Defense Procurement

Fort Worth, Texas – September 21, 2026 -- Lockheed Martin handed over Germany's first F-35A Lightning II to the German government at a ceremony held at its production facility here, marking the start of deliveries under a program-of-record order for 35 aircraft.

Germany joins 20-nation F-35 operator base, 13 of them in Europe

The Luftwaffe becomes the latest air force to field the fifth-generation fighter, which is now operated or selected by 20 countries worldwide. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the jet's stealth capabilities and sensor fusion would give the German Air Force "a decisive key capability" for NATO, adding that full operational capability is targeted for 2029.

Torrance, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- Castelion has secured a U.S. Navy production delivery order worth up to $200 million to manufacture, assemble, test and deliver an initial lot of Blackbeard hypersonic weapons to the fleet.

Navy shifts Blackbeard from prototypes to a production line under SBIR Phase III

The order was awarded by Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation (PAE(A)) through its Future Capability Development and Integration Aviation Rapid Capabilities Cell, marking the program's transition from early operational capability testing to full production rounds. It follows a June 2026 order for 50 Early Operational Capability weapons, extending the Navy's commitment to the air-launched hypersonic strike system.

Stockholm – September 17, 2026 -- GomSpace North America, LLC has secured an order worth 2.4 million USD (22.6 MSEK) from an undisclosed US defense customer for its fast-deployment satellite platform kits.

Order marks new customer relationship for GomSpace's US unit

The agreement covers modular satellite bus systems that will support an end-to-end solution for a US government mission. The engagement is the start of a new customer relationship, though it builds on prior technical connections between GomSpace and the customer's engineering team.

Platform kits target rapid procurement in 6U to 16U configurations

GomSpace's platform kits are pre-engineered, modular small satellite bus systems spanning 6U to 16U CubeSat and microsatellite-class configurations. The design allows customers to integrate payloads quickly, cutting technical risk and shortening the timeline from concept to launch.