Defense

Space-based defense programs, procurement, and military space policy.

• Space Force Taps Sphinx Defense for $287 Million Nuclear Command Software

  July 29, 2026

  The U.S. Space Force awarded a $287 million contract to Sphinx Defense on Monday, July 27, 2026, to deliver mission planning software for the GRIFFON program, the ground control architecture supporting strategic nuclear communications. The award advances the software ground segment for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications system, which provides secure, survivable communications for national command authorities and strategic nuclear forces. The Ground Resilient Integration and Framewor

• Rocket Lab Wins $266 Million Space Force Deal for 12 Suborbital Launches, Anchored by New Alaska Site

  July 28, 2026

  Rocket Lab has won a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract to conduct 12 suborbital launches over the next three years, with options for six additional missions. The USSF award is the largest launch contract in Rocket Lab's history and will establish a new company launch location at the Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak. The contract was awarded through Space Systems Command's Rocket Systems Launch Program, or RSLP, which procures launch services for experimental, research and nationa

• Classified NRO Payload and Chinese Triple-Header Fill a Busy Launch Week

  July 28, 2026

  A classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite is set to launch from Cape Canaveral this week alongside three Chinese orbital missions, all scheduled within days of each other. The overlapping manifest illustrates the pace at which both the U.S. intelligence community and China are moving hardware to orbit. The week opens with a concentrated block of Chinese activity on July 29, followed by the NRO mission on July 30. Two of the three Chinese launches carry undisclosed payloads, and the

• Pentagon Deal Sets L3Harris to Quadruple THAAD Propulsion Output

  July 28, 2026

  L3Harris Technologies announced today that it has signed a seven-year framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War and Lockheed Martin to quadruple production of propulsion systems for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. The THAAD missile defense production agreement represents a major expansion of one of the most important upstream components in the U.S. missile defense supply chain and is expected to become the largest THAAD propulsion award L3Harris has received to date. THAAD i

• Rocket Lab Wins $266 Million Space Force Deal, Adds Alaska Launch Site

  July 27, 2026

  Rocket Lab will build a new launch site in Kodiak, Alaska, under a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 suborbital missions, the company's largest launch award to date. The deal expands Rocket Lab's role in military launch services as the Pentagon seeks more capacity for weapons testing. The contract was awarded by Space Systems Command's Rocket Systems Launch Program, which provides responsive launch services for research, development and operational test missions across the Def

• Anduril in Talks for Funding Round That Could Value It Near $100 Billion

  July 25, 2026

  Defense technology firm Anduril is in discussions with investors for a new funding round that could value the company at roughly $100 billion, two sources familiar with the matter said. Such a valuation would place the California startup close to established defense conglomerates including Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The talks come as Anduril has posted booming military sales and drawn investor enthusiasm around its suite of drones, software and missiles amid the U.S. conflict with Ir

• Saltzman Warns No Nation Can "Steer Clear" of a War in Space

  July 23, 2026

  The outgoing head of the U.S. Space Force used his final public speech to warn international partners that a conflict extending into orbit would leave no military or nation untouched. Speaking on July 15 at the 2026 Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said orbital mechanics would place every spacefaring nation inside the combat zone whether it wanted to be there or not. The warning drew on the physical reality of Earth orbit, which is not unlim

• China's Shijian-31 Uses a Novel Molniya Orbit to Sweep the Geostationary Belt

  July 23, 2026

  A classified Chinese satellite launched in June is operating in an orbit analysts say they have never seen before, giving it a unique vantage point over the geostationary belt. Shijian-31 is using a modified Molniya type trajectory to loiter over the equator and monitor satellites in geostationary orbit, a novel application of a concept traditionally reserved for the northern hemisphere. Shijian-31 launched on a Long March 3B from Xichang spaceport on June 16. Navigation warnings and the launch

• Boeing Directs All Space Investment to Defense as Starliner Recovery Continues

  July 21, 2026

  Boeing is concentrating its entire space investment on national security and defense work, its Defense, Space and Security CEO Steve Parker said, positioning the military side of the portfolio as the company's future while it works to get the troubled Starliner crew capsule back on track. Parker, speaking to reporters ahead of the Farnborough Air Show in London, framed defense as the area where Boeing is already a leader. The comments come as Starliner has drawn nearly all public attention with

• Space Force Commander Declares Return to Spectrum Dominance After Middle East Operations

  July 21, 2026

  The commander of U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command declared on July 17, 2026, that recent multi-domain joint deployments in the Middle East mark a decisive return to American electromagnetic spectrum dominance. Speaking at a virtual event, military leadership said orbital assets have shifted from passive tactical support to active catalysts inside the joint combat formation. The declaration was made at an event hosted by the Air and Space Forces Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospa

• Pentagon More Than Triples National Security Launch Ceiling to $17 Billion

  July 20, 2026

  The Department of Defense added $11.4 billion to its National Security Space Launch contract pool on Friday, raising the total ceiling from $5.6 billion to $17 billion. The move more than triples the funding available in a single action, signaling a major acceleration in the Pentagon's planned launch tempo for its most sensitive military and intelligence payloads. The contract increase is the latest example of the US government committing resources to its launch program to counter Russian and C

• Space Force Chief Nominee Warns of China's "Breathtakingly Fast" Space Advances

  July 17, 2026

  Lt. Gen. Doug Schiess, nominated to become the third chief of the U.S. Space Force, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that China's rapidly advancing space capabilities are a primary justification for the service's budget. His confirmation hearing was short and nonconfrontational, and he is expected to succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman as chief of space operations. Schiess described the pace of China's development in space as "breathtakingly fast," using that assessment to frame the