LONDON. U.K.-based defense technology company BAE Systems announced that it plans to acquire Ball Aerospace (Westminster, Colorado) for $5.5 billion.

LONDON, England. The Ministry of Defence, on behalf of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), has signed three contracts to bolster Ukraine's air defence capabilities with a total value surpassing £90m, the Ministry announced in a statement.

KARLSKRONA, Sweden. Saab has begun the production of composite masts for the Finnish Navy's upcoming vessels, with the first of four masts marked by a cutting ceremony at Saab’s facility in Karlskrona, the company announced in a statement.

MCLEAN, Virginia. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has ordered two REMUS 620 uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) from HII, the company announced in a statement.

ARLINGTON, Virginia. BAE Systems has been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Massive Cross Correlation (MAX) program, according to a statement from the company.

CHICAGO. The global artificial intelligence (AI) market, which totaled $150.2 billion in 2023, is predicted to grow to $1.35 trillion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.8% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, "Artificial Intelligence Market." 

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. The global military aircraft market will surge to $189.8 billion by 2031 as new procurement programs combined with modernization programs for existing aircraft drive market growth, a new report predicts.

LOWELL, Mass. The University of Massachusetts at Lowell (UMass Lowell) recently received nearly $5.5 million from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to develop a new hub at the university that offers a one-stop support system for researchers and businesses seeking to design, build, and test small satellites and spacecraft components.

SEATTLE. Software-integration startup Integrate won a $1.25 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to improve the Space Force's program-management software platform. 

DÜSSELDORF, Germany. Rheinmetall will send its LUNA NG air-supported short-range reconnaissance drone to Ukraine, with the expectation of delivery later this year, the company announced in a statement.

OSLO, Norway. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace will deliver multiple Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (C-UAS) to Ukraine, following an agreement with the International Fund for Ukraine, the company announced in a statement.

HOUSTON, Texas. NASA has selected Space & Technology Solutions, a joint venture between KBR and Intuitive Machines, to offer engineering expertise for several of its space orbital systems located within the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the company announced in a statement.

ANDOVER, Mass. Mercury Systems announced that it delivered the processing hardware for the U.S. Army’s first six Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radars, being built by Raytheon (an RTX business).

LAFAYETTE, Colo. Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) -- a subsidiary of RTX -- announced the successful launch and initial contact with CubeSats for the NASA Starling mission, a technology demonstration aimed at proving the success of cooperative groups of spacecraft operating in a swarm, or an autonomous, synchronous manner. 

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts. Raytheon has won a contract to support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) "In The Moment" (ITM) program, which aims to align artificial intelligence (AI) decisions with human values, the company announced in a statement.