Aerospace & Defense

BuildFreedom.US Expands to Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin; Awards $10M Grant

Dallas – September 24, 2026 -- BuildFreedom.US, a federal workforce campaign funded by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, is expanding into Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, the next phase of a national push to fill skilled-trades gaps in America's defense manufacturing base.

Program awards mikeroweWORKS Foundation a $10 million grant

BuildFreedom.US has granted $10 million to the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to support its Work Ethic Scholarship Program, deepening a partnership with Mike Rowe, founder of the foundation and creator of Dirty Jobs. Rowe will continue backing the campaign through its next expansion phase.

350 Teamsters Strike Safran Seats Plant Over Mandatory Overtime

Gainesville, Texas – September 24, 2026 -- More than 350 members of Teamsters Local 767 walked off the job at Safran Seats in Gainesville, Texas, launching an unfair labor practice strike after the aircraft-seat manufacturer refused to remove a mandatory overtime provision from its contract offer.

Workers rejected Safran's contract offer on September 18 over overtime clause

Local 767 members rejected the company's proposal on Sept. 18 specifically due to the mandatory overtime provision. The union returned to the bargaining table and warned Safran that any agreement retaining the clause would be voted down, leaving members with no option but to strike.

Prime Minute Raises $15M to Build AI-Driven Wildfire Suppression System

Palo Alto, Calif. – September 24, 2026 -- Prime Minute emerged from stealth with $15 million in pre-seed funding led by Eclipse, with participation from 8VC, to build what it calls the first global resilience prime for natural disaster response.

Wildfires cost the US an estimated $424 billion annually, driving urgency for faster response

The company's initial product targets rapid initial attack against wildfires, addressing gaps in detection, coordination, and suppression that determine whether a fire is contained early or escalates into a major disaster. The system combines real-time intelligence, AI-assisted mission analysis, and precision aerial suppression capabilities designed to operate during high winds, nighttime incidents, degraded visual environments, and when ground crews cannot reach a scene.

Lyntris Completes Two-Year Wedgelock Qualification for Navy's SPY-6 Radar

Washington – September 24, 2026 -- Lyntris Inc. (NYSE: LYNX) has completed qualification of a wedgelock assembly critical to Raytheon's SPY-6 radar family, closing a supply chain gap identified during the U.S. Navy program's shift to full-rate production.

Two-year effort converts a long-lead bottleneck into an in-house capability

The qualification followed nearly two years of joint work between Lyntris and Raytheon, an RTX business, after a supply chain review flagged the wedgelock -- a sub-assembly within the Radar Modular Assembly (RMA) chassis -- as a risk to build-rate targets. Lyntris established manufacturing processes, validated performance, and secured qualification as a scalable production source meeting U.S. Navy requirements.

Pratt & Whitney Delivers First GTF Advantage Engine to United Airlines

East Hartford, Conn. – September 24, 2026 -- Pratt & Whitney has delivered its first aircraft powered by the new GTF Advantage engine to United Airlines, an Airbus A321XLR, marking the commercial debut of the upgraded engine platform.

GTF Advantage doubles time on wing versus current engine model

The GTF Advantage features an upgraded hot section that Pratt & Whitney says will deliver up to twice the time on wing compared to today's GTF engine, along with 4-8% more takeoff thrust for extended range. The company calls it the most advanced hot section in the single-aisle engine market.

Outpost Unveils Space Factories, Orbital Manufacturing-as-a-Service Platform

Los Angeles – September 24, 2026 -- Outpost Technologies Corporation has launched Space Factories, a standardized orbital manufacturing platform that lets companies produce goods in microgravity and return them to Earth without building their own spacecraft, reentry system, or recovery operation.

Outpost turns bespoke orbital manufacturing into a shared industrial service

Historically, every attempt to manufacture products in orbit -- from optical fibers to pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and advanced crystals -- has required a one-of-a-kind spacecraft solving power, thermal, containment, safety, and return challenges from scratch. Space Factories replaces that model with a reusable, modular platform: customers specify a manufacturing process rather than design and build an entire mission architecture.

Pratt & Whitney Canada Inks 4-Year PW127M MRO Deal With AirBorneo

Singapore – September 24, 2026 -- Pratt & Whitney Canada has signed a four-year maintenance, repair and overhaul agreement with AirBorneo Airways covering PW127M engines through 2030, with work centered at the RTX unit's newly expanded Singapore facility.

Agreement locks in engine support for Sarawak's rural air network

The deal covers PW127M engines powering AirBorneo's fleet of ATR 72-500 turboprops, which operate the Rural Air Services network connecting remote communities across East Malaysia's Borneo interior. Anthony Rossi, vice president of Customer Service at Pratt & Whitney Canada, said the arrangement was designed to manage engine costs while supporting high dispatch availability for the airline's critical rural routes.

Immersive Wisdom 5 Bridges Browser and Offline Tactical Networks

Boca Raton, Fla. – September 24, 2026 -- Immersive Wisdom Inc. unveiled Immersive Wisdom 5 at AFA's Air, Space & Cyber Conference, a platform update designed to unite browser-based users, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) operators and personnel on ultra-low-bandwidth, disconnected, intermittent, limited (DDIL) networks inside a single collaborative workspace.

New browser interface functions as a bridge to disconnected tactical edge users

The lightweight browser client enables low-bandwidth data access from headquarters down to forward operating locations, connecting participants with teams running Immersive Wisdom's native application in constrained COOP/PACE communications environments, including scenarios with no connectivity at all.

Biman Bangladesh Expands Boeing Fleet With 787-10, 737-8 Order

Washington, D.C. – September 24, 2026 -- Biman Bangladesh Airlines has signed a supplemental agreement with Boeing to add 787-10 Dreamliner and 737-8 MAX airplanes to its fleet, deepening a partnership that already spans the 787, 777 and 737 Next-Generation families.

Biman locks in fleet renewal with proven Boeing commonality

The agreement builds on Biman's existing operational base of 787, 777 and 737NG aircraft, which connect Bangladesh to hubs in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and Europe. Rumee A Hossain, chairman of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said the order responds to specific requirements in the carrier's fleet plan and reflects confidence built through years of working with Boeing on delivery and support arrangements.

Sierra Space Names Ex-Amazon, Nielsen CFO Warren Jenson to Board

Louisville, Colo. – September 23, 2026 -- Sierra Space has appointed Warren Jenson to its board of directors, naming him chair of the audit committee as the defense-tech space company tightens financial governance ahead of what executives describe as a pivotal growth stage.

Jenson brings three decades of CFO experience across Amazon, Delta and NBC

Jenson has held senior financial leadership roles at Amazon, Electronic Arts, Delta Air Lines and NBC. He most recently served as president and CFO of Nielsen and previously held the same titles, plus executive managing director of international, at LiveRamp. He is currently chief financial officer of Polymarket.