AI   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
Breaking Defense • Michael Marrow

USAF CCA Round 2 selects nine vendors to advance autonomous 'drone wingmen' concepts

The U.S. Air Force has selected nine industry teams in Round 2 of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) effort to mature a broad spectrum of autonomous 'drone wingmen' concepts, an Air Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense. The designs will be narrowed in later phases toward prototype candidates.

2025-12-19T16:28:59.731301-08:00
Satellite   Space Force   Supply Chain   L3Harris   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation   Commercial Space   Space Defense & Militarization  
Breaking Defense • Theresa Hitchens

SDA awards $3.5B Tranche 3 Tracking Layer contracts to Lockheed, Rocket Lab, Northrop Grumman and L3Harris

By Breaking Defense: Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab USA, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris Technologies each won awards to "deliver and operate 18 space vehicles" for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 3 Tracking Layer.

Also: Bloomberg, Reuters, sda.mil, satnews, Northrop Grumman, Air & Space Forces Mag, GlobeNewswire, news.defcros.com, odt.co.nz, defence-industry.eu, TechCrunch, Bloomberg Law and 10 more
2025-12-19T09:09:49.185349-08:00
UAV Development & Drone Programs   AI   North America   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
FlightGlobal • Ryan Finnerty

US Air Force to Fit X-62 VISTA with Raytheon PhantomStrike AESA to Test AI-Enabled Combat for Uncrewed Fighters

By FlightGlobal: The US Air Force will install Raytheon's PhantomStrike active electronically scanned array radar on its X-62 VISTA test aircraft, advancing autonomous combat capabilities as the service develops artificial intelligence systems for future uncrewed fighters.

Also: edwards.af.mil, AirForceTimes, The Aviationist, Aviation Week, news.defcros.com, defence-industry.eu and news.ssbcrack.com
2025-12-19T07:58:18.769640-08:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
FlightGlobal • Ryan Finnerty

Lockheed to name aircraft for US Army Flight School Next UH-72A replacement bid in January

By FlightGlobal: Lockheed Martin says it will disclose which aircraft it proposes as replacement for the US Army's UH-72A Lakota trainer in January, as the company gears up to compete for the Flight School Next tender.

2025-12-19T11:44:07.248679-08:00
Supply Chain   Europe   Military Aircraft Procurement   Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons   Defense Budgets & Spending   Defense Industry & Major Contractors  
FlightGlobal • Craig Hoyle

Germany signs deal to launch production of Taurus Neo cruise missiles for Luftwaffe

By FlightGlobal: Europe's Taurus Systems joint venture has been awarded a contract by the German BAAINBw defence procurement body to produce Taurus air-launched cruise missiles in an enhanced Neo-version standard.

Also: Janes
2025-12-19T03:39:18.940060-08:00
Military Aircraft Procurement   Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs)   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Export Controls & Trade Compliance   Asia-Pacific (APAC)  
FlightGlobal • Greg Waldron

Boeing selects Hanwha Systems to supply Eagle large-area cockpit displays for F‑15K and F‑15EX

By FlightGlobal: Boeing has selected South Korea's Hanwha Systems to provide the Eagle Large Area Display for Seoul's F-15K fleet and the US Air Force's F-15EX, marking the Korean manufacturer's first export of digital avionics equipment.

Also: Stars and Stripes
2025-12-19T09:30:38.216558-08:00