Weekly News Update: Sep 15, 2023
9-15 Sep 2023
It’s been a doozy of a week and this is a dense one. Lots to report in defense industry, as companies like to make announcements at trade shows. There’s been two big ones this week: the AFA’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in the U.S. and the DSEI in London.
This week, we also saw Musk, Zuck, and a bunch of tech bros descend on Washington for meetings with Senator Schumer and friends about AI regulation. Inflation edged higher than expected in August, and we’re seeing central banks continue to hike rates. Congressional clowns are pushing for a government shutdown, continue blocking important defense spending and nominations, and now are trying to find enough dirt to warrant an impeachment of the president. Mexico’s congress is holding hearings about aliens, with somebody rolling out a ‘corpse’ as ‘proof.’ (Aaron Rodgers season with the Jets is over, after three plays. And World Cup Rugby continues with France and Ireland dominating. I’m cheering for the ‘boks to go all the way (but think Ireland will be the team to beat). How about you?
And, after this week, I think we can all agree that TGIF!
Read more about the issues surrounding aerospace and defense technology below.
Weekly News Round Up
Military
U.S. Defense modernization and innovation
Conservative Congressional caucus stymies defense spending bill, likely to push government into shutdown (DN)
DoD begins subsidizing critical resource extraction and production with $20.6M grant to support nickel prospecting in Midwest (Mil)
DoD gives $90M grant to Albemarle to raise domestic lithium output (RT)
U.S. looks to Ukraine for Electronic Warfare lessons (C4)
Air Force’s Senior Enlisted warns airmen to prepare for asymmetric warfare (AFT)
Air Force deploys ‘mobile packages’ to sustain Reaper drones in Europe (C4)
Navy ship tests out carrying an Army missile launcher for ship-to-ship and ship-to-air strikes (USNI)
Navy seeks to combine drone tech with electromagnetic techs (BD)
Europe, Russia, the Arctic, NATO, and the war in Ukraine
NATO prepares industry plan to boost arms production (DN)
Ukrainian attack damages 2 ships, causes shipyard fire in Crimea (MT)
Ukrainian war forcing navies to rethink security in ‘dreadnought moment’ (DO)
Russian pilot tried to shoot down a British plane last year (MT)
N. Korea’s Kim visits Moscow, pledges ‘full support’ for Russia (MT)
Ukrainian president Zelenskyy expected to visit D.C. next week (MT)
D.C. announces new sanctions aimed at Russian military supply chains (NYT)
China, Korea, and Asia
China unveils ‘blueprint’ for Taiwan integration (CNN)
China begins largest-ever exercises in Pacific (NYT)
Top U.S. Army leader in Pacific warns of Chinese military threat (AT)
Taiwan warns that China is bolstering nearby coastal military bases (MT)
President Biden doubts China able to invade Taiwan amid economic woes (BBG)
China’s Apple iPhone ban appears to be retaliation, US says (BBG)
U.S. House committee targets crackdown on US investment in Chinese tech, military development (CNBC)
U.S., Vietnam upgrade ties as Biden visits in hedge against China (CNBC)
U.S. intelligence believes China has suspended spy balloon program (CNN)
Australia, Philippines commit to strategic partnership, pledge joint patrols (USNI)
N. Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea (AP)
Middle East and Africa
Up to 20,000 killed in Libyan flash flood following storm (TG)
U.S. moves to advance a prisoner swap deal with Iran and release $6B in frozen funds (AP)
U.S., Bahrain sign strategic security and economic agreement (RT)
U.N. envoy quits, warns Sudan is turning into full-scale civil war (AP)
Malian army and rebels report dozens killed in clashes (RT)
U.S. military resumes counterterrorism missions out of Niger bases (AFT)
U.S. Defense Industry News
Anduril announces Ghost-X drone with more payload capacity, longer flights (C4)
Boeing delivered first T-7 to Air Force (DN)
Boeing executives are not all that interested in RTO, even if they force it on others (WSJ)
General Dynamics pitches updated ‘Foxhound’ for British Army (DN)
Lockheed pushes old Blackhawks for U.K. New Medium Helicopter program (DN)
Lockheed secures deal with Poland to sell 486 HIMARS launcher-loader kits (DN)
Lockheed and Northrop receive sanctions from China over military supplies to Taiwan (BBG)
RTX deal with Saudi Scopa Defense falls apart over links to China, Russia (WSJ)
Teledyne Flir unveils Black Recon, a vehicle-launched micro-drone (DN)
Textron looks to sell Aerosonde drones to Europe (DN)
U.S. Air Force received its first EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft from BAE Systems and L3Harris (DN)
U.S. State Department has approved the following foreign military aid:
Foreign Defense Industry News
Austria, Germany to buy IRIS-T air defense launchers from Germany’s Diehl (DN)
Dutch Navy improves radar, adds Tomahawk missile to fleet (DN)
Dutch-based KNDS partners with Israel’s Elbit in challenge to Lockheed and Rheinmetall’s rocket launching system for Europe (DN)
Estonia’s CybExer Technologies develops virtual shooting range to test cyber defenses (C4)
Estonia’s Milrem Robotics offers new unmanned ground vehicle for Ukraine (DN)
French, U.K. underwater drones proves de-mining ability, says Thales (DN)
Germany orders 40 Marder combat vehicles for Ukraine (DN)
Indonesia buys U.K. submarine rescue vessel in $100M deal (RT)
Israel’s Elbit Systems to provide Swedish BAE Systems Hagglunds with Iron Fist Active Protection System for CV90s for $109M (DN)
Israel’s IAI claims intel suite can predict surprise attacks (DN)
Israeli Air Force receives new secretive Spark UAV from Rafael (BD)
Japan gets new defense minister, Minoru Kihara, and foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa (DN)
New Zealand seeks to overhaul nearly its entire naval fleet with new ships (DN)
Poland is seeking bids 3-4 submarines under its ‘Orka’ submarine program (DN)
Sweden seeks to boost defense spending by 28% (AP)
Sweden seeks short-range surface-to-surface missiles for amphibious units (DN)
Turkey’s Roketsan wins Malaysian deal for Karaok anti-tank missiles (DN)
U.A.E.’s EDGE Group deploys air drones from ground drones, in first (BD)
U.K. company, One Way Aerospace, proving its mothership attack drone systems capable in Ukraine, to sell the system for around $80k (DN)
U.K. to produce strategy covering drones, as military ramps up procurement (DN)
U.K.’s BAE, Canadian Cellula Robotics partner on underwater drone (C4)
U.K. firms BAE, QinetiQ team up on drone technology (DN)
U.K.’s Babcock, American Palantir bank on data crunching to boost U.K. force readiness (DN)
U.K. Challenger 3 program advances after successful gun tests (DN)
Space
Chinese satellite capabilities generate fear and concern in the U.S. (DO)
U.S. Space Force, National Reconnaissance Office launch ‘Silent Barker’ space observation satellites (C4)
SpaceX no longer taking losses to produce Starlink antennas (CNBC)
Ball Aerospace wins $489.6M to deliver next-gen weather satellite sounder (GW)
Mexican Congress holds hearing on UFOs featuring purported ‘alien’ bodies (RT)
Northrop partners with U.K.’s Space Forge to make semiconductors in space (C4)
Firefly launches Space Force ‘Victus Nox’ mission (SN)
Nuclear Power & Weapons
U.K., Germany, France, and U.S. say Iran must clarify issues over nuclear material (RT)
Fighting flares near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: IAEA (AP)
U.S. DoD advances X-Energy mobile reactor as second Project Pele design (PM)
Japanese nuclear power operator Kansai Elec restarts seventh reactor (RT)
Rwanda signs agreement to build test nuclear power reactor (RT)
Turkey cozies up to China for nuclear construction (BBG)
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Energy, and other cool tech
Eric Schmidt-led Special Competitive Studies Project pushes for new experimentation unit to drive military adoption of generative AI (DS)
U.S. Senator Schumer calls A.I. forum of lawmakers and business professionals, focuses on regulatory requirements before 2024 elections (RT)
Chevron acquired a majority stake in the ACES Delta, the largest proposed storage facility for hydrogen from renewable energy, from PE firm Haddington Ventures (RT)
Not everyone is convinced that Hydrogen is a viable fuel source (BBG)
A&D-Focused Finance
Europe has a new Defense Tech unicorn! Defense AI startup Helsing raised a $223M Series B led by General Catalyst, Saab (TC)
Dual-use data analytics and AI software maker Databricks raised a $500M+ Series I at a $43B valuation from T. Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton (TC)
Astra announces a reverse stock split in a last-ditch effort to avoid delisting on the stock exchange (BW)
General Electric will sell a stake in aircraft leasing giant AerCap Holdings worth $2.4B through an underwritten public offering (RT)
German defense contractor Renk aims to price its IPO in early October (RT)
JetBlue Airways agreed to sell all of Spirit Airlines’ Boston and Newark Liberty airport assets to Allegiant Air, which will help it win approval for its $3.8B acquisition of Spirit (RT)
Important Reads
Eric Gomez, Jon Hoffman, and Jordan Cohen of the Cato Institute outline why the rumored U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal must include more stringent safeguard.
Christian Moelling from the German Council on Foreign Relations lays out an argument for a pan-European defense project to force changes in the European defense industrial ecosystem.
Brex’s Shai Goldman compiled a chronological list of all new VC funds that raised $200M or less.
Lighter Side
Keep building!
Andrew