Breaking Defense
• Theresa Hitchens
Gen. Greg Gagnon, head of Space Force Combat Forces Command, said key mission areas face a serious shortage of simulators needed to train Guardians. The new $981 million procurement pool is intended to expand access to training capabilities across the service.
Defense Budgets & Spending
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Gen. Greg Gagnon, head of Space Force Combat Forces Command, said key mission areas face a serious shortage of simulators needed to train Guardians. The new $981 million procurement pool is intended to expand access to training capabilities across the service.
MTU Aero Engines CEO Johannes Bussmann cautioned that differing French and German fighter aircraft requirements could put at risk the company’s engine partnership with Safran, following the collapse of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program.
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Farnborough coverage underscored Europe’s widening defense commitments: the UK allocated £8.6 billion to GCAP and released £8.4 billion in existing Dreadnought submarine funding, while the EU approved €3.47 billion for Ukrainian military hardware. New autonomous aircraft and sovereign-production plans highlighted the industrial implications.
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Ukraine says its F-16s have destroyed more than 2,500 one-way attack drones, but repeated interceptions are wearing down the small fleet. The EU has disbursed €3.47 billion ($4 billion) to fund additional drones, air-defence missiles and Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets, amid renewed Russian missile and drone attacks that killed nine, including children. NATO is also investigating a reported Russian missile hit into Polish airspace.
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Rolls-Royce says it has “effectively eliminated” aircraft-on-ground events over the first half by rolling out Trent 1000 and 7000 engine durability improvements, alongside continued transformation progress. Separately, BAE Systems raised full-year targets as defense spending booms, with CEO Charles Woodburn warning against adding GCAP partners if it slows the program.
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a record up to $58.62 billion contract for Patriot interceptor missile production, while adding $54 billion to a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) agreement, bringing the total to about $59B; the latest Army contract is undefinitized. Rocket Lab also secured its largest launch contract to date—$266 million—for multi-launch suborbital missions with the U.S. Space Force.
L3Harris Technologies reported second-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, citing continued strong demand for weapons and military technology. The results underscore ongoing spending momentum across defense procurement cycles and technology modernization efforts.
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