The business of defense, October 5

Lockheed Martin awarded Boeing an undefinitized contract action worth approximately $14.7 billion to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) seekers, Boeing announced Oct. 5.¹ Boeing says the award enables it to triple seeker production under the seven-year framework with the Department of War that it announced April 1.^1–2

Oct. 2025 multiyear contractsapproximately $2.7B

Oct. 2026 Lockheed awardapproximately $14.7B

The 2026 award is an undefinitized contract action: its terms, specifications or price are not yet agreed.

Source: Boeing releases, Oct. 14, 2025 and Oct. 5, 2026; DFARS 217.7401. Data as of Oct. 5, 2026.

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That is a step change in a long-running supply relationship. Boeing has delivered more than 6,000 PAC-3 seekers to the Army as a Lockheed subcontractor from Huntsville, Alabama, since 2000.⁵ Boeing-built seekers enable the most advanced Patriot interceptors to identify, track and engage threats.¹ In October 2025, Boeing announced multiyear seeker contracts valued at roughly $2.7 billion.⁵ The new award is more than five times that. Under the 2025 contracts, Boeing will deliver more than 3,000 seekers through 2030, at rates of up to 750 a year.⁵

The prime describes the same multiple for its own line. Lockheed's PAC-3 MSE multiyear contract reached a total value of $58.62 billion in July, most of it a seven-year undefinitized modification for up to $53.86 billion. Lockheed says that funding enables it to triple PAC-3 MSE capacity by the end of 2030.⁴

Boeing says ramp-up and hiring began earlier this year after the framework announcement, with hundreds of direct and indirect jobs expected in the Huntsville area. Its Oct. 5 release did not give seeker quantities, annual rates, the amount obligated or a definitization date.¹

The PAC-3 framework has a parallel on another missile. On Aug. 14, Boeing announced seven-year framework agreements with the department and Raytheon to increase production of Standard Missile-3 hardware.³

The Department of War on Oct. 5 named the first systems selected for Joint Interagency Task Force 401's directed-energy counter-drone pilot^1–2. Three are lasers: AeroVironment's Palletized High-Energy Laser system, Kord's Firefly High-Energy Laser system and Boeing's Compact Laser Weapon system. The fourth is Epirus's Leonidas High-Powered Microwave system¹.

AeroVironmentPalletized High-Energy Laser system

KordFirefly High-Energy Laser system

BoeingCompact Laser Weapon system

EpirusLeonidas High-Powered Microwave system

→

Joint Interagency Task Force 401 pilotDirected by the FY2026 NDAA, it will evaluate performance and supply data on requirements, costs and best practices

The announcement gives no dollar value, contract vehicle, quantities or schedule. The department will assess additional laser and microwave systems at a December shoot-off at Dugway Proving Ground.

Source: Department of War release, Oct. 5, 2026. Data as of Oct. 5, 2026.

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AeroVironment has been through this task force's testing before. JIATF 401 and the Army's Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires led testing of the company's LOCUST laser at White Sands, and an Army award followed. On Sept. 2, AeroVironment said that office had awarded it a $464.8 million Other Transaction Agreement for the Enduring-High Energy Laser program. Under it, the company will deliver "dozens" of LOCUST X3 laser weapon systems³.

The new pilot's stated product is data. Directed by the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, it will evaluate the systems' performance and supply "real-time data and feedback on the systems' requirements, costs, and best practices". JIATF 401 is conducting it in close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Northern Command and the services¹. Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, the task force's director, said the pilot will test the systems "in an operational environment so we can understand how best to integrate and sustain them to defend the homeland"¹.

The release sets no quantities, schedule or fielding decision for the four, and the department's Oct. 5 contract announcements name none of the companies^{1, 4}.

Leidos on Oct. 5 closed the combination of its Security Enterprise Solutions (SES) and Industrial Automation businesses with Analogic, a portfolio company of investment firm Altaris¹. The venture operates under the Analogic brand and focuses on security screening at airports, borders and critical infrastructure². Leidos contributed its businesses in exchange for 41.5% of the venture's equity. Altaris affiliates put in part of Analogic's parent for 58.5% and sold the rest of that parent to the venture for cash the venture obtained from new debt financing¹.

100% of joint venture equity

• 58.5% Altaris affiliates
• 41.5% Leidos

Altaris affiliates appoint a majority of the board. Certain Leidos liquidity demand exit rights start only after seven years, subject to limits.

Source: Leidos Form 8-K, Oct. 5, 2026; Leidos Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 3, 2026. Data as of Oct. 5, 2026.

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Altaris holds the controlling interest; Leidos's 41.5% is non-controlling^{1, 4}. Leidos's say now runs through the minority of board seats it initially designates and customary minority protective rights over certain material proposed actions. The exit terms include Altaris's drag-along rights and Leidos's tag-along rights¹. Certain Leidos liquidity demand exit rights start only after the seventh anniversary of closing. All of these terms are subject to timing, procedural and other limits in the joint venture agreement¹.

By revenue, the contributed business is a small piece of Leidos. In its April announcement of the deal, Leidos said it would contribute about 1,500 employees representing $625 million in projected 2026 revenue³. That revenue is about 3.6% of the $17.2 billion Leidos reported for its last fiscal year². The 10-Q says the divestiture is not a material strategic shift, so the business will not be presented as a discontinued operation⁴. Chief Executive Officer Tom Bell said the launch "sharpens our focus on the growth engines driving our NorthStar 2030 strategy"².

The Army wants off-the-shelf reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition systems, sub-components and software "ready for rapid prototyping, operational assessment, and potential transition to production."^{1, 4} Only current, approved members of the Department of War's Drone Other Transaction Authority (OTA) Consortium can respond to its Brigade Uncrewed Aircraft System (BDE UAS) Prototype Project request. Their whitepapers close at 11:59 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Oct. 7.^1–2

May 29Department of War invites industry and academic partners to apply to the newly established consortium

Aug. 5Army request for whitepapers: Launched Effects Prototype Project

Aug. 21Army request for whitepapers: unmanned ground vehicles for the GroundBreaker 1 demonstration

Sept. 21Army request for whitepapers: Brigade Uncrewed Aircraft System (BDE UAS) Prototype Project

Oct. 7Brigade UAS whitepapers close, 11:59 p.m. Central

Brigade UAS is strictly limited to current, approved consortium members. A non-member can contribute as a software teammate on a member's whitepaper.

Source: SAM.gov notices W58RGZ-26-2-SN01, RFW-DOTAC-ARMY-2026-001, RFW-DOTAC-ARMY-2026-002 and RFW-DOTAC-ARMY-2026-003, with the Oct. 5, 2026 questions and answers. Data as of Oct. 7, 2026.

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The department invited applications to the newly established consortium in May as a vehicle for awarding prototype and production OTAs.⁵ Brigade UAS follows two Army requests posted through it in August: one for the Launched Effects Prototype Project and one for unmanned ground vehicles at the GroundBreaker 1 demonstration.^6–7

The Army will review whitepapers for sub-components, but "only complete systems will qualify to pass on to a Flight Demonstration." It anticipates holding that demonstration, which it also calls a gauntlet, from Monday, Oct. 26, to Friday, Nov. 20, at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. The Army will tell invited vendors "as soon as possible" after the request closes. One industry question says Section II of the request seeks "complete Group 3 UAS systems."³ Neither the notice's description nor the Army's answers give a prototype value or quantity.¹