🛩️ “Gambit” Evolves: General Atomics Introduces New Stealth Attack Drone

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

💥 Shield AI’s X-BAT Drone to Use GE’s F110 Fighter Engine — Read More

🛠️ Four Defense Primes Team to Pitch SSN-AUKUS Combat System — Read More

🛩️ “Gambit” Evolves: General Atomics Introduces New Stealth Attack Drone — Read More

🚁 Six Helo Makers Target Army’s Flight School Next — Read More

🛰️ Intuitive Machines to Acquire Lanteris for $800M — Read More

🎱 Plus 11 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

💥 Shield AI’s X-BAT Drone to Be Powered by GE’s F110 Fighter Engine — Read More

• Shield AI and GE Aerospace signed an MoU to integrate the F110-GE-129 with a thrust-vectoring nozzle for the VTOL X-BAT wingman, marking GE’s first official partnership on a drone wingman platform. The nozzle adaptation draws on 1990s AVEN work for the F-16 and is central to stabilizing the aircraft in vertical operations.

• Shield AI says the engine selection shortens timelines by bundling propulsion with the vehicle provider, aiming for a first VTOL demonstrator flight in the second half of 2026, then production by 2029. GE joined roughly six months ago to refine propulsion; engine development now begins “in earnest.”

• Executives frame X-BAT as a fast-fielding approach aligned with CCA goals, pairing the air vehicle with Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy. The companies highlight sufficient thrust, a hot production line, and scalable manufacturing as key reasons for choosing the F110 to “put dilemmas” before adversaries.

🛠️ Four Defense Primes Team to Pitch SSN-AUKUS Combat System — Read More

• BAE Systems, Raytheon Australia, General Dynamics Mission Systems, and Thales signed an MoU at Sydney’s Indo-Pacific expo to collaborate on a tri-national Command System for the future SSN-AUKUS submarine. The proposed “shared solution” builds on GDMS’s AN/BYG-1 combat control system used by the U.S. and Australia.

• The team stresses Australian sovereignty, skills transfer, and interoperability by design, while noting the offer remains subject to negotiations with Canberra and London. Leaders say continuity with current systems lowers delivery risk across Virginia- and AUKUS-class boats.

• The effort sits within the broader AUKUS framework—sub transfers, joint technologies, and industrial upskilling—positioning the four-prime consortium to deliver a common combat system baseline for Australia and the UK.

🛩️ “Gambit” Evolves: General Atomics Introduces New Stealth Attack Drone — Read More

• General Atomics revealed a stealth-optimized Gambit variant designed for high-end strike and survivability in contested airspace, following the Gambit 6 announcement.

• The stealth edition introduces low-observable shaping, an internal weapons bay, and distributed autonomy—advancing GA’s goal of fielding modular unmanned “wingmen” for next-gen fighters.

• Officials say Gambit’s rapid iteration approach enables multiple role-specific variants across ISR, air-to-air, and deep-strike missions—underscoring how CCA architectures are evolving beyond loyal-wingman concepts.

🚁 Inside Six Helo Companies Gunning for the Army’s Flight School Next — Read More

• The Army’s Flight School Next seeks a contractor-owned, contractor-operated trainer and new curriculum, targeting 900–1,500 pilots annually over 26 years, with an award by end of September 2026. Requirements emphasize a single-engine, counter-clockwise rotor, and IFR certification to rebuild flying fundamentals.

• Airbus (UH-72 Lakota), Bell (505), Leonardo with Boeing (TH-73), Robinson (R-66), MD (530), and Enstrom (480B) are positioning to compete as primes or subs. The Army favors simpler aircraft after accident trends and feedback that students excel at systems but lack core stick-and-rudder skills.

• Leonardo/Boeing tout TH-73 as currently meeting the three prominent requirements; Bell is pursuing IFR for the 505. A COCO structure would centralize logistics with the prime, giving the Army a single accountable party as the program moves quickly under legal and budget constraints.

🛰️ Intuitive Machines to Acquire Lanteris (Ex-Maxar Space Systems) for $800M — Read More

• Intuitive Machines will buy Lanteris (formerly Maxar Space Systems) from Advent International for $800 million, expanding from lunar missions into broader satellite manufacturing—including defense work. The deal targets closing in Q1 2026, pending approvals.

• IM positions the move as a shift to a “multi-domain space prime,” complementing prior AFRL JETSON awards focused on space nuclear power technologies. Lanteris brings GEO-class bus heritage and national-security focus, including SDA missile-tracking subcontract history.

• Strategically, the acquisition adds near-Earth manufacturing capacity, diversifies revenue beyond lunar programs, and aligns IM with proliferated defense and commercial constellations requiring rapid, modular satellite production.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Saab secures order from Sweden for additional Gripen aircraft — Read More

🛰️ Space

• Raytheon UK wins space contract (details via Airforce-Technology) — Read More

🛡️ Land

• Italian Army orders first armored vehicles from the Rheinmetall-Leonardo JV — Read More

• Lockheed Martin Australia taps Moog to develop a GMLRS rocket component — Read More

• India fields mobile battlefield fabrication units to 3D-print parts at the edge — Read More

🚢 Maritime

• ROMULUS USV trials dual-autonomy integration at sea — Read More

• Australian Navy Chief: Protecting Undersea Cables Is “Existential” — Read More

🧠 Policy

• Lawmakers report progress in bipartisan talks to end U.S. government shutdown — Read More

• GOP senators allege Pentagon policy shop is stonewalling Congress — Read More

🏭 Industry

• Kratos to acquire Israel-based Orbit Technologies for $356.3M — Read More

• Ondas to acquire Sentrycs, expanding cyber-RF counter-UAS reach across 25+ countries — Read More

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