- The Merge
- Posts
- 🔷 Saved Rounds! 1.23.24
🔷 Saved Rounds! 1.23.24
Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
🫶 SPECIAL THANKS to our Patreon supporters; if it weren’t for you, we would’ve pulled the plug on the Merge long ago.
📺PODCAST: Check it out on YouTube or download the podcast on Spotify, Apple, Pandora, iHeartRadio, etc.
🎧 LOWDOWN: Something new for ‘24 we’re trying: we just dropped a short audio-only episode that summarizes the intel crammed in our weekly newsletters. We may keep it—or kill it—depending on feedback. Check it out using the links above.
They Said It
“We have them now stacked up in warehouses.”
— Rear Adm. Seiko Okano on how fast Raytheon’s automated production line is cranking out AN/SPY-6 radars.
The SPY-6 family of radars (4 variants) is being integrated across the Navy’s service fleet and has demoed some impressive capes so far.
Zoom in
Those who deal with the Pentagon know of the long-standing insistence on the government owning intellectual property, mostly stemming from all the scar tissue surrounding ‘vendor lock.’ But is there more to the story?
Zoom in here for an in-depth analysis from Palantir Technologies on how this mentality is bleeding over into commercial intellectual property and threatening to poison the innovation well.
Saved Rounds
Edge and Baykar are integrating guided weapons on the Bayraktar TB2 UAV
Germany demoed a passive radar that uses Starlink satellite radiation
Northrop Grumman test-fired the LGM-35A Sentinel second-stage motor
A Dutch company unveiled a covert drone that looks like an Eagle
Airbus is acquiring US drone developer Aerovel
Serbia plans to spend $800m+ on new weapons
Lockheed Martin began building the first F-16 for Bulgaria
NewMarket acquired AMPAC Intermediate, a solid rocket motor (SRM) additives company
The Pentagon tapped ATI to manage the Defense Industrial Base Consortium for the next 10 years
India test-fired a next generation surface-to-air missile (SAM)
Boeing secured a $103m Navy contract for 10 P-8A increment 3 upgrade kits
Northrop Grumman ended production of depleted uranium tank ammo
General Atomics demoed an autonomous MQ-20 Avenger closing a killchain
Astroscale revealed its concept for an in-orbit refueling vehicle for the Space Force
The Air Force confirmed the second acknowledged B-21 test flight
The Space Development Agency awarded $2.5B in contracts to 3 companies for missile-tracking satellites (L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, and Sierra Space)
France is supplying Ukraine with more cruise missiles
Northrop Grumman and Mitsubishi are teaming for Japanese air defense systems
The Army activated it’s second Typhoon unit (shoots Navy SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles)
The Army tested a new multi-mode seeker for the Precision Strike Missile that enables maritime targeting
Pakistan’s Air Force claimed it has a hypersonic weapon
Elistair is partnering with Rheinmetall Canada to integrate drone-in-a-box tethered ISR onto unmanned ground vehicles (pics)
Japan signed a deal to buy 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles
SSCI flew autonomy on General Atomics’ MQ-20 Avenger drone, emulating a CCA counter-air mission
Sweden ordered a Saab mobile short range air defense system
The Netherlands’ final 2 AH-64Ds are being converted to AH-64Es, which will complete the 28-helicopter fleet upgrade
Kaman (manned and unmanned helicopters) is being bought by Arcline Investment for $1.8B
Leonardo upgraded its BriteCloud flare-based expendable jamming decoy
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $25m contract to produce guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) missiles in Australia
And finally…
Japan landed on the moon, becoming the 5th country in an exclusive club
🎁Free Merch!🎁
Hey. Don't keep us a secret!
Share the Merge = earn free swag. It's that simple.
You currently have 0 referrals, only 3 away from receiving Stickers.
Or copy and paste this link: https://themerge.co/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER