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Industry · Strategic forces

Lockheed flight-tests Mk21A reentry vehicle for the Air Force's future ICBM

The unarmed, developmental vehicle flew under a contract valued at over $1 billion. Lockheed says flight data will inform design refinements and future testing.

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force completed a flight test of the unarmed, developmental Mk21A reentry vehicle, the company announced Nov. 4. The vehicle launched over the Pacific Ocean from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.1

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force completed a test flight

unarmed, developmental Mk21A reentry vehicle

prime military contractover $1 billionactual

The flight was executed under a prime military contract valued at over $1 billion

Mk21Afront-end payloadStated scope

serving as the front-end payload for the nation's future intercontinental ballistic missile system (ICBM)

Source: Lockheed Martin release, November 4, 2026

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

The Mk21A upgrades the legacy Mk21 and will serve as the front-end payload for the Air Force's future intercontinental ballistic missile system. The flight was conducted under a prime military contract valued at over $1 billion.1

Lockheed says the flight demonstrated the maturity of the vehicle's architecture and validated next-generation reentry technologies. The company says it used data from previous tests and digital engineering, including modeling and simulation, to accelerate development.1

Lockheed says flight data will inform design refinements and future testing as the Mk21A program moves toward system-level Critical Design Review. The release gives no date for the flight or that review.1

Sources (1)
  1. Lockheed Martin, "Lockheed Martin Completes Flight Test of Future Intercontinental Ballistic Missile System Reentry Vehicle," Nov. 4, 2026 news.lockheedmartin.com
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Industry · Missiles and space subsystems

Karman's quarterly bookings include seven-year Lockheed Martin contract

Backlog reaches $1.7 billion, up 108% from year-end 2025.

Karman Space & Defense reported nearly $465 million in third-quarter bookings on Nov. 5, 2026. Bookings included a seven-year Lockheed Martin contract supporting the THAAD program.1

Karman reports Q3 bookings of nearly $465 million

Third quarter fiscal 2026

Bookingsnearly $465 million

Karman reports Q3 bookings of nearly $465 million across all end markets, including a seven-year Lockheed Martin contract supporting THAAD

Total revenue$201,623 thousand

Karman Q3 2026 (three months ended Sept. 30) total revenue was $201,623 thousand vs $121,787 thousand a year earlier, up 65.6%

Source: Karman Space & Defense, Q3 FY2026 earnings release, SEC Exhibit 99.1. As of November 5, 2026.

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Backlog reached $1.7 billion at September's end, up 108% from year-end 2025. Karman defines backlog as the value or estimated value of existing contracts less amounts previously invoiced, including purchase orders, long-term agreements and authorizations to proceed. The release does not separate acquired contributions to bookings or backlog.1

Sources (1)
  1. Karman Space & Defense Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results (Exhibit 99.1) www.sec.gov
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Industry · Naval aviation training

SNC exits Navy T-45 replacement competition, Breaking Defense reports

Breaking Defense reports SNC declined to bid under the Navy’s contract structure, leaving Textron’s M-346N as the service’s “one true competitor.”

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has left the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition to replace the T-45 Goshawk, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 3. SNC told the outlet it could not responsibly bid under the current contract structure.1

SNC is no longer competing for the Navy's new training jet

Undergraduate Jet Training System

SNC could not responsibly bid the UJTS [Undergraduate Jet Training System] program under the current contract structure

Textron Aviation Defense, the only known major competitor to SNC, confirmed to Breaking Defense that the firm submitted its offering of the M-346N to the Navy.

Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 it submitted a bid on UJTS

Reported by Breaking Defense

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Breaking Defense says SNC’s exit leaves the Navy with “one true competitor”: Textron Aviation Defense, which confirmed to the outlet that it submitted the M-346N. The outlet also reported that Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 that it submitted a bid.1

SNC said it remains committed to naval jet training and would be ready to re-engage if the approach is revisited. Breaking Defense’s account does not identify the contract terms SNC objected to.1

The competitive field had already narrowed: Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not submit the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries, and Boeing announced its departure in June. In September, Breaking Defense reported that Northrop Grumman was dropping off SNC’s bid, which centered on a clean-sheet design called the Freedom.1

The Navy kept its Oct. 30 proposal deadline, extended from June 30, the program office told the outlet. It now estimates an award between July and the end of September 2027, later than the June 2027 target in its September request for proposals. The service originally planned a March 2027 selection.1

Breaking Defense says the M-346N appears to be the de facto winner, barring a reopened competition or surprise entrant. The program office told the outlet that source selection is underway.1

Sources (1)
  1. Breaking Defense: EXCLUSIVE: SNC pulls out of Navy’s trainer jet competition breakingdefense.com
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