Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
Breaking Defense • Michael Marrow

Lockheed Martin exec: laser air-defense systems slated for operational status before decade’s end

Lockheed Martin’s Stephanie Hill said the company is moving beyond the “lasers are always five years away” refrain, asserting its laser air-defense systems will reach operational status before the end of the decade. The remark signals maturing directed-energy timelines for layered counter-UAS and air-defense needs.

Also: defence-industry.eu
2026-07-27T09:06:39.587597-07:00
Europe   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Export Controls & Trade Compliance   Defense Deals  
Reuters

Polish TNT producer Nitro-Chem plans expansion to UK with BAE Systems

By Reuters: Poland's Nitro-Chem, a major supplier of trinitrotoluene (TNT) for NATO countries' armies, ​has signed a letter of intent ‌with defence company BAE Systems to build a production plant in Britain, the Polish Defence ​Ministry said on Monday.

2026-07-27T09:06:13.336308-07:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Orders   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Asia-Pacific (APAC)  
FlightGlobal • Greg Waldron

KAI eyes follow-on KF-21 order from Seoul, as Indonesia talks continue

By FlightGlobal: KAI expects a follow-on South Korean order for 80 additional KF-21s. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) expects to deliver eight KF-21 fighters to South Korea’s air force by the end of 2026, as it anticipates a follow-on order for the type.

2026-07-27T00:06:28.388929-07:00
Aerial Firefighting   Supply Chain   Europe   Military Aircraft Procurement   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Airbus  
Air Data News • Ricardo Meier

Airbus deploys firefighting kit on French Air Force A400M amid wildfires

By Air Data News: Military transport aircraft enters real-world firefighting operations for the first time using a 20-tonne retardant Airbus-developed firefighting kit for the A400M Atlas has entered operational service for the first time as France battles a series of wildfires that have swept across parts of the country in recent days.

2026-07-26T05:24:57.965011-07:00