Category -- Air -- The Defense Post

Feb- 2026 -

18 February

Ronald Watkins

UK Awards $16M Contract to Advance Hypersonic Missile Design

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded $16.2 million to Amentum UK to develop a hypersonic missile system.

18 February

Rojoef Manuel

Saab, Ukraine Company Sign Memorandum on Aviation, Airborne Surveillance

Swedish company Saab and the Joint Stock Company Ukrainian Defense Industry have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in aviation and airborne surveillance.

18 February

Giulia Bernacchi

Ukraine Revives Military Balloons for Modern Warfare Needs: Report

Ukrainian military units are increasingly using air balloons as a low-cost tool on the battlefield for strike support and more.

18 February

A QinetiQ helicopter in flight, featuring a critical component manufactured via 3D printing from recycled aircraft scrap metal.

Ethan M. Encarnacion

UK Innovates With 3D-Printed Aircraft Parts Made From Scrap Titanium

QinetiQ has claimed a first for global aviation: flying an aircraft with 3D-printed parts created from recycled titanium.

18 February

Akhsan Erido Elezhar

Northrop’s ‘Valen’ Packs Radar, EW, and Comms Into One Sensing Tech

Northrop Grumman’s new multi-function active electronically scanned array sensing tech promises to put US and allied warfighters ahead of the curve in any fight.

18 February

Jodesz Gavilan

Elbit Systems Awarded $435M Contracts for Advanced Defense Systems

Elbit Systems has been awarded approximately $435 million in international contracts to deliver advanced land systems and develop new defense capabilities over the next six years.

18 February

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD interceptor

Jodesz Gavilan

L3Harris Wins $400M THAAD Missile Upgrade Contract

L3Harris Technologies has received a $400-million contract to produce additional solid rocket booster motors and Liquid Divert and Attitude Control Systems for the US THAAD missile defense system.

17 February

A U.S. Air Force 509th Bomb Wing B-2 Spirit approaches a 351st Aerial Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker during the Bomber Task Force training exercise over England, Aug. 29, 2019. The BTF consists of Airmen and support equipment from the 509th BW, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, deployed to The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa to conduct theater integration and flying training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jordan Castelan)

Rojoef Manuel

Boeing to Replenish US Bunker Buster Bombs Used in Iran Strikes

Boeing has secured a contract worth over $100 million to supply Guided Bomb Unit and Massive Ordnance Penetrators for the US Air Force.

17 February

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tours SpaceX facilities with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as part of his Arsenal of Freedom Tour, Brownsville, Texas, Jan. 12, 2025. (DoW photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

Rojoef Manuel

Elon Musk Firms Enter Secret Pentagon Challenge for Voice-Based Drone Swarming Tech

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its subsidiary xAI are joining a secretive US Department of Defense competition centered on a voice command and control tool that could deploy multiple autonomous systems.

17 February

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 452nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port Flight at March Air Reserve Base, California, support loading operations of a next-generation nuclear reactor onto a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of Operation Windlord Feb. 15, 2026. The mission was conducted in coordination with Airmen from the 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and the 62nd Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The aircraft transported the reactor to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in support of a Department of War and Department of Energy partnership focused on nuclear energy testing and evaluation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wendy Day)

Rojoef Manuel

Pentagon Airlifts Microreactor to Utah in First C-17 Nuclear Transport

The US Department of Defense has airlifted a compact nuclear reactor from California to Utah, marking the first time a C-17 military transport aircraft has transported a nuclear microreactor.

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