✈️ NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Jet Makes Historic First Flight

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

💥 Lockheed Martin to Invest $50M into Saildrone, Plans to Equip USVs with Missile Launchers — Read More

🛰️ Resilient Comms Emerge as First Line of Defense in the Electronic Warfare Fight — Read More

🕷️ Red Cat’s ‘Black Widow’ Drone Masters GPS-Denied Skies With Palantir Software — Read More

🔭 Germany’s Ship-Mounted Laser Weapon Blasts Past 100 Live Shots, Targets 2029 Rollout — Read More

✈️ NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Jet Makes Historic First Flight — Read More

🎱 Plus 16 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

💥 Lockheed Martin to Invest $50M into Saildrone, Plans to Equip USVs with Missile Launchers — Read More

• Lockheed Martin will invest $50 million in Saildrone to integrate Lockheed missile launchers (including the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile Quad Launcher and future Mk70 VLS options) onto Saildrone’s USV platforms, with live-fire demos slated for 2026.

• The partnership pairs Lockheed’s launcher and secure C2 architecture with Saildrone’s autonomous surface vehicles, shifting Saildrone from civilian-surveillance missions toward lethal, ship-scale effects while keeping the work as company-funded R&D.

• Engineers say physical integration is straightforward; the larger challenge is building encrypted command-and-control and bridge-level data sharing so a destroyer or command center can see Saildrone sensor feeds and control onboard effectors securely.

🛰️ Resilient Comms Emerge as First Line of Defense in the Electronic Warfare Fight — Read More

• Military and industry leaders are prioritizing resilient, adaptive communications as the primary mitigation against sophisticated EW threats—building comms that can survive jamming, spoofing, and denial rather than relying solely on offensive EW measures.

• Approaches include mesh networking, frequency-agile waveforms, distributed routing, and graceful degradation strategies that keep command-and-control and data links usable in contested electromagnetic environments.

• Programs and procurement are shifting toward systems that embed PNT assurance, multi-path routing, and rapid reconstitution—effectively making resilient comms the “first line” for force survivability before kinetic or cyber responses.

🕷️ Red Cat’s ‘Black Widow’ Drone Masters GPS-Denied Skies With Palantir Software — Read More

• Red Cat’s Black Widow drone pairs advanced inertial navigation and sensor fusion with Palantir software to operate effectively in GPS-denied environments—enabling persistent ISR and complex missions where GNSS can’t be trusted.

• The integration leans on onboard autonomy plus distributed tasking from Palantir’s decision tools, allowing rapid retasking, collaborative swarm behaviors, and mission-level situational awareness for operators managing multiple unmanned platforms.

• Developers position Black Widow as a force multiplier for contested-environment operations—prioritizing robust localization, survivable comms, and AI-assisted mission planning to keep drones operational when GPS and conventional C2 are degraded.

🔭 Germany’s Ship-Mounted Laser Weapon Blasts Past 100 Live Shots, Targets 2029 Rollout — Read More

• Germany’s prototype ship-mounted laser has surpassed 100 live firings in testing and is moving toward a targeted rollout in 2029, demonstrating sustained-engagement capability against small, fast threats at sea.

• The program emphasizes repeatability, thermal management, and integration with ship power systems—validating that shipboard lasers can provide low-cost-per-engagement defense against drones, small craft, and potentially some missile classes.

• Officials see the laser as a complementary layer within layered maritime air and missile defense architectures, reducing reliance on expensive interceptors for low-cost swarms and enabling persistent, scalable defensive coverage.

✈️ NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Jet Makes Historic First Flight — Read More

• NASA’s X-59 demonstrator completed its first flight, testing low-sonic-boom signatures and aero/flight regimes to validate technologies aimed at enabling routine overland supersonic flight with reduced environmental impact.

• The program focuses on shaping and design features that direct shockwaves away from the ground, using flight test data to inform regulatory decisions and potential commercial supersonic corridors.

• X-59’s milestone gives momentum to efforts to reopen supersonic passenger aviation while collecting community response data and technical evidence to support noise-based rules for future operations.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• USAF Selects SWei F-16 Upgrade Path — Read More

• XM30 (GDLS) Prototype Delivery for Army OMFV — Read More

🛰️ Space

• All Space and Aalyra Partner on Multi-Orbit Network Orchestration — Read More

• Border Mission Drives Joint Data Sharing, Army Data Chief Says — Read More

• Meritalk: Nominee Emphasizes Golden Dome as Cornerstone of Missile Defense Policy — Read More

⚓ Maritime

• Hanwha Teams With American Swarming-Boat AI Startup Havoc — Read More

• Experts Urge Congress to Enact SHIPS Act to Revive U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding — Read More

• We Must Not Be Deterred, Pacific Fleet Boss Stresses Operations Inside Enemy Range — Read More

• Prominent Navy Submarine Symposium Canceled Due to Government Shutdown — Read More

• German P-8 Aircraft Head to U.K. Air Base to Track Russian Subs — Read More

🛡️ Land

• Croatia & Slovenia Unveil New Combat Robot Collaboration — Read More

• Kratos, KAI Show Off MUM-T Technologies for Collaborative Air-Ground Ops — Read More

• PGZ & Anduril Partner to Field Capabilities for Polish Army — Read More

🏭 Industry

• Bill Lynn Retiring as CEO of Leonardo DRS; John Baylouny to Succeed — Read More

• James Caggy Testifies at ASD Mission Capabilities Confirmation Hearing — Read More

• Radical Full-Size Prototype Stratospheric Drone Completes First Flight — Read More

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