The business of defense, October 28

Space Systems Command plans to award Boeing a sole-source contract to sustain military satellite communications systems, citing insufficient government rights to the technical data needed for competition.¹

The command says it lacks sufficient license rights to technical data packages, flight software source code and satellite simulators. Its Oct. 27, 2026, presolicitation notice says Boeing repeatedly declined requests to sell the necessary rights, but gives no Boeing explanation for those decisions. The notice says the data was developed at private expense and includes design documentation for Boeing's 702HP and 702MP satellite platforms, simulators and ground control software.¹

The planned indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has an estimated ceiling of approximately $945.9 million if all options are exercised. The five-year base ordering period has an estimated ceiling of $480.6 million. The ten-year optional ordering period has an estimated ceiling of $465.3 million. Both figures are estimated ceilings, not obligated funds; responses to the notice are due Nov. 17.¹

The work covers the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) and Ultra High Frequency Follow-On constellations, including round-the-clock anomaly analysis, fault isolation and recovery, and end-of-life disposal. It also includes sustaining engineering and software maintenance for the Global SATCOM Configuration and Control Element ground system.¹

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced on Oct. 23 a partnership with Spirit Defense to support airframe production of the FQ-42 Vengeance collaborative combat aircraft. Spirit Defense, a Boeing company, will serve as a fuselage design-build partner, supporting the program from design through production.¹

The partnership follows an initial Air Force order for the FQ-42A, which GA-ASI announced June 17.² GA-ASI says Spirit Defense offers the manufacturing capacity and industrial depth to scale production faster and reduce the risk of single points of failure.¹

Also announced: GA-ASI says it is discussing its Gambit Series with interested international militaries. The family of uncrewed combat jets derives partly from its FQ-42 work.¹

Parsons reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.7 billion. Revenue rose 2% from a year earlier but fell 1% organically. Excluding what Parsons calls its confidential contract, revenue rose 5% and organic revenue increased 2%.¹

Federal Solutions' contract awards rose 53% year over year in the quarter alongside a 3% organic revenue decline. Excluding the confidential contract, the segment's organic revenue grew 3%. Its reported revenue rose 2%, and its adjusted EBITDA margin held at 9.2%.¹

Across Parsons, net bookings of $1.8 billion produced a 1.1x book-to-bill ratio. Total backlog rose 6% year over year to $9.4 billion. Funded backlog increased 7% to $6.8 billion.¹

Critical Infrastructure revenue rose 2%, supported by 1% organic growth and contributions from the Applied Sciences acquisition. Its adjusted EBITDA margin widened 80 basis points to 11.1%, which Parsons attributed to recent award ramp-ups, accretive acquisitions and stronger program execution.¹

Also announced: Chief Financial Officer Matt Ofilos will resign effective Nov. 6, 2026. Director George Ball, who served as CFO from 2008 to 2022, will become interim CFO that day.¹

The Department of War reported obligating $148.5 billion of the $152.4 billion authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) before fiscal 2026 ended. The figures are an early closeout estimate based on internal financial records and may adjust slightly during reconciliation. The department expects final data by the end of the year.¹

Some funding was reserved following communications with Congress, Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Jules Wilson Hurst III said. Those reserves cover portions of funding provided to the Office of Strategic Capital, the Defense Innovation Unit and the Economic Defense Unit. Hurst said the reserves were intended to preserve investment options into fiscal 2027 and maximize use of the money.¹

The announcement did not disclose the reserve amount, a program or portfolio breakdown of obligations, or contractors receiving the funds.¹

Replacing munitions expended in the Iran war is projected to cost more than $29 billion, according to Department of War data obtained by Reuters and reported by Defense News.¹

More than $6 billion would also be needed to replace military equipment and platform losses, including aircraft and drones. The war-cost estimates did not clearly account for the expected expense of repairing U.S. bases damaged by Iranian missile and drone attacks.¹

Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) announced Oct. 27 that it is acquiring a controlling stake in Hanwha Philly Shipyard, bringing the yard under its leadership and governance. HDUSA is a subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace.¹

The transfer would change which Hanwha business controls the yard. HDUSA established a presence there earlier this year to prepare the yard to build for Navy and commercial customers.¹

HDUSA President of U.S. Shipbuilding Tom Anderson will oversee the company's U.S. shipbuilding operations. Anderson said the company is aligning the yard's operations, workforce and customer relations in preparation to build for the Navy, other federal agencies and commercial customers.¹

Hanwha acquired the yard in December 2024. Since then, Hanwha Systems has held 60% and Hanwha Ocean 40%. In September, Hanwha Systems announced plans to sell its stake to Hanwha Defense USA Shipbuilding LLC, an HDUSA-led joint venture with Hanwha FutureProof. The Oct. 27 announcement gives no purchase price or closing date.¹

The yard has delivered four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels to the U.S. Maritime Administration, Hanwha reported in September, with the fifth scheduled for delivery next year.³

Bold Eagle Acquisition Corp., REDLattice’s special purpose acquisition company partner, reported about $111.6 million remaining in trust after holders of 15,397,025 Class A shares exercised redemption rights in connection with its extension meeting.^1–2 The updated cash figure appeared in an Oct. 27 amendment to its Oct. 26 filing.²

The September announcement had projected up to approximately $275 million from the trust, assuming no redemptions. Separately, the deal included $335 million of committed capital. That consists of $275 million in convertible notes and $60 million in common stock through a private investment in public equity.⁴

REDLattice describes itself as an operational cyber intelligence platform supporting national security and intelligence missions. The companies planned to use transaction proceeds to refinance all REDLattice’s existing debt and fund the final cash earnout from its earlier acquisition of Paragon Solutions.⁴

Bold Eagle shareholders voted Oct. 20 to extend its business combination deadline from Oct. 25, 2026, to June 25, 2027. Approval of the REDLattice combination remains ahead, with the definitive proxy to be mailed after the registration statement is publicly filed and declared effective.¹

On Oct. 26, Bold Eagle and sponsor Eagle Equity Partners IV signed agreements with several unaffiliated shareholders to reverse their redemptions. Bold Eagle agreed to deposit $134,507 monthly into escrow for those investors, with the sponsor advancing the funds. Deposits run until the earliest of a business combination closing, liquidation or June 25, 2027; the filings give no share count for the reversals.¹

SNC has selected Skyryse to help bring flight automation and autonomous capabilities to existing aircraft fleets. The collaboration, announced Oct. 27, initially focuses on defense platforms.¹

Skyryse brings SkyOS flight-control hardware and software; SNC brings more than 60 years of experience integrating, modifying and sustaining military and commercial aircraft. The companies are looking to integrate SkyOS across a range of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft used across the services, with other platform categories under consideration.¹

“Modernizing a fleet doesn't always mean buying new aircraft,” SNC executive vice president Jon Piatt said in the Oct. 27 release.¹

The release says SNC holds a Federal Aviation Administration Organization Designation Authorization through subsidiary 3S Engineering and Certification, giving it authority to certify SkyOS integration. Skyryse also reports that SkyOS was integrated into a UH 60 Black Hawk and flown within 91 days.¹

Lockheed Martin reported Oct. 28 that it redirected a GMLRS rocket in flight during a recent test with the U.S. Army at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The rocket destroyed a moving target, the company said.¹

Lockheed funded the integration of the Strigo datalink and Remote Interceptor Guidance-360 (RIG-360). After launching the rocket from a HIMARS launcher, the team used those systems to update its target while it was in flight. The release does not give the test date or describe any Army plan to buy or field the capability.¹

BAE Systems has completed the first live-fire test of its Adaptable Deck Launcher, the company announced Oct. 27. The system was developed under a Department of War contract for the NATO Seasparrow Project Office.¹

The launcher builds on existing shipboard systems: BAE says it uses the Mk 41 Vertical Launching System’s logistics and electronics suite. BAE Systems vice president of Weapons Systems Jason Casciotti said it complements the Mk 41 by enabling rapid replenishment using standard shipboard equipment.¹

BAE, the mechanical design agent for the Mk 41 family, developed the launcher for full compatibility with Evolved SeaSparrow Missile Mk 25 Quad-Pack canisters. The announcement did not say when the test took place or which missile was fired.¹

BAE says the launcher enables anti-air defense across aircraft carriers, amphibious ships and other surface combatants, with compact configurations for medium unmanned surface vessels.¹

CoAspire has selected X-Bow Systems to develop and produce ground-launched solid rocket motor boosters for the Navy's CHAOS program, X-Bow announced Oct. 27.¹

X-Bow describes CHAOS, short for Coalition Heterogeneous Affordable Offensive Strike, as designed to deliver an affordable, mass-producible cruise missile to U.S. allies. The selection puts X-Bow's booster work under the program's prime contractor, CoAspire.¹

X-Bow says the CHAOS selection is the latest of seven new propulsion programs it has won in 2026 across the Navy, Army and Missile Defense Agency. The company also says it recently completed a production contract that delivered more than 2,100 rocket motors.¹

An Oct. 26, 2026, amendment extended the Army's tactical communications white paper deadline.^1–2 Vendors now have 14 more days to submit. White papers are due Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. EST.¹

The Tactical Communication Systems Procurement, Services & Sustainment call seeks vendors for a planned 10-year enterprise acquisition framework supporting Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2). Its scope spans procurement, testing, fielding and lifecycle sustainment of both legacy systems and emerging transport hardware and software.¹

The Army seeks a mix of single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts and/or other transactions.¹ Questions and comments are now due Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. EST. The government says it will provide consolidated answers after receiving the questions.¹

Chancellor John Healey told Parliament on Oct. 28 that reprioritization in other departments would fill a £4.7 billion gap in Britain's Defence Investment Plan, according to Defense News, which carried the Reuters report.¹

Healey said his budget fully funded the plan, including through capital reprioritization across government. The report did not identify which departments, programs or spending lines would give up money.¹

He said he would also scrutinize public spending to explain how Britain would meet NATO's commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035. He said he would mark a target date for 3% in 2030.¹

Healey also said he was determined to use more innovative financing alongside the private sector and international allies.¹

The Army purchased HAVIK’s ATLAS and SCOUT simulation kits to inform future Joint Fires Training requirements, the company announced Oct. 28. Government acceptance and payment are complete. The announcement did not disclose the value of the purchase, how many kits the Army bought or the contract vehicle.¹

The purchase supports the Soldier Virtual Trainer modernization effort, which aims to ultimately replace the Call for Fire Trainer 3. The buyer is the Army’s Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3). Its spokesperson, Donnie Ryan, said the market research is intended to help the Army understand available commercial off-the-shelf capabilities and refine requirements.¹

The kits combine HAVIK Core software with commercial off-the-shelf hardware. ATLAS provides instructor, student and server functions, while SCOUT adds students to networked mission planning, rehearsal, training exercises and after-action reviews. HAVIK says each kit fits in a single case and the systems can be networked for training with more than 100 participants, together or across multiple locations.¹

MDA Space's wholly owned subsidiary 49North announced Oct. 28 that it has qualified across all five streams of Canada's Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace.¹

The opportunity extends beyond platforms: 49North says its qualification positions it to compete for secure mission systems, engineering, testing and training work as well as uncrewed and counter-drone systems. The marketplace's scope includes counter-drone sensors and effectors, command and control, communications, electronic warfare and cyber capabilities.¹

The Department of War has awarded Biosphere $21 million to build a facility using genetically engineered microbes to produce chemicals for military supplies, Breaking Defense reported Oct. 28. Breaking Defense did not report the awarding office, the contract type or whether the $21 million is a ceiling or an obligation.¹

Biosphere CEO Brian Heligman argued that the new mid-sized plant can make sufficient quantities for munitions and other military programs without the overhead of a traditional bulk-manufacturing facility. He projected output of about 100 tons a year, small compared with an industrial petrochemical plant producing bulk plastics.¹

The California company plans a 20,000-liter facility. It is slated for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027. Heligman identified potential products ranging from bio-cement for helicopter landing surfaces to polymer-bonded explosives for weapons such as the Hellfire missile. He declined to disclose specific products, saying the company had held detailed discussions about two or three fine chemicals.¹

The award follows another Pentagon award to Biosphere less than six months earlier, worth up to $9 million if all options are exercised. That award was to develop a portable, electrically powered bio-brewery capable of making protein from water and air.¹

Michigan automotive component supplier JVIS announced the opening of JVIS Defense and Aerospace on Oct. 27, Breaking Defense reported. The new company will operate as a standalone business separate from the original JVIS, the outlet reported, citing the company's release.¹

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) plans full and open competition for Space Electronic Systems Prototype Development Phase III. The presolicitation notice was posted Oct. 28, 2026. Proposals are not yet being requested, and NRL reserves the right to cancel the acquisition.¹

NRL’s November 2025 outreach described the requirement as a recompete and left open a small business set-aside decision based on industry responses.²

NRL anticipates an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year ordering period and an initial two-year task order at award. It estimates approximately 531,280 labor hours across task orders issued during that ordering period, though the total ultimately solicited and required may differ. The notice gives no dollar value.¹

The work would support NRL’s Spacecraft Engineering Division in areas including spacecraft electronics, experimental payloads and mission systems. Its scope runs from concept formulation and design through prototype development, integration, testing, operational demonstration and transition to mission use.¹

Questions or feedback on the notice are due Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. Eastern. The request for proposals and its attachments will be posted on SAM.gov when issued.¹

The Army is seeking industry comments on a common interface for thermal, low-light-level and short-wave infrared cameras through a request for information posted Oct. 27, 2026.¹

The Standards Compliant Camera Interface Control Document defines common I2C protocols, registers, and environmental and electrical interfaces. Mechanical interfaces will be reviewed later, but suppliers can submit early feedback on desired dimensions or mechanical constraints.¹

The Army created and approved the document in March 2019; the current request calls the version offered for comment a draft. Companies are asked to submit a Comment Response Matrix, and the Army may request a Technical Interchange Meeting to discuss their comments.¹

Access is restricted because the document contains controlled unclassified information. Companies must request access through the notice and hold Joint Certification Program certification, with no exceptions for uncertified vendors. Only U.S. citizens are authorized to respond.¹

Access requests remain open until Nov. 30, 2026.¹ The notice's deadline field lists responses as due Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. Eastern. The text separately says responses are due 30 days after publication.¹

The Navy faces years of maintenance recovery as ships return from extended deployments, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said Monday at the United States Navy Memorial, Breaking Defense reported. He warned that maintenance availabilities would snowball, particularly for destroyers, as some carriers and surface ships return from more than 300 days at sea.¹

Caudle said the work involves hundreds of availabilities and would require hundreds of millions of dollars. The Navy is weighing how to prioritize repairs, shorten some timelines and defer larger projects without falling further behind schedule.¹

Private shipyards usually oversee repairs for the Navy’s surface fleet, including destroyers and cruisers. Congressional Budget Office senior analyst for naval forces and weapons Eric Labs told Breaking Defense that some private maintenance yards have voiced concerns about a lack of work at present. He said those yards would face a heavy workload once destroyers return, creating planning and workforce challenges for industry and the Navy.¹

Norfolk Naval Shipyard commander Rear Adm. Kavon Hakimzadeh told a September Center for Maritime Strategy roundtable that returning destroyers face capacity choke points. He suspected they would all need the same dry dock, requiring the Navy to sequence their maintenance.¹

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has extended the proposal deadline for its NS-ACE network services contract to Nov. 30, 2026.^{1, 3} The Oct. 28 amendment moves it from Nov. 4.¹

For bidders, the later closing date still leaves answers to previously submitted questions pending. DISA plans another amendment to address them, with no release date given in the notice.¹

The solicitation's June 18 posting listed a July 22 response deadline.² Earlier notices said the government was working through vendor questions and would issue another amendment and extension once answers were finalized.¹

The acquisition is not set aside for small businesses. Access to attachments is restricted to entities registered under the appropriate North American Industry Classification System codes.¹

Ukraine's HIMERA and Denmark's GomSpace have begun operating OBRIA NANO, a test satellite for a planned independent Ukrainian communications network, the companies announced Oct. 27, 2026. The satellite launched on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission on Oct. 1.¹

The companies intend to use technical testing to inform the operational system's design. Their longer-term plan is a satellite network providing communications coverage across Ukraine and complementing European satellite networks.¹

OBRIA NANO is intended to operate under a Ukrainian operator's control and serve Ukraine's strategic security needs. HIMERA co-founder and CEO Misha Rudominski said the long-term goal is to develop capabilities that strengthen the country's strategic security and reduce dependence on external communications providers.¹

Saab announced Oct. 27 that it signed a teaming agreement with IMP to establish a Gripen final assembly line in Canada if the country acquires the aircraft. IMP would also handle electrical assembly production and in-service support for Canada's Gripens.¹

The assembly plan sits alongside agreements for Canadian manufacturing and training, each conditional on Canada buying the fighter. Saab signed a new memorandum of understanding with Magellan Aerospace for local manufacturing of advanced aerostructures, composite structures and structural assemblies. An earlier memorandum with CAE covers fighter pilot and technician training, mission systems engineering, support and sustainment.¹

Defense News reports that Canada is examining whether to buy Gripen E as an alternative to the F-35 or alongside it. Canada's commitment to buy 88 F-35s is under review, the outlet reports. Canada has paid for 16 F-35s.²

BAE Systems and Poland’s PGZ are to expand large-calibre ammunition production capacity and capability under the Warsaw Defence Plan. The UK Ministry of Defence announced the plan on 27 October 2026.¹

The ammunition commitment gives BAE Systems and PGZ a named role in the plan’s industrial work. The UK announcement gives no funding amount, production quantity, site or timetable for the ammunition expansion.¹

The agreement sets out the first phase of defence cooperation under the new UK-Poland Security and Defence Partnership Treaty.¹

Also announced

• The countries plan to collaborate on manufacturing and developing the next generation of air defence missiles.¹
• The agreement calls for co-development of drone and counter-drone technologies.¹
• The countries will share lessons from developing the British Type 31 and Polish Miecznik frigates, which are built from a common design.¹