Defense Systems

Rochester, N.Y. – September 13, 2026 -- Owl Autonomous Imaging, Inc. (Owl AI) has been selected for an award supporting the Pentagon-led Delivering Unmatched Thermal Capability–Hastened (DUTCH) initiative, backed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center.

Owl AI will apply uncooled LWIR semiconductor technology to next-generation defense thermal systems

As a fabless semiconductor company, Owl develops technology across the full thermal imaging chain, from focal plane arrays and digital readout electronics to camera cores and complete thermal camera systems. Under the award, the company will focus on developing and demonstrating next-generation uncooled long-wave infrared (LWIR) thermal capabilities.

United States – September 13, 2026 -- Natilus has promoted Nolan Giblin to Chief Operating Officer, elevating the executive who helped build the blended-wing-body aircraft maker's order book to more than 570 pre-orders valued at $24 billion.

Giblin secured reservation deals with Ameriflight and Nolinor Aviation since 2022

Giblin joined Natilus in 2022 as Head of Business Development and negotiated reservation agreements with operators including Ameriflight and Nolinor Aviation, expanding the company's commercial order book for its KONA and HORIZON EVO aircraft programs.

San Bruno, Calif. – September 13, 2026 -- Chariot Defense, a maker of software-defined power distribution systems for the battlefield, has appointed four defense and venture capital veterans to its Board of Advisors, following a $34 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $7.4 million contract with the Pentagon's Department of War Innovation Unit (DIU).

Los Angeles – September 13, 2026 -- Hermeus is developing Ramjet-X, an expendable, ramjet-powered test vehicle designed to be launched from its reusable Quarterhorse aircraft, aiming to make high-Mach airbreathing flight testing cheaper and more repeatable.

Quarterhorse aircraft eliminates need for costly disposable boosters

Ramjet engines require substantial initial speed before they can operate, historically forcing test programs to rely on large, expensive, single-use boosters. Hermeus instead uses its reusable Quarterhorse aircraft to accelerate Ramjet-X to the required speed and altitude before release, after which the vehicle enters ramjet-powered flight while Quarterhorse returns for subsequent missions.

Arlington, Va. – September 13, 2026 -- Air, the Enterprise Readiness company, has appointed Andrej Danko as Chief Product and Technology Officer to lead engineering and product strategy for its AI-native platform serving the national security enterprise.

Danko joins from ServiceNow after leading global public sector AI deployments

Danko previously served as Vice President and General Manager of Global Public Sector Product Management at ServiceNow, where he directed agentic AI deployments across the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and international allies including NATO members, Australia, and Singapore. He brings three decades of software industry experience spanning product management, design, engineering, and corporate strategy, with prior roles at Productboard, Merlon Intelligence, and SAP. Danko holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, plus a Ph.D. and M.S. in Applied Computer Science.

Chatsworth, Calif. – September 13, 2026 -- Aitech has unveiled the 3U VPX C530 and SOSA-aligned U-C5300 GPGPU boards, delivering up to 9,728 CUDA cores, 304 Tensor Cores and 76 ray-tracing cores for defense and aerospace platforms. The rugged AI accelerators produce up to 35.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance and 576 GB/s of memory bandwidth, targeting real-time AI inference at the tactical edge.

New boards replace prior-generation GPGPU configurations without increasing size, weight or power

The C530 and U-C5300 succeed Aitech's previous rugged GPU line, giving system integrators and mission computer manufacturers higher AI inference throughput and enhanced graphics performance within the same SWaP envelope. Both boards support PCIe Gen4 connectivity, CUDA software tools, and Windows and Linux operating systems.

New York – September 13, 2026 -- Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire a substantial part of the Mechanical Engineering Division of Goodwin plc for a headline cash consideration of up to approximately £1.1 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Deal covers five businesses serving global defense and nuclear markets

The transaction includes Goodwin Steel Castings Limited, Goodwin International Limited, Noreva GmbH, Easat Group, and the Pump Division. These units supply proprietary design, advanced manufacturing, and technical expertise to aerospace and defence, nuclear, power, and mining customers worldwide.

Kielce – September 13, 2026 -- Blighter Surveillance Systems is targeting expanded sales of its low-power, long-range surveillance radars across Central and Eastern Europe, showcasing its 2D, 3D and 4D electronic-scanning array systems this week at the MSPO International Defence Exhibition in Kielce, Poland, running September 8-11, 2026.

The Cambridge, UK-based radar maker is presenting its full portfolio on stand 2-D05, including dedicated ground, coastal and air surveillance radars, multi-mode systems for simultaneous land, sea and air monitoring, and its AI-assisted BlighterNexus control software.

Reston, Virginia – September 12, 2026 -- Leidos-built autonomous surface vessels Sea Hunter and Seahawk have logged more than 200,000 nautical miles and 14,000 hours of autonomous operation across the company's maritime portfolio, marking over a decade of at-sea autonomy development.

Sea Hunter completes 2,000-nautical-mile autonomous transit during RIMPAC 2026

Sea Hunter served as the exercise's only Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV), operating autonomously from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to San Diego, California, a distance exceeding 2,000 nautical miles. The vessel demonstrated autonomous surveillance and manned-unmanned teaming, functioning both as part of a larger naval force and as a stand-alone platform.

London – September 12, 2026 -- Frost & Sullivan and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) have launched a joint initiative to build a dual-use aerospace ecosystem across Indonesia, targeting aircraft development, production, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), unmanned aircraft systems and supply-chain localisation.

Initiative targets full aerospace value chain from manufacturing to international partnerships

The collaboration spans national capability-building in aircraft development, production, operation and maintenance, as well as advanced manufacturing and MRO. It also covers unmanned aircraft systems, supply-chain localisation and international partnership development, with the stated goal of strengthening Indonesia's industrial sovereignty and creating skilled employment.