Some people’s retirement plans involve beach houses and golf. For others, hypersonic missiles and startups. On Monday, Castelion announced the hire of Capt. Greg Zettler, the Navy’s most recent Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) Program Manager, following his retirement after three decades in uniform. We told you the hype for hypersonics is real—and the startup scene […]
Looks like the Navy is getting into the energy biz. Late last week, the Department of the Navy released a solicitation asking industry to develop “innovative, deployable energy solutions capable of powering Navy and Marine Corps installations with unmatched resilience, security, and reliability.” The idea is to build super-rugged energy infrastructure that can provide power […]
Tiny planes are truly having their moment. On Thursday, VTOL giant Archer Aviation went on a shopping spree—snapping up a manufacturing facility and assets, plus another VTOL maker’s patent portfolio—to speed development of its next-gen defense aircraft. Tiny plane, big impact: In case you don’t know, Archer was founded in California in 2018 by Adam […]
Everyone really is getting into defense—including Canadian satellite companies. This week, two of the country’s space giants—MDA Space and Telesat—announced plans to launch fresh satellite constellations in 2026 to support Canada’s growing defense needs. The news comes as Canada ramps up its air and missile defense posture and looks poised to collaborate with the United […]
When we said the Anduril empire was expanding, we didn’t necessarily mean to the Indo-Pacific, but here we are. Yesterday, the defense tech giant (and newly-minted SRM supplier) announced that it’s officially opening a Taiwan office, teaming up with local partners including the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), and speeding up delivery […]
The Anduril empire just keeps on growing. This morning, everyone’s favorite neoprime announced that it’s officially opened its new full-rate solid rocket motor (SRM) production facility in McHenry, Mississippi, which it says will be able to produce 6,000 tactical motors a year by the end of 2026. The company says it invested $75M of its […]
We told you everyone loves a tiny little plane. On Friday, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft giant Joby Aviation ($JOBY) announced that it’s teaming up with everyone’s favorite defense contractor, L3Harris Technologies ($LHX). The two companies say they will work together to develop a “new aircraft class for defense applications.” “We have worked closely […]
You know what they say: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Yesterday, Northrop Grumman announced the first six startups that will join its “Beacon Project” to “rapidly test and deliver new autonomous solutions at scale.” Seems the big time prime might be realizing what we’ve been waxing lyrical about for ages: Especially when it […]
Another heavyweight is jumping into the command and control (C2) ring. This morning, unmanned surface vessel (USV) maker Saronic Technologies unveiled Echelon, a C2 system built for the unique demands of the maritime domain. Saronic CTO Vibhav Altekar described it to Tectonic as a unified portal to manage everything that could impact an autonomous fleet. […]
If you’re getting tired of reading about drones, you’re in the wrong place—because business is booming. Just look at Auterion: The autonomy software firm said Monday it will send 33,000 AI-powered drone guidance “strike kits” to Ukraine by year’s end under a new $50M Pentagon contract. While this isn’t Auterion’s first rodeo in Ukraine, it’s […]
