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RTX secures $50 billion Patriot missile support contract
Aug. 4, 2025 - RTX has been awarded a sole-source, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity umbrella contract worth $50 billion over a 20-year term, to support the U.S. Patriot missile defense program with systems, end-item production, spare parts, services and related logistics. The contract was issued by the Defense Logistics Agency and is scheduled to run through July 31, 2045, covering performance both inside and outside the continental U.S. RTX will operate under subsumable “C” type contracts with negotiated pricing, funded by multiple agencies including DLA, the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense—providing flexibility across fiscal years and appropriation types. The award follows a pre-solicitation notice issued in March 2025 and reflects soaring demand for missile defense capabilities amid heightened threat levels; it underlines RTX’s expanding backlog and strategic role in sustaining Patriot system readiness. (GovConWire)
Aug. 2, 2025 - Northrop Grumman confirmed during its Q2 2025 earnings call that a Reconciliation bill has added $4.5 billion to fund increased B-21 Raider production capacity, supplementing earlier work preparing for a manufacturing ramp-up. CEO Kathy Warden said the U.S. Air Force remains committed to fielding the stealth bomber—citing its role in “Operation Midnight Hammer”—and discussions are underway about accelerating production, pending broader investment and a business arrangement that adjusts for inflation and incentivizes capacity expansion. The Aeronautics Systems division expects further sales growth tied to LRIP Lot 3 and advanced procurement for Lot 5 in H2 2025, and the B-21 could eventually exceed 10% of Northrop’s revenues depending on final production terms. (Defence Industry)
Aug. 1, 2025 - The U.S. Senate is proposing to allocate $1.2 billion to establish a new production line for critical homing systems and components used in Patriot missile interceptors, addressing shortages hampering readiness. The investment aims to significantly increase output capacity, with manufacturers like Lockheed Martin targeting a ramp-up to around 600 interceptors per year by the end of 2025—a roughly 30% rise over current production rates. This effort responds to escalating demand and declining U.S. stockpiles due to high utilization in support of allied missions and deployments. (Militarnyi)
Rolls-Royce rockets toward £100 billion valuation after transformational turnaround
Aug. 1, 2025 - Under CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç, Rolls-Royce has seen its share price surge roughly 1,000%, lifting it toward a £100 billion valuation and placing it among the top five FTSE 100 companies. The company raised its full-year operating profit guidance to £3.1–£3.2 billion and free cash flow to £3.0–£3.1 billion, supported by a 50% jump in underlying half-year profit (£1.7 billion) and 11% revenue growth to £9.1 billion. Performance gains are credited to renegotiated loss-making contracts, improved engine reliability ("time on wing"), and strong defense and power-systems order pipelines—including £18.8 billion in backlog and major UK and U.S. engine support deals. (This is Money)
Lockheed Martin signs $4.3 billion framework deal for JASSM ER and LRASM missiles
Aug. 1, 2025 - On July 31, the U.S. Department of Defense finalized a $4.3 billion framework agreement with Lockheed Martin to procure additional lots of AGM 158B JASSM ER cruise missiles (Lots 22–26) and AGM 158C LRASM anti ship missiles (Lots 9–12), raising the contract’s cumulative value to roughly $9.5 billion. The contract covers production facilities in Orlando, Florida and Troy, Alabama, and includes Foreign Military Sales to Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, and Finland accounting for about $239 million of initial obligations. Work is slated for completion by January 31, 2033, enabling increased supply of these long-range precision strike capabilities amid rising demand from U.S. and allied forces. (Defence Industry)
Poland doubles down on South Korean tanks with $6.5 billion deal
Aug. 1, 2025 - Poland has signed an executive contract worth approximately $6.5 billion with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem to procure 180 K2 main battle tanks for the Polish Armed Forces, plus associated support vehicles and services. The deal includes the domestic assembly of 61 K2PL variant vehicles at the Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice, part of a broader push to revive Polish tank manufacturing and strengthen technology transfers. First deliveries are slated for 2026, with local production ramping up between 2028 and 2030, as Poland continues its defense modernization in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Defense News)
Raytheon wins $3.5 billion AMRAAM missile deal, the largest in program history
July 31, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Raytheon, a division of RTX, a $3.5 billion contract to produce Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) for lots 39 and 40, marking the largest contract in the program’s history. The agreement includes Foreign Military Sales to 19 allied countries, including Japan, Canada, Germany, the U.K., and Ukraine, and covers telemetry systems, spares, and production engineering support. The Pentagon plans to fulfil orders for both the U.S. Air Force and Navy under firm-fixed-price incentive terms, with delivery and support extending through production Lot 40. (Defence Industry)
U.S. Missile Defense Agency Prepares $151B Draft Proposal for “Golden Dome” Shield
July 31, 2025 - The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has published a $151 billion pre-solicitation document to advance the “Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense” (SHIELD) program, the operational arm of President Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system. Initially announced via executive order in January and modeled on Israel’s Iron Dome, the plan envisions a multilayer architecture combining space-based sensors, satellite interceptors, and high-altitude ground systems, with $25 billion funded in early reconciliation legislation and an overall cost estimate of $175 billion. (The Defence Post)
India rejects U.S. offer to acquire F 35 stealth fighters as Make in India takes priority
July 31, 2025 - India has formally declined Washington’s proposal to purchase Lockheed Martin F 35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets, rejecting the offer amid growing tensions tied to a newly imposed 25% U.S. tariff on Indian goods and concerns over technology dependence. (Defense Blog)
Viasat investor pushes for spin-off of Defense & Advanced Technologies unit
July 31, 2025 - Carronade Capital Management, which owns roughly 2.3–2.6% of Viasat and holds $30 million of its debt, is urging the company to separate its Defense and Advanced Technologies (DAT) business from its broadband communications arm. Carronade argues the DAT unit generates around $1.22 billion in annual revenue, has mid-teens revenue growth, high-margin profile (estimated 28% EBITDA), and could be worth over $50 per share as a standalone company—suggesting Viasat’s total valuation could rise more than 500%, unlocking up to $11 billion in value. Viasat said it is conducting a strategic review and will carefully evaluate the proposal ahead of its August earnings, after shares rose roughly 3–3.8% in response. (Satellite Today)
Leonardo plans capacity boost to capitalize on defense-spending boom
July 30, 2025 - Leonardo has launched a new “Capacity Boost” initiative aimed at capturing an additional €4–6 billion in revenue by 2029, in response to surging defense budgets across Europe and beyond. Instead of large fixed investments, the company will increase output through efficiency gains—up to 35–40% improvements in engineering and manufacturing—automation upgrades, and expanding supplier partnerships. Over 170 projects are underway to streamline operations (including helicopter and fixed-wing efficiency programs), and partnerships are being pursued in units such as aerostructures to support cost-effective scaling. (Aviation Week)
German army planning tenfold expansion of armored combat vehicle fleet
July 30, 2025 - Germany is preparing a transformative defense expansion under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, aiming to boost its armored fighting vehicle and APC inventory by up to tenfold, potentially acquiring between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles from Rheinmetall and KNDS, including Leopard 2 tanks, Puma IFVs, and Boxer APCs. The proposals support the formation of multiple new brigades under NATO commitments—with options suggesting orders of up to 1,000 Leopard 2 main battle tanks and 2,500 Boxer IFVs at a cost of approximately €25 billion. This effort is part of a broader curbing of Germany’s constitutional debt limits to fund defense; the build-up marks the most significant land forces modernization since the Cold War and could generate roughly €70 billion in industrial orders through 2026. (Military Watch Magazine)
China’s SpaceX Rival LandSpace Eyes IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market
July 30, 2025 - Chinese rocket developer LandSpace Technology is pursuing a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech-focused STAR Market, though its fundraising target has not been disclosed. (Reuters)
SSC Awards Five Firms PTS G Design Contracts Worth $37.5M
July 29, 2025 - The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract under Delivery Order 1 totaling $37.5 million to five companies—Viasat, Northrop Grumman, Astranis, Intelsat General, and Boeing—to design and demonstrate their commercial satellite platforms for the Protected Tactical SATCOM Global (PTS G) prog. (Satellite Today)
Boeing Saab in Talks with BAE Systems to Bid on UK Hawk Trainer Replacement
July 29, 2025 - Boeing and Sweden’s Saab are in discussions with Britain’s BAE Systems about teaming up to design a new jet trainer to replace the UK’s aging Hawk fleet, including the aircraft used by the Red Arrows, which first flew in the 1970s and whose production ceased in 2000. The potential partnership would leverage the Boeing Saab T 7 trainer co developed for the U.S. Air Force, responding to a UK defense review calling for replacement and welcoming bids from UK based suppliers. Although proposals remain at an early stage with no guarantee of agreement, such a collaboration could position BAE to bolster its live and synthetic training offerings and potentially capitalize on growing export demand in a training jet market projected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2030. (Reuters)
Boeing’s Q2 2025 Loss Narrows as Revenue and Jet Deliveries Surge
July 29, 2025 - Boeing reported Q2 revenue of $22.7 billion, up 35% year on year, driven by 150 commercial airplane deliveries (vs. 92 in Q2 2024), including increased production of 737 Max (38/month) and 787 Dreamliner jets. (Boeing)
Germany prepares massive €20B military procurement push
July 29, 2025 - Germany is set to issue a wave of major defense contracts under Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s plan to build Europe’s leading conventional military power. According to sources, pending parliamentary approval, the package includes 20 Eurofighter jets (valued at €4–5 billion), up to 3,000 Boxer armored vehicles (€10 billion), and approximately 3,500 Patria infantry fighting vehicles (€7 billion), with deliveries expected over the next decade. The expanded defense budget—exempted from constitutional debt limits—will rise to about €83 billion in 2026, and procurement plans also include new IRIS T air defense systems and several hundred SkyRanger drone defense platforms, though their costs remain unspecified. (Reuters)
Lockheed Martin lands $2 billion THAAD interceptor production contract
July 29, 2025 - The U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.06 billion contract modification to produce additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, raising the total contract value from approximately $8.35 billion to $10.42 billion, with work to be completed by December 2029 in facilities across Dallas, Sunnyvale, Troy, and Camden. The contract aims to replenish U.S. stockpiles following the rapid depletion of THAAD interceptors during recent deployment to Israel amid intense missile strikes, underscoring concerns over readiness and global threat escalation. Lockheed Martin will produce components under fixed price incentive terms and is the sole offeror for this contract which extends production through at least December 1, 2029. (Defence Industry)
Firefly Aerospace IPO terms could value company above $5.5 billion
July 28, 2025 - Firefly Aerospace plans to offer 16.2 million shares at $35–$39 each in its IPO on the Nasdaq under ticker FLY, potentially raising between $567 million and $632 million, rising to nearly $643 million if underwriters exercise their option to buy an additional 2.43 million shares. At the upper end of pricing, the valuation would reach approximately $5.58 billion with about 143 million shares outstanding post-IPO, and AE Industrial Partners will retain over 41% ownership and a voting control agreement. The IPO follows Firefly’s historic commercial moon landing by its Blue Ghost lander in March 2025 and comes amid a strong $1.1 billion backlog and partnerships with NASA, U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. (WSJ)
Northrop Grumman Aims to Lead Golden Dome “For America” Missile Defense Project
July 28, 2025 - Northrop Grumman is positioning itself at the center of the Pentagon’s proposed “Golden Dome for America” missile-defense initiative, leveraging its existing integrated air and missile-defense systems and recent surge in international contracts. (Defence Industry)
