Defense Budgets & Spending News

Reuters • Dan Catchpole, Joanna Plucinska

Farnborough day one: Riyadh Air books 34 widebodies, Boeing sees a 150-plus order flurry as Airbus counters

Riyadh Air placed orders for 34 additional widebody aircraft on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, scaling commitments with Airbus and Boeing months after launching scheduled passenger service. Separate reporting pegged Boeing’s opening-day tally at nearly 150 orders, with Airbus countering later, while Pratt & Whitney and British Airways secured the first major deals of the day.

153 Sources

2026-07-19T21:09:59.142936-07:00

Reuters

Lockheed and partners push lower-cost counter-drone and CCA-era air combat tools: bargain-rate Patriot, Morfius X-Rotor, and X-B

57 Sources

2026-07-19T23:52:53.517246-07:00

Payload

DoD expands National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contract ceiling by $11.4B, tripling available awards to $17B

1 Source

2026-07-20T05:39:47.036273-07:00

Bloomberg

US hypersonic roadmap slips: Navy Zumwalt upgrade delayed; at-sea missile testing pushed to 2027

5 Sources

2026-07-20T02:23:17.388987-07:00

Defense Budgets & Spending News Timeline

Payload

1 source

DoD expands National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contract ceiling by $11.4B, tripling available awards to $17B The U.S. Department of Defense increased the ceiling for its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program by $11.4 billion, raising the total pool of launch contracts from $5.6 billion to $17 billion. The move more than triples the amount available for national security space launch procurement.

2026-07-20T05:39:47.036273-07:00

DoD expands National Security Space Launch (NSSL) contract ceiling by $11.4B, tripling available awards to $17B

Bloomberg

5 sources

US hypersonic roadmap slips: Navy Zumwalt upgrade delayed; at-sea missile testing pushed to 2027 GAO reports the US Navy is roughly two years behind modernization efforts for destroyers that will host hypersonic missiles, pushing back critical at-sea testing to 2027. The Zumwalt upgrade program is also delayed, with a destroyer set to return “with no missiles aboard,” while GAO finds the Army–Navy hypersonic purchasing effort lacks an overall coordination strategy.

2026-07-20T02:23:17.388987-07:00

US hypersonic roadmap slips: Navy Zumwalt upgrade delayed; at-sea missile testing pushed to 2027

Reuters

57 sources

❗️

Lockheed and partners push lower-cost counter-drone and CCA-era air combat tools: bargain-rate Patriot, Morfius X-Rotor, and X-B Lockheed Martin says it will field a lower-cost Patriot interceptor designed to improve hit probability and battlefield replenishment as high-end stockpiles tighten. The company is also rolling out Morfius X-Rotor, a recoverable counter-drone system intended to kill up to 50 drones per sortie, while Shield AI and GE Aerospace integrate AVEN on an X-Bat CCA prototype.

2026-07-19T23:52:53.517246-07:00

Lockheed and partners push lower-cost counter-drone and CCA-era air combat tools: bargain-rate Patriot, Morfius X-Rotor, and X-B

Reuters

153 sources

❗️

Farnborough day one: Riyadh Air books 34 widebodies, Boeing sees a 150-plus order flurry as Airbus counters Riyadh Air placed orders for 34 additional widebody aircraft on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, scaling commitments with Airbus and Boeing months after launching scheduled passenger service. Separate reporting pegged Boeing’s opening-day tally at nearly 150 orders, with Airbus countering later, while Pratt & Whitney and British Airways secured the first major deals of the day.

2026-07-19T21:09:59.142936-07:00

Farnborough day one: Riyadh Air books 34 widebodies, Boeing sees a 150-plus order flurry as Airbus counters

Bloomberg

1 source

Boeing boosts PAC-3 interceptor seeker production by 30% and targets another similar ramp this year Boeing says it increased production of PAC-3 interceptor seekers by 30% last year and plans a comparable increase this year to help the US replenish its air-defense stockpile. The ramp underscores accelerating output of a key component in a long-delivered missile system architecture.

2026-07-19T14:53:23.318357-07:00

Boeing boosts PAC-3 interceptor seeker production by 30% and targets another similar ramp this year

Breaking Defense

4 sources

Boeing: Next-generation Air Force One still on track for 2028, but costs likely to rise further Boeing says it remains on track to deliver two next-generation presidential jets by 2028, but the program will require immediate additional spending and may see further cost growth. The company reports costs already exceeding $5 billion and points to overruns tied to late-stage final assembly, wiring, structures and certification work.

2026-07-19T10:07:30.135508-07:00

Boeing: Next-generation Air Force One still on track for 2028, but costs likely to rise further

SpaceNews.com

3 sources

SDA backs ‘Golden Dome’ missile-warning/tracking with $1.75B in new space-vehicle agreements; Pentagon funds $7.1M boost to US-m The U.S. Space Development Agency awarded two agreements totaling $1.75 billion for additional space vehicles supporting missile warning, missile tracking and missile defense. Separately, the Pentagon awarded $7.1 million to Martin Materials Solutions to expand U.S. manufacturing of space-qualified cover glass used to protect satellite solar-cell power systems.

2026-07-18T10:04:15.510008-07:00

SDA backs ‘Golden Dome’ missile-warning/tracking with $1.75B in new space-vehicle agreements; Pentagon funds $7.1M boost to US-m

DefenseNews.com

8 sources

GAO: Navy Zumwalt-CPS hypersonic installation running ~24 months behind; Lockheed missile-building at scale plagued by manufactu A Government Accountability Office review found the U.S. Navy’s effort to upgrade three Zumwalt-class destroyers with the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) hypersonic missile capability is about 24 months behind schedule. GAO also cited manufacturing and quality-control challenges preventing the program from reaching planned production rates, raising concerns about wasted money and time within the broader $50B-plus hypersonic push.

2026-07-17T12:58:41.317870-07:00

GAO: Navy Zumwalt-CPS hypersonic installation running ~24 months behind; Lockheed missile-building at scale plagued by manufactu

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