Spain Launches Frigate | US Navy Mk 41 Companion | Russia Bars UK Defense Industry Figures

US Industry News

BAE Introduces New Companion to the US Navy’s Mk 41 Missile System

BAE Systems has completed the first live-fire test of a new deck-mounted missile launcher designed to give US Navy ships another way to deploy and replenish weapons at sea.

Called the Adaptable Deck Launcher, the system is designed to complement the service’s Mk 41 Vertical Launching System.

• SERIES A FUNDING: Foundry Robotics has raised $100 million in Series A funding to expand its factory in Emeryville, California, where it assembles defense and commercial hardware using robotics and AI.

• AI TOOL: Military teams working across classified and unclassified networks can now use their existing chat platforms to exchange messages between security domains through a new system from Owl Cyber Defense.

• DRONE WITH SHOTGUN: The US Department of Defense has added Skyborne Technologies’ Cerberus MI shotgun-armed suicide drone to its Blue UAS Cleared List.

• PRODUCTION PLANT: Texas defense company Aeon Industrial has announced the construction of its first major manufacturing facility to boost missile, interceptor, and fuze production in the US.

• C-DRONE SOLUTION: MAG Aerospace and Australian tech firm Rocket Fast Drones have partnered to advance tube-launched, 3D-printable unmanned aerial systems for counter-drone operations, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, and strike missions.

Global Industry News

Ukraine Adds Amphibious UGVs to Brave1 Military Marketplace

Ukraine’s Brave1 Market has added a dedicated category for amphibious unmanned ground vehicles, listing three initial systems designed to transport supplies over land and water.

The move gives military units access to robots that can cross rivers, canals, and marshy terrain, helping them reach frontline positions that conventional ground drones can’t reach.

• UKRAINE: Ukrainian defense manufacturers have signed 54 equipment leasing agreements worth $5.4 million under a government program that lowers financing costs.

• CANADA: Ribbit and the National Research Council of Canada have conducted a search-and-rescue exercise near Ottawa in which an autonomous airplane and helicopter worked under the direction of a single mission commander.

• UK: The UK will lead the development of three payloads for uncrewed underwater vehicles under AUKUS, designed to map the seabed, detect submarine threats, and produce non-kinetic underwater effects.

• JAPAN: German firm Quantum Systems has established a Japanese subsidiary and opened an office in Tokyo as it seeks to expand cooperation with Mitsubishi Chemical and Panasonic on unmanned systems.

• SPAIN: Navantia has launched the next F110 Bonifaz-class frigate for the Spanish Navy at its Astillero de Ferrol shipyard, marking the milestone four months ahead of schedule.

• FRANCE: A new tethered module developed by Elistair is allowing small drones to stay airborne for hours, giving defense and public safety teams a way to maintain continuous aerial surveillance.

Conflict News

S. Korean Lawmaker Proposes AI, Robot Network Along DMZ

A South Korean lawmaker has proposed using AI to combine data from surveillance equipment, ground robots, and drones to monitor North Korean activity along the Demilitarized Zone, with remotely operated weapons also integrated into the network.

The proposal seeks to detect border incursions more quickly while reducing soldiers’ exposure to mines and other hazards.

• UK & RUSSIA: Seven UK-based defense industry figures have been prohibited from entering Russia, with Moscow attributing the decision to their companies’ involvement in arming Ukraine.

Latest Pentagon Contracts

• Pratt & Whitney was awarded $25,193,724 for the component improvement program for secondary power systems and small gas turbine engines.

• AMETEK Programmable Power was awarded a maximum of $29,779,727 for Versatile Diagnostic Analog Test Station (VDATS) kits.

• LIFT Airborne Technologies was awarded $83,400,000 for delta development, qualification, production, and fielding of the next generation fixed-wing helmet.

• Lockheed Martin was awarded $13,444,766 to provide engineering and management services for USS Cleveland (LCS 31) post shakedown availability.

• Detyens Shipyards was awarded $20,454,460 for the 152-calendar day shipyard availability for the Regular Overhaul and Drydocking of Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195).

• Boeing was awarded $23,805,339 to procure 64 Distributed Targeting Processor-Networked (DTP-N) A-Kits and 32 DTP-N B-Kits, as well as provides associated cybersecurity and obsolescence support in connection with F/A-18 aircraft service life modifications for the Navy.

• Bell Textron was awarded $114,692,840 for the H-1 structural and power improvements for Next-Gen Effects Phase III effort to procure 15 A-kits, four mission kits, nine aircraft installations, long-lead and time-critical components, associated materials and labor, and spares in support of electrical power upgrades and structural improvements to the Marine Corps AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters.

• Lockheed Martin was awarded $10,439,315 to provide Phased Array Tracking to Intercept of Target (PATRIOT) Advanced Capability-3 guidance processor unit redesign, Seeker Block V flight test support.

• Benaka was awarded $16,803,000 for construction of an F-16 mission training center facility.

• Dominion Privatization Texas was awarded $61,011,748 for construction of a microgrid system.

• Versar was awarded $80,000,000 for Task Force Safety Assessments of Fire and Electricity, and Unified Facilities Criteria assessments.

• V2X Systems was awarded $104,641,327 for operation, maintenance and defense of Army communications supporting Army operational base communications information systems and infrastructure.

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