advanced drone manufacturing facility, and will also support establishing a local supply chain. The companies will produce V-BATs for the Indian armed forces and global customers.
NROL-77. The National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) 10th and final mission of 2025–NROL-77–is to go into orbit on Tuesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., the agency said. Of the 10 missions this year, five have been for the agency’s proliferated architecture. NROL-77 is the fourth agency mission this year to be taken in concert with U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, NRO said.
Ground Robot. Textron Systems and its Howe & Howe subsidiary announced on Dec. 2 the sale of its RIPSAW M3 robotic ground vehicle to Sweden, who will be the first European customer for the hybrid-electric platform. “The RIPSAW M3 is ideally suited for operations in the region because of its high performance in challenging climates and terrains,” Textron Systems’ vice president of programs, said in a statement. “Textron Systems is excited to be a trusted partner to European customers and remains focused on investing in trusted robotic platforms that enhance user safety and mission success.”
