48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2026
MIL/AERO007
As SpaceX Goes Public, the Market Hunts
for the Next Investable Launch Company ⊲
When SpaceX went public, the effect was immedi-
ate and structural: For the first time, the market had a
public reference price for the launch economy, and
every other space stock suddenly had a benchmark
to be measured against. Now, what are some of the
other companies to consider?
Ukrainian Drone Manufacturer UDD
Selects Northwest Ohio as First U.S.
Assembly and Manufacturing Center ⊲
UDD has chosen Northwest Ohio as its first
major U.S. assembly and manufacturing center
after receiving its first Pentagon contract. UDD is
expected to make a multimillion-dollar investment
in the new production project in the Village of
Holland, creating at least 300 new jobs.
JetZero Breaks Ground on First Aircraft
Factory in Greensboro, North Carolina ⊲
JetZero broke ground on its first manufacturing and
final assembly campus, an 8-million-square-foot
factory on more than 600 acres in Greensboro, North
Carolina. The project is supported by the largest-ever
state-level incentive package for any startup in any
industry. With a projected staff of 14,500 over the
next 10 years, JetZero will make the Z4 in Greens-
boro. It's designed for the unserved commercial
middle market, with 250 passenger capacity on a
range of up to 5,000 nautical miles.
Saab Receives Order for Giraffe 1X
Radars from Denmark ⊲
The Danish Armed Forces engaged Saab to
deploy several Giraffe 1X systems for survey-
ing both civil and military infrastructure. Saab
responded promptly, and after successfully oper-
ating the systems for over six months, the Danish
Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics
Organisation (DALO) has now placed a permanent
order for the systems.
Boeing Lab Tests Mark Major Step Toward
Space-based Quantum Network ⊲
Boeing announced that its Q4S quantum network-
ing satellite system successfully demonstrated
high-fidelity entanglement swapping during
ground testing on a compact, space-qualified
payload. This result marks a major step toward
proving quantum networking in orbit.
Muon Space Officially Opens High-Mix
Satellite Manufacturing Facility in San
Jose ⊲
Muon Space, the Mission Foundry for high-
performance satellite constellations, announced
the grand opening of its new advanced manu-
facturing facility in San Jose, California. The
130,000-square-foot facility significantly expands
Muon's manufacturing capacity and positions the
company to meet growing demand for satellite
constellations across national security, civil, and
commercial markets.
Lockheed Martin, GM Defense Team up
on U.S. Defense Manufacturing ⊲
Working under a memorandum of understand-
ing (MOU), Lockheed Martin and GM Defense will
explore opportunities to accelerate the delivery
of critical capabilities and innovation by combin-
ing Lockheed Martin's defense production exper-
tise with General Motors' advanced industrial
capabilities in high-rate commercial manufactur-
ing and engineering.
Teledyne FLIR Defense Wins $28.8M
CBP Contract for Mobile Surveillance
Systems ⊲
Under the 24-month contract, Teledyne FLIR
Defense will deliver an advanced version of its
Lightweight Vehicle Surveillance System (LVSS), a
highly mobile, multi-sensor platform designed to
provide situational awareness and boost operat-
ing efficiency for Border Patrol agents.
NASA Selects Rocket Lab to Launch
Sun, Earth Sciences Missions ⊲
Rocket Lab will fly two back-to-back Electron
launches for NASA's PolSIR mission from Launch
Complex 1 in New Zealand no earlier than June
2027. A separate Electron launch for NASA's
TSIS-2 mission will take place from the same
launch site in early 2027.
