UAV Development & Drone Programs   Military Aircraft Procurement   Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
AeroTime • Clement Charpentreau

U.S. defense awards push LAIRCM and directed-energy counter-UAS forward, including Northrop Grumman’s $60.4M sensor upgrade and

On July 8, 2026, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $60,438,241 sole-source contract to develop an enhanced sensor for the LAIRCM system, running through April 30, 2029, at its Rolling Meadows, Illinois facility. Separately, the Department of Defense awarded nLIGHT and Lockheed Martin Aculight $86 million for containerized laser weapons against drones and cruise missiles, while Tekne S.p.A.-based tests showed NUBURU’s laser dazzler C-UAS results in Italy.

Also: defence-blog.com, Unmanned Airspace and defenseadvancement.com
2026-07-10T01:58:52.441351-07:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Workforce & Skills Development  
Air Data News • Ricardo Meier

B-21 automation drives USAF plan to retrain bomber crew officers as pilots

By Air Data News: The US Air Force (USAF) has confirmed that the B-21 Raider will operate with a two-pilot crew, a configuration made possible by the aircraft's advanced automation that has prompted the service to find a new role for officers who traditionally filled other cockpit positions in legacy bombers.

2026-07-10T01:45:09.814901-07:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact   Defense Deals   Defense Policy  
Bloomberg • Firat Kozok, Selcan Hacaoglu

Turkey Seeks Russian OK for S-400 Exit to Unlock F-35 Purchase

By Bloomberg: Turkey is seeking Russia’s consent to transfer air defense systems it bought from Moscow to a third country, an effort aimed at clearing the way for the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets.

2026-07-10T03:29:19.809506-07:00
UAV Development & Drone Programs   Satellite   Europe   Military Aircraft Procurement   Accident   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Space Policy & International Cooperation   Space Defense & Militarization   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact   Defense Policy   Airbus  
Payload • Douglas Gorman

NATO Allies Plan to Stitch Together Sovereign Space Fleets

By Payload: Eight NATO allies announced plans this week to combine their national defense satellites into a single network.

Also: Aeronews, arabiandefence.com and arabiandefence.com
2026-07-09T22:15:38.150336-07:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Boeing  
FlightGlobal • Ryan Finnerty

Boeing progressing with new factory for advanced combat aircraft

By FlightGlobal: Although not officially tied to the US Air Force's F-47 programme, the St Louis plant is widely expected to assemble the new sixth-generation fighter.

2026-07-09T11:29:24.691499-07:00
Satellite   Defense Budgets & Spending   Space Policy & International Cooperation   Space Defense & Militarization   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact  
Via Satellite • Rachel Jewett

Telesat to Provide Mil-Ka Arctic Connectivity for Canada’s ESCP-P Program

By Via Satellite: Telesat has reached an agreement with the Canadian government to provide Military Ka-band satellite capacity for Canada’s Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P) program.

2026-07-09T13:15:10.877092-07:00