Optex Systems wins $2.79M laser filter order, backlog tops $26.5M

Lockheed Martin's Rotary and Mission Systems business received a $209 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy for production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program AN/SLQ-32(V)6 systems. The award includes options that could raise the cumulative value of the contract to approximately $1.71 billion, with work performed in Liverpool, NY, and Lansdale, PA, and expected completion by September 2029. The AN/SLQ-32(V)6 is designed to help Navy ships detect, identify and respond to electromagnetic threats, capabilities the service is prioritizing as adversaries field more advanced radar, communications and electronic attack systems. The award underscores continued Navy investment in shipboard electronic warfare and fleet survivability, and Lockheed Martin's role in producing the system positions it to benefit from recurring procurement and upgrades as the Navy modernizes its surface fleet. RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman also maintain established electronic warfare and sensor capabilities that could benefit from growing naval investment.

BAE Systems has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to deliver high-performance electronic warfare systems for F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. Under the contract, BAE Systems will manufacture and deliver EW systems for F-35 Lots 20-22 and provide systems to retrofit and modernize older aircraft. The AN/ASQ-239 EW system provides the F-35 with electromagnetic spectrum superiority, giving the jets instantaneous bandwidth, high-speed signal processing and advanced algorithms to detect threats and respond quickly. BAE Systems has delivered more than 1,500 EW systems for the F-35 and designs and manufactures them at its facilities in Austin, Texas and the New Hampshire cities of Manchester, Merrimack and Nashua. Amber Dolan, Vice President of F-35 Solutions at BAE Systems, said the company is laser-focused on scaling production and delivering software-based capabilities to meet the rapid pace of conflict.

Intellistake Technologies Corp. announced that its acquisition target NanoAi Technologies Inc. has assembled the leadership team behind its standoff detection platform at its newly established Op Center in the Dallas-Richardson area of Texas, bringing together special operations, global-scale engineering, scientific and defense logistics experience. The team is led by NanoAi Founder, Chairman and CEO Craig Micklich, a 12-year U.S. Navy SEAL veteran who would join the Intellistake Board upon closing, alongside a Chief Technology Officer with more than 35 years of experience who has led global engineering teams of more than 600 people and held senior roles at Microsoft and Novell, where he led development of the NetWare operating system. That CTO has also partnered with NASA Ames Research Center and with enterprises such as BMW, General Motors, Honeywell, Delta and Disney on machine learning, blockchain and connected-systems projects, while NanoAi's incoming Chief Scientific Officer is directing the scientific refinement and validation of its sensing technology, including its extension into the Gentex Ops-Core RAILINK program. Alan "Buzz" Fink serves as Vice President, Logistics and Quality, having founded a contractor that supported U.S. Special Operations Command across a 13-year contract lifecycle. With the facility and team in place, NanoAi is preparing for laboratory testing at the Op Center, and the Company also released a Founder Video featuring Mr. Micklich. The proposed acquisition, announced on August 4, 2026, remains subject to closing conditions including satisfactory due diligence, completion of an audit of NanoAi's financial statements, the Company maintaining a minimum cash balance of $2 million, and no objection from the Canadian Securities Exchange, with closing targeted within 60 days of the definitive agreement.

Leonardo DRS has completed final training and delivery of its Improved Night/Day Observation Device Block III thermal weapon sights to the Australian Army under the LAND 159 Tranche 1 program. The INOD Block III is a clip-on thermal weapon sight designed to help snipers and special operations forces detect, identify and engage targets in low-light and degraded visual conditions, and it uses a micro-cooled 640-by-480 mid-wave infrared focal plane array. Jerry Hathaway, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems, called the completion an important milestone and said the training helps ensure personnel are prepared to operate and maintain the system. Australian defense company NIOA is the prime contractor for LAND 159 Tranche 1 and managed local program coordination and delivery logistics on behalf of the Australian Army. The acquisition represents a step-change in long-range lethality for the Australian Army, whose snipers will now carry the same generation of thermal sight currently fielded with U.S. Army Special Operations Forces.

Boeing has been awarded an undefinitized contract action worth approximately $14.7 billion by Lockheed Martin to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement seekers. The award formalizes a seven-year framework to triple PAC-3 MSE seeker production, following the previously announced framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War. Boeing-built seekers enable the most advanced Patriot interceptors to identify, track and engage threats ranging from hostile aircraft to hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles. Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said early investment and a focus on quality and execution have positioned the company to deliver seekers at unprecedented levels in the near term. Production ramp-up and hiring began earlier this year, with hundreds of direct and indirect jobs expected to be created in the Huntsville, Alabama, area as a result of the contract.