Defense News

Middle East Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact

The War Zone • Ian Ellis-Jones

Satellite imagery shows continued construction at Iran’s Eagle 44 underground airbase after strikes

New satellite imagery indicates construction has continued at Iran’s Eagle 44 airbase despite the war, while wreckage from strikes has been cleared. The site includes underground hangars and taxiway tunnels, underscoring the importance of assessing damage and activity at concealed military aviation infrastructure.

1 Source

2026-10-22T07:28:25.086561-07:00

L3Harris Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons Defense Industry & Major Contractors

NEW

Axios • Colin Demarest

L3Harris opens robotic rocket motor factory in Arkansas

By Axios: The preexisting L3Harris footprint in Camden, Arkansas, includes 100-plus buildings across 2,000 acres.

1 Source

2026-10-22T08:28:38.693737-07:00

Military Aircraft Procurement Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) Defense Industry & Major Contractors

Reuters • Aatreyee Dasgupta, Mike Stone

Lockheed lands Pentagon deal for 850 F-35 jets, lifts annual forecast

By Reuters: Lockheed Martin reached an agreement on ‌Thursday to sell the Pentagon at least 850 of its stealthy F-35 Lightning II fighter jets over the next 10 years, a deal potentially worth at least $78 billion.

Breaking Defense

Pentagon, Lockheed agree to decade-long F-35 framework deal for hundreds of jets

Bloomberg

US Agrees to Buy At Least 850 More Lockheed F-35 Fighter Jets

Also: FlightGlobal, AeroTime, Air Data News, Wall Street Journal, Aviation Week, insidedefense.com, defensemirror.com, aerospaceglobalnews.com, edrmagazine.eu, Bloomberg Law, defence-industry.eu, Seeking Alpha and 4 more

27 Sources

2026-10-22T04:04:22.740387-07:00

Europe Embraer

Air Data News • Ricardo Meier

Portuguese KC-390s to refuel Spanish fighters under new bilateral agreement

By Air Data News: Spain’s Eurofighters and F-18s are compatible with the tanker’s hose-and-drogue system, unlike Portugal’s own F-16s Portugal and Spain have approved a bilateral agreement that will allow Portuguese Air Force Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft equipped for aerial refueling to support Spanish military aircraft.

2 Sources

2026-10-22T07:35:00.897073-07:00

Helicopter Military Aircraft Procurement Orders

FlightGlobal • Lizzie Rix

Argentina’s military accepts sixth and final Bell 407GXi

By FlightGlobal: The helicopters will help to enhance operational capability. The Argentinian armed forces have received their sixth Bell 407GXi, completing a process initiated in 2023.

1 Source

2026-10-22T06:05:29.759767-07:00

Satellite Defense Industry & Major Contractors

SpaceNews.com • Debra Werner

BlackSky announces Gen-3 contract with international defense agency

By SpaceNews.com: ISCO — BlackSky Technology announced a “seven-figure” contract to provide an international defense agency in a “contested region” with assured access to high-resolution Gen-3 imagery and data, Herndon, Virginia-based BlackSky announced Oct.

1 Source

2026-10-22T05:35:43.875841-07:00

Military Aircraft Procurement Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) Defense Industry & Major Contractors

Reuters

Lockheed, Pentagon strike initial deal to produce 850 F-35 jets

By Reuters: Lockheed Martin has entered an initial production and sustainment agreement with the Department of Defense for at least 850 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets over ‌the next 10 years, they said on Thursday.

1 Source

2026-10-22T04:04:23.001323-07:00

Space Force Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation

Politico • Audrey Decker

Space Force scrambles as Musk’s SpaceX retires its major rocket

By Politico: Other rocket-makers have faced delays getting their vehicles up and running, leaving the Pentagon in a bind.

1 Source

2026-10-22T03:37:08.459279-07:00

Satellite imagery shows continued construction at Iran’s Eagle 44 underground airbase after strikes

L3Harris opens robotic rocket motor factory in Arkansas

Lockheed lands Pentagon deal for 850 F-35 jets, lifts annual forecast

Pentagon, Lockheed agree to decade-long F-35 framework deal for hundreds of jets

US Agrees to Buy At Least 850 More Lockheed F-35 Fighter Jets

Portuguese KC-390s to refuel Spanish fighters under new bilateral agreement

Argentina’s military accepts sixth and final Bell 407GXi

BlackSky announces Gen-3 contract with international defense agency

Lockheed, Pentagon strike initial deal to produce 850 F-35 jets

Space Force scrambles as Musk’s SpaceX retires its major rocket

Construction Of Iran’s “Eagle 44” Underground Airbase Hasn’t Stopped Despite War

Portuguese KC-390s to refuel Spanish fighters under new bilateral agreement

L3Harris opens robotic rocket motor factory in Arkansas

Argentina’s military accepts sixth and final Bell 407GXi

BlackSky announces Gen-3 contract with international defense agency

Lockheed lands Pentagon deal for 850 F-35 jets, lifts annual forecast

Skyfly Secures $10 million To Commercialize Axe personal eVTOL aircraft

Turkey says it is waiting for sale contract from Qatar for Eurofighter Typhoon jet procurement

How Does the Ukrainian Military Use Starlink?

Any Decision To Buy New-Build F-16s Not An "Urgent" Priority: USAF

Musk ordered a slowdown of Ukraine’s military-grade Starlink service, raising concerns over Kyiv’s reliance on the network for w

French Mirage 2000D crashes during night training flight, killing one crew member; second remains missing

UK to deploy Typhoons, Voyager tanker and A400M to support Saudi defensive operations against Houthi attacks

Russian satellite closes to within 3,281 feet of U.S.-registered ICEYE radar satellite

The day’s aerospace signal, in one email.

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