🔷 Saved Rounds! 3.12.24

Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.

📺PODCAST: Check it out on YouTube or download the podcast on Spotify, Apple, Pandora, iHeartRadio, etc.

❗️REMINDER: We’re off next week but will return to your inbox on Sunday, March 24th.

They Said It
“Our high-energy lasers are so susceptible to weather. That’s why I think this is going to be a great laboratory because anytime there’s a dust storm, anytime there’s that kind of thing, it starts to alter the physics of the light particles that actually shoot that beam.”

— Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus, on sending prototype Stryker-mounted laser weapons to the Middle East

Zoom in

Having American-made steel ready for defense programs is a national security imperative. Or is it?

Zoom in here for an interesting counter-argument (and an MRAP story you’ve never heard) by someone who used to oversee the Pentagon’s industrial policy.

In that Number

39%

AeroVironment reported a landmark earnings quarter, marking a 39% increase from last year.

The cause: the demand for loitering munitions in Ukraine—they build the Switchblade.

Saved Rounds

• The Army started work on new software to automate the fires targeting process

• AFWERX selected 11 companies for its STRATFI program (SpaceWERX selected 5 more)

• Exotrail successfully deployed a satellite from its first “spacevan” orbital transfer vehicle

• Denmark launched a competition to replace its coastal radars

• Sweden officially joined NATO as the 32nd alliance member

• Norway is buying 3 more Lockheed Martin TPY-4 surveillance radars

• Poland received its first Saab 340 AEW&C aircraft

• Poland is launching its first military satellites in 2025

• Rafael expects its Iron Beam laser defenses to be active in 2025

• The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital released their first investment strategy

• Indra (Spain) and Edge (UAE) are forming a joint venture to develop next-generation radars

• Taiwan is developing vehicle-mounted 50kW laser weapon

• Lockheed Martin received a $220m contract mod for the Army’s 400km Precision Strike Missile (PrSM)

• The British Army is getting computerized rifle sights to shoot down drones

• Northrop Grumman and AIDC are teaming to upgrade Taiwan’s E-2K Hawkeye fleet

• China is debuting large reusable rockets in 2025 (ala SpaceX)

• Bahrain received its first PAC-3 MSE interceptor shipment from Lockheed Martin

• Planet Labs was awarded a Navy contract for space-based maritime surveillance in the Pacific

• Lockheed Martin’s first Block 70 F-16s are out for delivery (destination Bahrain)

• Wave Engine flew its pulsejet-powered drone

• DIU awarded multiple contracts to install drag reduction tech on C-17, C-130, and KC-135 aircraft

• Swarm Aero is building a factory in Arkansas to mass-produce drone swarms

• A UK military drone test squadron has failed to perform a single test since forming in 2020

• The Navy wants to expand the kinematic envelope of Northrop Grumman’s GQM-163A Coyote supersonic aerial target

• Canada is retiring its CT-155 jet trainer fleet and looking for a replacement

• India activated its first MH-60R anti-submarine helo squadron

• Astra Space is going private to avoid bankruptcy

• Thailand’s Air Force unveiled its long-term vision to buy jets, drones, and missile defenses

• The US and Japan are finalizing an agreement to jointly develop a hypersonic missile defense interceptor

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