Defense & Geopolitical Fragmentation

Empower has appointed former ExxonMobil veteran Andrew Sinclair as its chief public and government affairs officer, the Dallas-based lithium producer announced. Sinclair will be based at Empower's new Washington, D.C., office and will also lead a presence in Austin, overseeing government relations, media and communications as the company aligns with U.S. strategic interest in critical minerals. He brings more than two decades of public affairs experience, including nine years at ExxonMobil, where he oversaw state government relations in the Northeast and helped build the public and government affairs team in Guyana. Empower is scaling commercial production of American-made lithium carbonate and plans to launch its first commercial sales in 2027, with CEO Patrick Dowling calling Sinclair the cornerstone of a leadership team assembled to lead American lithium production. The company noted that the United States controls only 1% of global lithium processing capacity.

Oceaneering International announced that its Aerospace and Defense Technologies segment, known as ADTech, has secured a follow-on contract from the U.S. Navy to support the Dry Deck Shelter program. The five-year award, which includes one base year and four option years, carries a potential value of $154 million. The agreement covers maintenance, overhaul, engineering and field change services for Dry Deck Shelters, specialized systems that help enable the deployment of special operations forces and undersea vehicles. Oceaneering has supported the Navy's Dry Deck Shelter program since 2002, and the company said its ADTech segment provides engineered solutions for U.S. Navy undersea programs. The full $154 million value depends on the exercise of the four option years, with the initial base-year award providing the foundation for continued engagement with the Navy.

Maris-Tech Ltd. announced it has received a pilot order for an armored vehicle situational awareness application from a leading global defense company, secured through a distributor. The pilot follows an extensive engineering and adaptation process in which Maris-Tech's Jupiter product line was adapted to meet the end customer's specific video streaming requirements for armored vehicle situational awareness. The company said the adaptations developed through this process have expanded the capabilities of its products and may also support additional applications and market opportunities across the modern battlefield. Based on estimates and forecasts provided by the end customer, successful completion of the pilot could result in significant follow-on orders over the coming years, according to the company. Chief Executive Officer Israel Bar said the pilot represents the result of a substantial engineering process focused on meeting the specific video requirements of a major defense customer, and that the capabilities developed strengthen the versatility of the Jupiter product line and expand its relevance to additional armored vehicle and battlefield applications.

Critical Metals Corp. shares rose 13% Monday morning after the company said it received formal mining approvals from the Government of Greenland for its Tanbreez Mine, valid through 2050. The Government of Greenland approved the Mining Plan and Closure Plan for the Tanbreez Project, one of the world's largest heavy rare earth deposits, located in Southern Greenland. The approvals, signed by Minister Múte B. Egede on September 29, 2026, establish a framework for approximately 24 years of permitted operations under the company's existing exploitation licence. They cover the extraction of 19 critical elements, including the heavy rare earths terbium, dysprosium and yttrium, as well as the magnet metals neodymium and praseodymium. The remaining step before construction can begin is obtaining activity-specific operating permits under sections 120 and 121 of the Greenland Mineral Activities Act, covering environmental management, marine transport, health and safety, and the export and sale of minerals. The approvals were granted to the company's Greenlandic subsidiary, Tanbreez Mining Greenland A/S, under Exclusive Licence No. 2020-54, which covers mineral exploitation at Killavaat Alannguat, between Narsaq and Qaqortoq in Southwest Greenland.

NextNav Inc. announced a strategic partnership with AiRANACULUS to advance integrated sensing and communications across NextNav's licensed lower 900 MHz spectrum. The collaboration combines NextNav's ground-based 5G-powered 3D PNT network with AiRANACULUS's advanced signal processing technology to expand NextNav's drone sensing and long-range early warning capability for counter-unmanned aircraft systems while reducing the infrastructure required for wide-area sensing coverage. The two companies will validate long-range ISAC capabilities using NextNav's 5G PNT Network and AiRANACULUS's hardware and software stack, with initial testing focused on extended-range threat detection to identify and track drone activity within NextNav's 5G PNT Network footprint in Santa Clara County, California. Deepak Joseph, Vice President of Product at NextNav, said safe airspace management is critically enhanced by long-range detection capabilities that provide early warning and scale cost effectively, while AiRANACULUS Founder and CEO Dr. Apurva N. Mody said applying digital beamforming and advanced receiver signal processing to low-band 5G enables detection of smaller targets at much greater distances. NextNav said results from the collaboration will support ongoing assessments of performance and applicability across critical infrastructure and national security use cases.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced on Monday that it won multiple contracts worth more than $100 million to develop space intelligence and cyber capabilities for joint military operations. The work will support RF signal collection, intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, and offensive cyber operations. The contracts will leverage the company's KnownSpace network of more than 190 RF sensors across more than 20 locations, along with its software and analytics capabilities. Following the announcement, KTOS stock traded about 1.58% higher at roughly $43.75 in pre-market trading.

Teledyne Imaging Sensors announced it has delivered more than 1.3 billion infrared detector pixels in support of the U.S. Space Force and Space Development Agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, and has been selected to provide infrared focal plane technology for both Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 awards. The pixel deliveries support SDA Tracking Layer programs for missile warning and missile tracking missions. To date, Teledyne has delivered more than 170 infrared focal planes for the SDA Tracking Layer and is under contract to provide more than 115 additional focal planes. The AMDT3 awards, announced by SDA in July 2026, will add more than 30 additional missile warning, missile tracking, and missile defense satellites to the Tracking Layer in direct support of the Golden Dome for America initiative. Teledyne has also advanced its large-format focal plane arrays to formats as large as 6K × 6K and 8K × 8K pixels.

Palantir Technologies Inc. has secured a formal program of record designation for its Maven Smart System from the U.S. Department of War, with department-wide implementation set to take effect by the end of September. The designation expands the system's application across the Space Force, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and the Army. The development comes as investors await Palantir's third-quarter earnings report scheduled for November 2, which will show whether commercial growth sustains its pace. In the second quarter, revenues from the U.S. Commercial and U.S. Government segments jumped 149% and 90% year-over-year respectively, while international Commercial and Government revenues climbed 26% and 42%, supporting 93% overall topline growth and 225% year-over-year growth in bottom line figures. U.S. government revenue reached $809 million, nearly matching commercial revenues, keeping results closely tied to federal budget cycles. The company carries a $460.88 billion market capitalization, trades at a trailing P/E of 163.92x and a forward P/E of 85.47x, and holds only $211.4 million in total debt, a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14%. Hedge fund ownership declined from 96 funds in Q1 2026 to 86 funds in the following quarter, while short interest sits at 2.83%.

BWX Technologies held an investor day on September 29 where management laid out bullish long-term targets, after the stock fell 27% over the past three months. The company, which holds a virtual monopoly on naval nuclear reactors and fuel components for the U.S. Navy, said its total backlog has doubled to $8.4 billion, roughly nine quarters of contracted run rate, and projected 2026 revenue of $3.8 billion, about 98% of it from core nuclear activities. BWXT is selling a majority stake in its non-core medical isotope unit for up to $800 million while retaining a 20% interest, and is reallocating proceeds into nuclear manufacturing assets, including a 500,000-square-foot footprint expansion through the Precision Components Group acquisition. Its updated 2030 roadmap targets annual revenue of $5.5 billion to $6 billion on low double-digit compound organic growth, with adjusted EBITDA margins expanding from 17.5% to approximately 20% and cumulative free cash flow exceeding $2 billion through the end of the decade. The stock, which peaked above $241 and has traded down into the $130-$140 range, still carries a roughly 36x trailing and 27x forward price-to-earnings multiple, while hedge fund holders rose to 65 in the second quarter from 61 in the prior quarter and short interest sits at 4.42% of the public float.

Airship AI Holdings has announced $29 million of firm-fixed-price awards from an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, a sum larger than its approximately $18.2 million of trailing revenue. The awards carry a six-month performance period and cover software integration, edge and server-side AI products, and hardware. BigBear.ai, by contrast, ended June with $409.8 million in cash and investments and approximately $16.6 million of debt, alongside a $269.6 million backlog. BigBear's June-quarter revenue grew 13% to $36.7 million with gross margin of 32.8%, but its adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $11.6 million from $8.5 million. At October 2 prices, BigBear traded at about 9.7 times trailing revenue versus roughly 4.0 times for Airship, while Airship reported $12.4 million in cash and used only about $235,000 in operating cash during the June quarter.

Viasat Inc., through its subsidiary Inmarsat Government, Inc., was awarded the U.S. Space Force's MECS2 contract in September 2026, securing an initial US$42 million task order under a seven-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity agreement with a ceiling of up to US$307 million to provide fully managed global SATCOM services for the U.S. Marine Corps. The award deepens Viasat's role in secure, multi-orbit government communications and highlights the importance of its ViaSat-3-enabled Ka-band network and 24x7 managed services capabilities. The company's narrative projects $5.5 billion revenue and $626.3 million earnings by 2029, with forecasts yielding a $103.94 fair value, a 44% upside to its current price. Some of the lowest ranked analysts were far more cautious, assuming only about 3.9 percent annual revenue growth and continued losses. The MECS2 award looks incrementally positive for the investment thesis, reinforcing defense demand and multi-orbit capabilities, but it does not by itself resolve near term pressure from high ViaSat-3 and Inmarsat capex or the risk that broadband subscriber declines keep weighing on revenue quality.

The FY2026 defense appropriations agreement includes more than $6.3 billion for 13 critical munitions and grants conditional multiyear procurement authority for eight of those programs, a tailwind for RTX Corp. as it scales production of AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, Standard Missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles. RTX's order backlog reached a record $289 billion by the end of second quarter fiscal 2026. The company will spend $25 million to expand its Niepołomice site in Poland, which delivers tubular assemblies for commercial and military engines, following a $100 million capital outlay announced in April for its Rzeszów facility. RTX closed at $185.01 on October 1 with a market capitalization of about $249.3 billion, trading at a trailing P/E of 33.62x and a forward P/E of 24.57. Hedge fund ownership slipped from 95 funds in Q1 2026 to 92 funds in the following quarter, while BlackRock remains the largest institutional stakeholder with 110.53 million shares, or 8.20% ownership.

L3Harris Technologies has secured an undefinitized contract from Lockheed Martin worth more than US$6b over seven years to expand propulsion output for the THAAD missile defense system. The arrangement follows a prior framework with the Department of War to quadruple THAAD propulsion production and includes both a new Solid Rocket Boost Motor facility and added Liquid Divert and Attitude Control capacity. The contract lands as L3Harris shares have fallen about 9% over the past month and 22% year to date on a share price basis, though the 3 year total shareholder return is up roughly 53%. The company closed at $236.60, while the most followed narrative estimates fair value at about $342 per share using an 8.4% discount rate, framing the win as one more contract feeding into a broader backlog and earnings story. The story could break if U.S. budget pressure trims space spending or if prime contractor delays slow conversion of the reported US$42b backlog.

The US Treasury Department announced on the 2nd that it has approved new investment projects under its "reconstruction investment fund" with Ukraine. The main pillars are the restoration of heat and power supply infrastructure and the development of critical minerals, supporting Ukrainian companies as infrastructure damage spreads from Russia's invasion. According to the Treasury, the plan is to build power generation and heat supply facilities in multiple regions of Ukraine, aiming to supply thousands of households. It will also provide funding for battery storage projects in six locations across the country, seeking to stabilize power supply in preparation for blackouts caused by Russian military attacks. In addition, it will support the development of rare earths, uranium and other resources, strengthening supply chains for allied nations.

Guangda Special Materials held its 2026 semi-annual earnings briefing online on September 30, responding to questions about artificial intelligence applications, the employee stock ownership plan, product expansion, and raw material price fluctuations. The company's 2026 semi-annual report shows operating revenue of 2.323 billion yuan, down 8.36 percent year on year; net profit attributable to the parent company of 12.34 million yuan, down 93.33 percent; non-GAAP net profit attributable to the parent company of 11.32 million yuan, down 93.67 percent; net operating cash flow of negative 231 million yuan; and a main business gross margin of 13.37 percent, down 7.31 percentage points from the same period last year, mainly affected by reduced new installed capacity in the downstream wind power industry. Regarding the progress of the employee stock ownership plan that investors are concerned about, the company responded that within six months after approval by the shareholders' meeting, the management committee of the employee stock ownership plan will complete the purchase of underlying shares through methods such as buying the company's A-shares on the secondary market, and the company will complete the position building gradually during the building period based on market conditions. On artificial intelligence, the company said the relevant applications are still in the evaluation and testing stage, have not formed large-scale applications, and have no material impact on company performance. In terms of product expansion, the company has passed the international aerospace quality management system certification AS9100D, and its production technology for high-purity superalloy electroslag ingots has been applied in fields such as aircraft engines and gas turbines. Homogeneous fine-grained superalloy forgings have been supplied in batches to aircraft engines, rocket engines, and gas turbines. The aerospace superalloy UNS N07041 has achieved batch supply, and the company has carried out cooperation with relevant customers in the aerospace field and achieved batch supply.

Northrop Grumman has introduced FORTITUDE, a patented single-chip technology that processes vast portions of the electromagnetic spectrum on a grain-of-rice-sized gallium nitride chip. The company said the technology delivers three times more power and 20 times better signal quality, supporting satellites, radar, GPS, electronic warfare and future 6G systems. Previously known as the Super Lattice Castellated Field Effect Transistor, FORTITUDE builds on the company's focused research and development and substantial investment in microelectronics. It replaces dozens of components, cutting weight and slashing power consumption while delivering greater value for the end system. Built in the U.S. for both commercial and defense markets, the chip is designed to simplify system architectures and open new opportunities for faster, more dependable communications across next generation platforms.

TTM Technologies has completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Epiq Solutions, strengthening its defense and aerospace business. Epiq develops software-defined radios, RF systems and radiation-tolerant computing solutions used across defense, intelligence and space applications, capabilities that complement TTM Technologies' existing printed circuit board, RF component and mission-system offerings. The deal advances the company's strategy of moving up the chain through greater vertical integration and expands its opportunities across land, air, sea and space applications, including signals intelligence, secure communications, electronic warfare and space systems. Financially, TTM Technologies expects Epiq to immediately strengthen adjusted EBITDA, though the deal is expected to be moderately dilutive to adjusted earnings per share in 2027 before becoming accretive in 2028. TTM Technologies faces strong competition from U.S.-based aerospace and defense electronics companies including Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Mercury Systems and Sanmina.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced on the 2nd that it will invest approximately 100 billion yen to expand the construction capacity of its Shimonoseki Shipyard. The company will acquire industrial land on Choshu Dejima, an artificial island being developed by the city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and build a new factory there. The move is aimed at strengthening its shipbuilding business, which the government is seeking to promote, and at the Shimonoseki Shipyard, the company's subsidiary Mitsubishi Shipbuilding builds ferries and car carriers. In addition to transferring some of the shipyard's functions to the newly acquired land, the company will build a factory to manufacture hull blocks, the components that make up a ship, with operations targeted to begin in 2030.

Boeing has been awarded the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter contract, a multi billion dollar program. The F/A-XX is planned to replace the Navy's current F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet and extend carrier air wing reach. The award follows Boeing's earlier win on the U.S. Air Force's F-47 next generation fighter, consolidating its role in future combat aircraft. The win strengthens the part of the Boeing thesis that leans on advanced technology and a diversified backlog across commercial jets and defense, helping offset some reliance on the loss making commercial division by anchoring long duration military work alongside programs like the F-47 and P 8A. The award also magnifies concerns analysts already highlight around execution risk, supply chain complexity and high debt, since another classified, multi billion dollar fighter program increases capital and delivery commitments.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has completed a successful flight test of its MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft carrying a new communications payload developed by SoftBank Corp. The Disaster Relief Unit communications pod, integrated onto an MQ-9B and flown by GA-ASI on July 27, is designed to provide disaster relief and recovery communications in areas where cellular service is not available. The pod lets an MQ-9B act as a mobile network relay tower in the sky, establishing connectivity where cellular towers have been damaged by a flood or another natural disaster. GA-ASI President David R. Alexander called the test an exciting achievement for both companies and said the capability should interest many MQ-9B operators for disaster relief and emergency communications. MQ-9Bs are flown by operators in the United Kingdom and Belgium as well as the Japan Coast Guard, and the aircraft has been selected by Canada, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Qatar, Taiwan and India.

The US Navy has placed a multi-year contract with Raytheon, a unit of US defense giant RTX, to produce the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) interceptor. The contract is worth up to $24.4 billion. It covers five years with an option to extend for another two, aiming to ensure a stable and reliable supply of the SM-6, which can carry out both strike and missile defense missions. The deal is part of a series of large weapons contracts pursued this year as the US Department of Defense seeks to replenish ammunition stockpiles depleted by conflicts in the Middle East and push defense companies to accelerate production. In late September, it signed a $20.7 billion multi-year preliminary contract for Raytheon's AMRAAM air-to-air missile, and in July it awarded Lockheed Martin a $58.6 billion Patriot interceptor missile contract. Industry executives have warned that Congress has not yet approved the funding needed for these contracts, and that defense companies may be unable to make large-scale investments in components and equipment until Congress acts.

CACI International has been awarded a position on a potential nine-year, $827.9 million U.S. Navy contract to provide business management support services. Under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, CACI is one of seven companies selected to supply those services to the deputy chief of naval operations for personnel, manpower and training and subordinate commands. Separately, CACI Inc.-Federal was selected alongside six other contractors for an estimated $275,957,259 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract from the U.S. Department of War. Shares of the defense, intelligence, and IT solutions provider jumped 3.2% in the afternoon session and were trading at $630.55, up from the previous close. The stock is up 17.3% since the beginning of the year and is trading close to its 52-week high of $680.08.

American Rare Earths has unveiled an updated Scoping Study for the Cowboy State Mine outlining a larger development concept for Halleck Creek, CEO Mark Wall said. The study evaluates a 4.5-million-tonne-per-year operation with a projected mine life of 26 years, generating an estimated after-tax net present value of approximately US$1.07 billion at an 8% real discount rate. Initial capital is estimated at approximately US$900 million, comprising roughly US$690 million in direct capital and US$210 million in contingency, with the updated study applying a 30% contingency allowance to direct capital versus 20% in the company's 2025 study. Modelled average annual production of neodymium-praseodymium oxide has increased from approximately 1,800 tonnes to 2,500 tonnes, and a separate closure cost provision of approximately US$56 million has been included at the end of the projected mine life. The development concept combines mining, comminution and mineral concentration at the Cowboy State Mine with a separate hydrometallurgical refinery planned for the Wheatland or Laramie area of Wyoming, as the company aims to establish a domestic supply of rare earth oxides and advance technical work to connect those materials with downstream U.S. production of rare earth metals and permanent magnets.

Lockheed Martin's Rotary and Mission Systems business received a $94.2 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to support continued development and integration of the AEGIS Combat System for the Royal Canadian Navy. The award funds system engineering, computer program baseline development and integration testing of AEGIS Weapon System elements and interfaces, with work performed primarily in Moorestown, New Jersey, and expected completion by December 2027. The contract is funded through the Foreign Military Sales program, underscoring Canada's continued investment in advanced naval capabilities. AEGIS integrates sensors, weapons and command-and-control capabilities so ships can detect, track and respond to airborne and surface threats. The award adds to Lockheed Martin's long-term AEGIS-related work and supports its position in the naval defense market.

BofA Securities upgraded Dassault Aviation to buy from neutral and raised its price target to €360 from €345, citing the French fighter maker's long order book and potential new Rafale contracts. The target implies about 27% upside from the €284 share price cited in the report, and BofA noted the stock has fallen about 20% from its year-to-date high, creating a more attractive entry point. Dassault's Rafale backlog provides about 7.5 years of production visibility at current delivery rates, with further upside possible from India and Ukraine. India's proposed order for 114 Rafales could become a key catalyst in the fourth quarter and would be the largest export order in the aircraft's history, while Ukraine has expressed interest in acquiring up to 100 Rafales, initially ordering 16 aircraft under a July 2026 agreement with France with deliveries due to begin in 2028-29. Neither opportunity has yet become a firm contract, but BofA said that if both orders are secured, Dassault's backlog could exceed 400 aircraft, potentially extending production visibility to about 15 years at 2026 production rates. BofA also raised its 2026 earnings-per-share forecast to €16.40 from €16.30 and its 2028 forecast to €22.31 from €21.42, while cutting its 2027 estimate to €19.36 from €19.67.

ATI Inc. has raised its adjusted free cash flow guidance for 2026 to US$550–US$600 million, citing higher adjusted EBITDA and stronger operating performance. The company attributed the increase to robust aerospace and defense demand, pricing gains, and targeted investments. The higher outlook points to improved cash conversion, ongoing buybacks, and a more flexible balance sheet, while also raising the stakes on execution against higher EBITDA and operating performance targets. Five Simply Wall St community fair value estimates for ATI span roughly US$165.85 to US$275.

ICEYE and Nokia announced a partnership to develop secure, sovereign and high-performance broadband low Earth orbit satellite communications systems for governments, supporting missions from defense and border security to emergency services and disaster response. Built on trusted European technology, the jointly developed systems will give nations ownership and control of the satellites, ground segment and terminals, with the first communications satellites expected to be launched in 2028. The systems will deliver targeted, high-throughput, low-latency connectivity over priority mission areas, designed to complement military and commercial networks rather than replace them. The partnership combines ICEYE's track record delivering sovereign satellite missions with Nokia's experience in secure networking technologies and growing defense portfolio, integrating satellites, ground infrastructure and ruggedized end-user terminals. ICEYE CEO and Co-founder Rafal Modrzewski said nations must be able to fully own and control their communications without dependency on a foreign commercial operator's terms of service, while Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard said sovereign operations depend on secure, resilient connectivity across land, sea, air and space. Modrzewski and Hotard will take the stage at the Helsinki Security Forum on October 2 for a session titled "How to Salvage Europe's Technological Sovereignty."

Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, announced the launch of Project Meridian, a research program into the technology and warfare models of the future, bringing in Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, and Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, as leaders of the research effort. Hegseth unveiled the plan during a State of the Force speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, saying the project would focus on finding, developing and fielding new weapons and systems to meet the forms of warfare the US military may face in the coming decades. Musk's SpaceX and Luckey's Anduril are both major contractors for the US Department of Defense. The project will be overseen by Emil Michael, a former Uber executive who currently serves as a senior technology official at the Pentagon. Hegseth did not disclose further details on the budget, timeline or structure of the project. Beyond Project Meridian, Hegseth also announced the establishment of an Autonomous Warfare Command to oversee the management and deployment of US drones and military robotic systems, and said he wants major US bases to be able to produce their own energy to preserve operational capability if the country's power grid is hit by a cyberattack. He also announced plans to set up an office for religious affairs for the military and to build partnerships with academic institutions to expand cadet training programs, with the first group of institutions taking part including Liberty University, Hillsdale College, Louisiana State University, Mississippi State University and Tuskegee University. At the same time, the US Department of Defense plans to build a new base inside the country for the first time in four decades, with state governments able to compete to host it; the base is expected to accommodate several thousand personnel, and each site could cover several hundred thousand acres. The plan comes as the Pentagon is considering reducing US troop levels in Europe, with Hegseth saying the military will add tens of thousands more personnel overall while shifting its focus back to homeland defense and the Western Hemisphere.

Powaras, a US drone startup set to go public through a merger with a company backed by President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and his second son, Eric Trump, aims to bring technology developed overseas, including in Ukraine, to the United States to meet growing demand from the US Department of Defense. Company executives disclosed this in an interview with Reuters. The company plans to expand its business through acquisitions, partnerships with overseas firms, and manufacturing within the United States, aiming to become a partner that brings overseas-developed military technology to the US and produces it domestically. President Brett Velicovich said the company aims to become a "one-stop solution" for the Department of Defense by offering overseas technology under a "US company face," and explained that it is in talks with Ukrainian defense technology companies and wants to add capabilities such as long-range strike drones. Powaras, founded a year ago, plans to merge in early October with Nasdaq-listed Aureus Greenway Holdings, and according to regulatory filings, the Trump brothers will hold an indirect 9.9% ownership stake in the combined new company through the investment fund American Ventures. Powaras's business is still at an early stage, and as of early 2026 it had no revenue-generating operations; earlier this year it assembled a product lineup of aerial and maritime drones through acquisitions, and its revenue for the January-March quarter was 1.2 million dollars. The company recently announced it had won a contract with the US Air Force worth up to 90 million dollars and a 22.3 million dollar commercial contract to protect energy infrastructure in the Middle East for an undisclosed customer.

Huntington Ingalls Industries received a US$5.1b contract to refuel and overhaul the USS Harry S. Truman carrier, work that will be carried out at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia. The refueling and complex overhaul, or RCOH, lands squarely in the backlog and cash flow side of the company's business, which is built on a $56.9 billion backlog of multi-year, multi-program contracts. Separately, HII reached preliminary acceptance of the future USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier with the U.S. Navy ahead of formal delivery, a milestone that speaks to execution on complex Ford-class programs. Huntington Ingalls Industries is a US$10.2b aerospace and defense contractor focused on designing, building, overhauling and repairing military ships for the U.S. fleet, making large carrier projects like Truman and the future John F. Kennedy central to its operations. The carrier work keeps heavy yards fully loaded, though it also locks the business further into large manned platforms while management commits capital, partners and factory space to ROMULUS and REMUS unmanned systems.

L3Harris Technologies has won a $461.9M firm-fixed-price contract to provide commercial satellite communications connectivity for designated executive airlift aircraft. The contract supports authorized government personnel, with work expected to continue through October 2028. A total of $62.3M in FY2026 operations and maintenance funds is being obligated at award. The U.S. Space Force at Los Angeles Air Force Base is the contracting activity.