WASHINGTON. The U.S. Navy awarded contracts to two companies to build a total of nine Arleigh Burke-class Flight III guided-missile destroyers (DDG-51) under the terms of five-year contracts. 

NORTHBROOK, Ill. The global market for uncrewed aerial systems (UASs, also called drones) used in combat, valued at $7.2 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $10.8 billion by 2028, at a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6%, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, "Combat Drone Market."

WASHINGTON. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded a follow-on production other transaction authority (OTA) agreement to Booz Allen Hamilton for "Thunderdome," DISA’s zero-trust network access and application security architecture.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. An upcoming surge in the global military avionics market is projected, with estimates suggesting it could reach $57 billion by 2030, a new report predicts.

GDANSK, Poland. The construction of the first of two new signal intelligence (SIGINT) ships for the Polish Navy is underway at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. The process was initiated with a keel-laying ceremony, marking a key stage in the shipbuilding process, according to a statement from Saab, who won the contract in November 2022.

DENVER, Colorado. Lockheed Martin has won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate a nuclear-powered spacecraft as part of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) project, according to a company statement.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has expanded a contract for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) driven techniques for drone sensors to Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation, according to a statement from the company. This technology will be used for autonomously controlling a Heterogeneous Sensing Network (HSN).

ORLANDO, Florida. EIZO Rugged Solutions Inc. has launched the Condor GR2S-A4500-ETH, a 3U OpenVPX graphics card aligned with Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) standards and designed for compute-intensive sensor processing applications, the company announced in a statement.

WATERLOO, Ontario. Pixus Technologies has introduced new 1/2 to 3/4 size Air Transport Rack (ATR) enclosures, in line with the Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) technical standard, according to a company statement.

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait. U.S. Army Central (USARCENT) launched the "Green Sands" training session July 13-24 in Kuwait to allow U.S. soldiers to train in counter-UAS (C-UAS) operations, according to the agency's announcement.

BOSTON, Massachusetts. Teledyne FLIR Defense has won a five-year contract to provide the U.S. Army with Black Hornet 3 Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS), the company announced in a statement.

GREENLAWN, N.Y. BAE Systems signed a $15 million contract with the U.S. Navy to deliver its next-generation digital interrogator for maritime vessels, which the company details will have capabilities including those that can enable users to gain time-critical insights that reduce friendly-fire incidents and support mission success in hostile environments.

DALLAS. The global market for military products and systems is predicted to reach an estimated $8.8 billion by 2028, experiencing a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2023 to 2028, according to a new report from Lucintel, "Military Market: Trends, Opportunities and Competitive Analysis, 2023-2028." 

STRATFORD, Conn. Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin company) completed four verification demonstrations of its RAIDER X system -- its entry in the competition for the U.S. Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) -- with third-party integrators validating its modular open systems approach (MOSA), in preparation for the first Army-led event verifying the technology.

SYDNEY, Australia. In a first for the Australian military, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) performed a live fire test of a Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (SSM) off Australia's east coast, the Australian government announced in a statement.