The War Zone
• Thomas Newdick
The low-cost interceptor drone, rushed to NATO partners after incursions by other drones, has become a case study in the Army’s effort to field emerging capabilities quickly. The Army says Merops moved to program-of-record status in just 142 days, signaling a fast-track approach to acquiring counter-drone systems.
Defense Industry & Major Contractors
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The low-cost interceptor drone, rushed to NATO partners after incursions by other drones, has become a case study in the Army’s effort to field emerging capabilities quickly. The Army says Merops moved to program-of-record status in just 142 days, signaling a fast-track approach to acquiring counter-drone systems.
Saab is considering establishing GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft production in Canada, a move it says could help meet growing global demand. The proposal would expand the platform’s manufacturing footprint, though details on timing, capacity, investment or customer commitments were not provided.
Anduril is preparing a tender offer allowing employees to sell shares at $94.80 apiece, with the transaction capped at $1.3 billion and implying a roughly $90 billion valuation. That would mark a 48% increase from the $61 billion valuation attached to its $5 billion funding round announced in May.
The Turkish defense electronics company is investing in space R&D to build end-to-end capabilities in geospatial imaging and satellite communications. Its expansion also includes work on a government-backed low-orbit broadband constellation planned to comprise 198 satellites.
International aerospace contractors and defense agencies are advancing next-generation space-based interceptor programs into preliminary design and component testing, a step toward orbital missile defense. The cluster also includes updates on a Sentinel reentry-vehicle test, NATO air-defense networking, satellite edge computing and automated missile-part manufacturing.
Bell has completed the first nacelles for the U.S. Army’s MV-75 Cheyenne and started gearbox testing, marking progress on the tiltrotor being developed as a future Black Hawk replacement. Rolls-Royce has also outlined its propulsion work on the aircraft, including manufacturing plans and production capacity.
The Army will continue working with the Lockheed Martin and Boeing-Anduril teams in the Indirect Fire Protection Capability interceptor competition while hosting a “shoot-off opportunity” for additional vendors, Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said. The service is inviting companies not selected for the competition to demonstrate their systems.
Kaizen co-founder Nikhil Reddy says the company is focused on modernizing Army software and simplifying defense procurement to accelerate the deployment of counter-drone capabilities. The effort highlights procurement processes and software modernization as practical levers for getting emerging technology into military use sooner.
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