Aircraft Carrier   Middle East   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact   Defense Policy  
New York Times • Helene Cooper

Ford fire burned 30+ hours during extended Middle East deployment; Iran names support facilities as legitimate targets

A laundry-room fire aboard USS Gerald R. Ford burned for more than 30 hours before being extinguished, exposing safety and readiness shortfalls on a carrier now in its tenth month of deployment. Iran has declared logistics and service facilities supporting the strike group legitimate military targets, raising operational risk.

Also: pilotonline.com, nationalsecurityjournal.org, Stars and Stripes, Economic Times and naval-technology.com
2026-03-16T15:58:52.875486-07:00
eVTOL   UAV Development & Drone Programs   Supply Chain   M&A   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
Reuters

AeroVironment to acquire ESAero (Empirical Systems Aerospace) for $200M, bolstering UAS and advanced air mobility capabilities

By Reuters: Drone maker AeroVironment said on Monday it has acquired Empirical Systems Aerospace, a producer of unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility platforms, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $200 million.

Also: Defense Daily, avinc.com and insidedefense.com
2026-03-16T13:25:02.896733-07:00
UAV Development & Drone Programs   AI   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact   Bayraktar  
Aviacionline • Gastón Dubois

Baykar K2: Heavy 200 kg Kamikaze Drone Unveiled with Swarm and GNSS‑Independent Navigation

By Aviacionline: Baykar unveils the K2, a new heavy kamikaze drone with swarm capabilities—and a 200 kg punch The K2 combines artificial intelligence, GNSS-independent navigation, and swarm operations to conduct deep-strike missions against high-value targets.

Also: airforce-technology.com, news.ssbcrack.com, interestingengineering.com, quwa.org, Defence24 and c4isrnet.com
2026-03-15T14:58:42.129779-07:00
F-16   MRO   Europe   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Geopolitical Developments & Conflict Impact   Defense Deals  
Reuters

Greece approves €3bn air-and-drone defence system and €4bn package including upgrade of 38 F-16s

By Reuters: A Greek parliamentary committee approved on Monday the purchase of a three-billion euro multi-layer air and drone defence system and the upgrade of 38 F-16 fighter jets, with the total cost estimated at about 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion), two sources told Reuters.

Also: Seeking Alpha and defence-industry.eu
2026-03-16T09:00:47.534622-07:00
Satellite   Europe   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Commercial Space   Space Defense & Militarization  
Business Wire

Redwire to Build Belgium’s First National Security Satellite with Aerospacelab

By Business Wire: Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW), a global leader in space and defence technology solutions, today announced it has been awarded a prime contract by Belgian D...

Also: Seeking Alpha
2026-03-16T05:33:21.292646-07:00
Satellite   Europe   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Space Defense & Militarization  
defence-industry.eu

EDA awards €15.65m VLEO-DEF contract to design Europe’s first military Very Low Earth Orbit satellite concept

By defence-industry.eu: The European Defence Agency (EDA) has signed a €15.65 million research contract with a European industry consortium to explore military satellite operations in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO).

2026-03-16T05:14:05.472987-07:00