As defense primes try to mollify Trump, dividends seem likely to continue
Companies vowed to increase capital expenditures in 2026, with some also signaling plans to stop stock buybacks this year.
Amid Trump’s broadsides, RTX tells investors it’s ‘committed’ to paying dividends
RTX and Northrop are the first major defense companies to declare fourth-quarter 2025 earnings this week, and their approach on dividends could signal how industry at large is interpreting the Jan. 7 executive order.
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Data overload threatens decisionmakers as autonomy expands
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
How defense contractors invest their money, in 4 charts
In the wake of Trump's executive order limiting Pentagon contractors' spending, take a look at eight companies' dividends, stock buybacks and more.
With the boom for solid rocket motors for missiles, a perilous crunch in the supply chain
To increase munitions stockpiles, the US military needs more solid rocket motors. Deep into the supply chain, there are still problems, executives told Breaking Defense.
Northrop, Kratos team picked for Marine Corps drone wingmen
Northrop Grumman will serve as the prime contractor and integrate mission systems on Kratos’s XQ-58 Valkyrie for the Marine Corps’s MUX TACAIR Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
The drone wingman race kicks into high(er) gear: 2026 preview
Sometime in 2026, the Air Force will make a decision about what designs to produce for the first round of its drone wingmen program. The service is also expected to home in on what it wants next.
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Voyager is accelerating access to space
After manifesting 1,400 payloads aboard the ISS, Voyager is applying its mission management expertise to the next generation of space stations, ensuring uninterrupted mission readiness and success from the ground to space.
SDA awards four contracts worth $3.5B for next-gen missile tracking satellites
Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab USA, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris Technologies each won awards to "deliver and operate 18 space vehicles" for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 3 Tracking Layer.
Air Force expects first delivery of delayed Boeing Air Force One jets in ‘mid-2028’
The new date marks some progress for the beleaguered Air Force One program, whose challenges have cost Boeing billions of dollars.
Air Force poised to retake ‘Looking Glass’ mission from Navy
The move would once again make it the Air Force’s responsibility to maintain airborne command posts capable of launching nuclear ICBMs.
Project Talon: Northrop unveils new loyal wingman drone design
"The idea was to see if we could build an aircraft that had all the same capability of our original offering [for the Air Force's CCA program], and do it faster,” said Tom Jones, Northrop's head of aeronautic systems.
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Meeting Zero Trust goals while maintaining information dominance
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
IBCS set for full rate production, Polish milestone, Northrop says
“We have the capacity to….increase our production by two, three or even four times what we do today," said Kenn Todorov, vice president and general manager of C2 and weapons integration at Northrop Grumman.
L3Harris F-16 EW system cleared for low-rate production, company says
The defense contractor is also making a play to dislodge Northrop Grumman as the supplier for US Air Force F-16 EW kits.
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Powering the future: Securing America with domestically made microelectronics
Onshoring and investment in military-specific semiconductors anchor a cornerstone of the defense industrial base.
NATO allies cancel E-7A Wedgetail order, eye replacement, says Netherlands
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters today at the alliance's AWACS main operating base in Geilenkirchen, Germany, that an E-3A Sentry replacement process is "ongoing."