Defense Industry & Major Contractors News

Reuters • Dan Catchpole

Senators urge Boeing to end eight‑week St. Louis strike disrupting fighter and munitions production

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined other senators in a letter pressing Boeing to end an eight‑week strike by about 3,200 IAM machinists at its St. Louis‑area defense plants, which has disrupted production of fighters, munitions and other military aircraft and put deliveries at risk.

2025-10-02T10:48:28.175596-07:00

Janes

Dutch F-35A downs Russian drone over Poland, earns first 'drone kill' emblem

2025-10-02T04:20:12.582807-07:00

ESA

ESA awards €50m to Thales Alenia for SAGA — Europe’s first government-focused QKD satellite enters Phase B2

2025-10-01T05:25:07.134963-07:00

Reuters

TransDigm names co‑COO Mike Lisman as CEO as Kevin Stein retires

2025-10-01T15:00:23.619473-07:00

Defense Industry & Major Contractors News Timeline

FlightGlobal

Australia receives first two AH-64E Apaches as ARH deliveries begin Australia has taken delivery of its first two Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters at RAAF Base Townsville, marking the start of handovers under the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter programme. Reports describe the contract as 29 aircraft while a separate account cites 28.

2025-10-02T21:05:09.550875-07:00

Australia receives first two AH-64E Apaches as ARH deliveries begin

Bloomberg

Boeing, Union Resume Federal Mediation After Nearly Eight‑Week St. Louis Defense Strike Boeing and the union representing striking defense workers agreed to resume negotiations with a federal mediator in a bid to end a nearly eight‑week work stoppage. The strike has idled production at St. Louis‑area defense plants, threatening deliveries and defense supply chains.

2025-10-02T15:29:34.543642-07:00

Boeing, Union Resume Federal Mediation After Nearly Eight‑Week St. Louis Defense Strike

The War Zone

Official photos show F-35s deployed to Puerto Rico, raising questions about domestic use Official images show U.S. F-35 Lightning IIs operating from Puerto Rico, marking a visible forward presence in the Caribbean. The deployment raises questions about potential domestic employment of the stealth fighters — including inland counter‑drug strikes against cartels — if the administration escalates operations.

2025-10-02T14:44:27.903046-07:00

Official photos show F-35s deployed to Puerto Rico, raising questions about domestic use

Breaking Defense

Space Rapid Capabilities Office to fund two $3M GEO radar demos to warn of space‑bound threats The Space Rapid Capabilities Office will award two vendors 24‑month Direct to Phase II SBIR grants of $3 million each to demonstrate low‑cost, low‑weight radar payloads aboard Space Force satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit, aiming to provide early warning and characterization of threats transiting the GEO belt.

2025-10-02T13:44:17.373615-07:00

Space Rapid Capabilities Office to fund two $3M GEO radar demos to warn of space‑bound threats

FlightGlobal

Polish pilots demo Boeing F-15EX in St. Louis as Warsaw weighs it against F-35A programme A Polish Air Force delegation, including inspector general Ireneusz Nowak, visited Boeing’s St. Louis facility for familiarisation flights and evaluations of the twin‑engined F-15EX Eagle II. The visits form part of Warsaw’s assessment of the F-15EX as an option alongside its ongoing F-35A acquisition programme.

2025-10-02T13:41:33.560617-07:00

Polish pilots demo Boeing F-15EX in St. Louis as Warsaw weighs it against F-35A programme

Breaking Defense

Picogrid adds 'universal translator' to Palantir Maven; Legion integrated with Northrop Grumman’s AiON Picogrid added a 'universal translator' to Palantir Maven and integrated its Legion software with Northrop Grumman’s AiON counter‑drone system, creating direct data pathways between Picogrid's tools, Palantir's Maven environment and a major contractor's operational counter‑UAS stack for faster interoperability in operational deployments.

2025-10-02T13:24:57.062430-07:00

Picogrid adds 'universal translator' to Palantir Maven; Legion integrated with Northrop Grumman’s AiON

Politico

Europe urges tougher response as Russian drone incursions, cyber-attacks and sabotage escalate At a European summit in Copenhagen, Emmanuel Macron and other leaders pushed for tougher measures — including shooting down drones entering EU airspace and boarding ships carrying illicit oil — as NATO increases surveillance and air‑policing after a spike in incursions, cyber-attacks and sabotage.

2025-10-02T12:20:37.805574-07:00

Europe urges tougher response as Russian drone incursions, cyber-attacks and sabotage escalate

Air Data News

Embraer delivers eighth KC-390 Millennium to Brazilian Air Force (FAB 2860) Embraer delivered the Brazilian Air Force’s eighth KC-390 Millennium, registration FAB 2860, on Thursday, handing the tactical transport to the 1º Esquadrão do 1º Grupo de Transporte (1º/1º GT). The handover marks another incremental expansion of the FAB’s KC-390 fleet.

2025-10-02T10:48:39.045980-07:00

Embraer delivers eighth KC-390 Millennium to Brazilian Air Force (FAB 2860)

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