Refueling aircraft are now the most reliable indicator of what Washington intends to do about Iran, and the most useful lever it holds over how the war gets fought. Carrier movements are slow, ambiguous and expensive. Bomber deployments are a commitment. Tankers are neither. They are cheap to move, legible to everyone watching flight tracking data, reversible within days, and … [Read more...] about Aerial Refueling Became the Main Instrument of US Iran Policy, and Israel the Safest Place to Base It
Ondas (ONDS) Q2 2026: The Full-Year Guide Requires a $256 Million Fourth Quarter
Ondas reported record second-quarter revenue of $83.8 million on August 13, up 67% sequentially from $50.1 million and more than thirteen times the $6.3 million it booked a year earlier, and raised its full-year target to $525 to $550 million. The stock fell roughly 9% on the print and closed Friday at $9.24, recovering 3.7% on the day as new tariffs on imported drones lifted … [Read more...] about Ondas (ONDS) Q2 2026: The Full-Year Guide Requires a $256 Million Fourth Quarter
Trump’s Steam Catapult Order Targets a Real Ford-Class Failure With the Wrong Fix
A presidential memorandum signed on August 13 directs the Navy to strip electromagnetic launch and the Advanced Weapons Elevators out of future Ford-class aircraft carriers and replace them with steam catapults and hydraulic elevators. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy have 60 days to deliver a plan covering timelines and resourcing, beginning with CVN-81, the … [Read more...] about Trump’s Steam Catapult Order Targets a Real Ford-Class Failure With the Wrong Fix
Cloudflare for Government Achieves FedRAMP Class D (High), Commits to DoD IL4 Pursuit
Cloudflare announced on August 10 that Cloudflare for Government has achieved FedRAMP Class D (High) certified status, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology serving as sponsoring agency. The company paired the milestone with a stated commitment to pursue Department of Defense Impact Level 4 authorization, and separately confirmed GovRAMP Moderate authorization … [Read more...] about Cloudflare for Government Achieves FedRAMP Class D (High), Commits to DoD IL4 Pursuit
IonQ (IONQ) DARPA Clock Award: $28 Million Contracted, $300,000 Per Clock in the Option
The clarification is more useful than the announcement it clarifies. IonQ has been awarded $28 million, not $58 million. The $28 million is a modification to an existing DARPA agreement under the It's About Time program, and it covers manufacturing development plus 25 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks. The other $30 million is an option DARPA has not exercised. If it is … [Read more...] about IonQ (IONQ) DARPA Clock Award: $28 Million Contracted, $300,000 Per Clock in the Option
Aurelius Systems Raises $40M to Scale Autonomous Counter-Drone Defense
Aurelius Systems has secured $40 million in Series A funding to accelerate the development and production of its autonomous counter-drone platform, underscoring growing investor confidence in directed-energy defense technologies as drone warfare rapidly evolves. The funding round was co-led by Draper Associates and KAS Venture Partners, with participation from General … [Read more...] about Aurelius Systems Raises $40M to Scale Autonomous Counter-Drone Defense
Antares Raises $470 Million to Field Nuclear Microreactors on U.S. Military Bases by 2028
Antares announced a $470 million Series C on July 27, structured as $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt, co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital with participation from Point72 Ventures, Shine Capital, and Industrious Ventures. The Torrance-based company, founded in 2023, has now raised more than $600 million to build compact fission microreactors for defense … [Read more...] about Antares Raises $470 Million to Field Nuclear Microreactors on U.S. Military Bases by 2028
L3Harris Signs Seven-Year Frameworks to Quadruple THAAD Propulsion and Nearly Triple PAC-3 MSE Motor Output
L3Harris announced two framework agreements within the same hour on July 27, both signed with the Department of War and prime contractor Lockheed Martin, both running seven years, and both aimed at the same bottleneck. The first quadruples propulsion production for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. The second nearly triples output of propulsion products supporting … [Read more...] about L3Harris Signs Seven-Year Frameworks to Quadruple THAAD Propulsion and Nearly Triple PAC-3 MSE Motor Output
Anduril’s $100 Billion Talks Assume a Capability Gap the UK and US Just Tried to Measure
I'm generally skeptical of defense-tech valuations that double in a matter of months, because most of them are pricing in a procurement win that hasn't happened yet rather than anything that shipped. Anduril going from a $61 billion round in May to talks around $100 billion now reads, on the surface, like exactly that pattern. I don't think it's just hype this time, and the … [Read more...] about Anduril’s $100 Billion Talks Assume a Capability Gap the UK and US Just Tried to Measure
Arkenstone Defense Emerges From Stealth With $35 Million to Fix Pentagon’s Commercial Onboarding Problem
Arkenstone Defense has come out of stealth with $35 million in seed funding aimed at a problem that has quietly throttled the Pentagon's push for commercial innovation: the sheer operational burden of becoming a government contractor. The round was led by J2 Ventures, with Susa Ventures, Granite Hill Capital Partners, and Artis Ventures also participating. The pitch is … [Read more...] about Arkenstone Defense Emerges From Stealth With $35 Million to Fix Pentagon’s Commercial Onboarding Problem