Northrop Grumman

BOSTON – – November 05, 2026 -- Northrop Grumman says Flexcompute's new Physics Twin for Space Plume Impingement has the potential to speed up plume analysis by about 200X compared with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), the established method for rarefied plume flows. Flexcompute, an AI lab building a Physics World Model, has made the tool available now.

Tool targets thruster exhaust effects during close-range maneuvers

Plume impingement occurs when thruster exhaust strikes a nearby vehicle. It can push or heat the vehicle, set it tumbling, erode its surfaces or contaminate its sensors. The risk is highest during rendezvous and proximity operations, where one thruster firing can affect another spacecraft. Refueling, servicing and autonomous docking are expanding the number of such missions.

BERTHOUD, Colo. – October 23, 2026 -- Ursa Major has promoted Jason Meredith to President, giving him responsibility for the company's full profit and loss as it scales production and prepares to become publicly traded.

Meredith moves from Solid Missile Systems to lead business execution company-wide

Meredith most recently served as President of Solid Missile Systems, where he led program execution and engineering across Ursa Major's growing solid rocket motor portfolio. He joined the company in 2026 to run that unit and expand its solid rocket motor capabilities. In the new role, he will lead business execution across all of Ursa Major.

Marietta – October 16, 2026 -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) delivered the first C-130J-30 Super Hercules for the U.S. Navy's Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission on Oct. 15 at its Marietta, Georgia, facility. The aircraft will be modified into the E-130J Phoenix II, the Navy's next-generation airborne nuclear command-and-control platform.

Northrop Grumman to complete the E-130J conversion as mission systems integrator

The airframe will be transferred to Northrop Grumman, the mission systems integrator. The E-130J TACAMO industry team will then complete the conversion before the aircraft enters service as the E-130J Phoenix II.

Capt. Roger Davis, program manager for Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications (PMA-271), said the Navy now moves into mission systems integration. He described the delivered airframe as the structural and performance backbone for the mission.

Tulsa, Okla. – October 06, 2026 -- Cherokee Federal, the federal contracting division of Cherokee Nation Businesses, has appointed veteran federal contracting executive Terri Malone as Chief Growth Officer, effective Oct. 12.

Malone joins a top 100 federal contractor with more than 5,000 employees and 60-plus agency clients

Malone will lead Cherokee Federal's enterprise growth strategy, overseeing market intelligence, business development, capture, proposals and strategic market expansion. She will coordinate with business and functional leaders to align growth priorities with customer needs and company capabilities.

Palo Alto, Calif. – September 15, 2026 -- SandboxAQ has completed what it calls the world's first reported test of a magnetic navigation (MagNav) system on an attritable drone platform, integrating its AQNav software into Northrop Grumman's Lumberjack Group 3 unmanned aircraft system.

Test marks first pairing of MagNav with visual navigation on a one-way attack platform

The flight demonstration also represents the first reported instance of a MagNav system operating alongside a visual navigation system on an attritable, one-way attack drone, according to SandboxAQ. Lumberjack, developed by Northrop Grumman in under 14 months from concept to first flight, is designed as a multi-use loitering munition.