Defense Industry & Major Contractors News

Breaking Defense • Valerie Insinna

Boeing begins hiring permanent replacements as labor standoff escalates

Boeing held a hiring event that drew "hundreds of qualified applicants," company vice president Dan Gillian said, as the manufacturer moves to hire permanent replacements amid an escalating labor standoff. Boeing is processing candidates while negotiations with striking workers remain unresolved.

2025-09-25T11:46:29.174566-07:00

Washington Post

RUSI: Leaked Files Show Russia Supplied China With Airdrop Equipment That Could Aid Taiwan Assault

2025-09-26T04:08:58.713893-07:00

Reuters

India signs INR623.7bn ($7–7.5bn) deal with HAL for 97 Tejas Mk1A fighters; deliveries 2027–28

2025-09-25T02:44:31.070921-07:00

Via Satellite

European leaders urge faster delivery of IRIS² satellite constellation

2025-09-25T13:41:33.468313-07:00

Defense Industry & Major Contractors News Timeline

The Aviationist

Turkey’s Kaan Fighter: Second Prototype Enters Production, Flight Target Set for 2026 A second Kaan prototype has been spotted in assembly a year after the first example's maiden flight. The airframe has entered production and is being prepared for a targeted first flight in 2026, moving the programme into an expanded flight‑test phase.

2025-09-27T09:23:58.248084-07:00

Turkey’s Kaan Fighter: Second Prototype Enters Production, Flight Target Set for 2026

Reuters

Latvia urges NATO to bolster Baltic air defences after Russian airspace incursions Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics urged NATO to strengthen air defences for the Baltic states, citing repeated Russian violations of alliance airspace and echoing a similar appeal from Lithuania. He called for enhanced allied protection and readiness along NATO’s eastern flank.

2025-09-27T06:27:44.233668-07:00

Latvia urges NATO to bolster Baltic air defences after Russian airspace incursions

nationalsecurityjournal.org

Russia's Su-75 'Checkmate' remains a mock-up as sanctions, engines and supply-chain woes stall programme Russia's Su-75 “Checkmate,” promoted as a low-cost fifth‑generation stealth fighter, remains a static mock‑up years after its unveiling. Sanctions, shortages of engines and composite materials, and Moscow’s shift toward missiles and drones have delayed development and left the claimed $30m unit cost unproven.

2025-09-26T19:25:13.474574-07:00

Russia's Su-75 'Checkmate' remains a mock-up as sanctions, engines and supply-chain woes stall programme

Aviation Week

U.S. Navy to Solicit Bids Next Fiscal Year for New Surface‑Launched Ballistic and Hypersonic Missile Family The U.S. Navy plans to solicit bids next fiscal year for contracts to begin development of a new family of surface‑launched ballistic and hypersonic missiles, moving the program into a formal acquisition phase focused on ship‑based long‑range strike capabilities.

2025-09-26T15:16:10.002790-07:00

U.S. Navy to Solicit Bids Next Fiscal Year for New Surface‑Launched Ballistic and Hypersonic Missile Family

SpaceNews.com

'Left-of-launch' posture rises as priority for next-generation missile defence programs National missile-defence programs are elevating a 'left‑of‑launch' posture—prioritizing pre-launch detection and disruption of threats—into a central element of next‑generation architectures. The shift reframes investments in sensors, influence operations and partnerships, and acquisition strategies as complementary to traditional post‑launch interception capabilities.

2025-09-26T15:11:46.103225-07:00

'Left-of-launch' posture rises as priority for next-generation missile defence programs

investors.lockheedmartin.com

US Navy awards Sikorsky up to $10.855B to build up to 99 CH‑53K King Stallion heavy‑lift helicopters The U.S. Navy has awarded Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, a $10.855 billion, five‑year contract to produce up to 99 CH‑53K King Stallion heavy‑lift helicopters for the U.S. Marine Corps, establishing a multi‑year delivery profile for the service’s heavy‑lift modernization.

2025-09-26T14:27:46.970632-07:00

US Navy awards Sikorsky up to $10.855B to build up to 99 CH‑53K King Stallion heavy‑lift helicopters

Aviation Week

SNC prepares fifth Korean Air 747‑8i for U.S. Air Force E‑4C modification program Sierra Nevada Corporation is preparing to take delivery of a fifth Korean Air Boeing 747‑8i to be missionized as a U.S. Air Force E‑4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center. The move advances SNC’s schedule for converting multiple 747‑8is into the ‘Doomsday’ airborne command post fleet.

2025-09-26T13:07:14.768687-07:00

SNC prepares fifth Korean Air 747‑8i for U.S. Air Force E‑4C modification program

Aviation Week

Northrop Grumman: Navy F/A‑XX Sixth‑Generation Fighter Is Essential to Preserve U.S. Aircraft Industrial Base Northrop Grumman warns the U.S. Navy's F/A‑XX sixth‑generation fighter is needed to sustain the aircraft industrial base, arguing program work is required to keep supplier lines, critical workforce skills and long‑term capabilities intact. The company is pressing for programme continuity amid budget competition.

2025-09-26T12:03:24.197142-07:00

Northrop Grumman: Navy F/A‑XX Sixth‑Generation Fighter Is Essential to Preserve U.S. Aircraft Industrial Base

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