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The U.S. Defense Department and Lockheed Martin signed a framework agreement on Sept. 17, 2026, to expand production of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM), laying the groundwork for a future multiyear procurement of the classified long-range air-to-air weapon.

The agreement is neither a contract nor an order for missiles. Officials described it as a demand signal to Lockheed and its suppliers to justify investing in capacity, workforce and production efficiencies. Should Congress authorize and fund a multiyear buy, the aim is for production lines to be ready when orders arrive.

The announcement did not include information about the scale or timeline for the production ramp-up, nor the dollar amount associated with the agreement. Lockheed said it will invest its own money to expand capacity in advance of any orders, but did not provide specifics about the level of internal investment.

“Speed, scale, and stability drive acquisition excellence, and these gears must turn in unison,” Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey said in a release. “Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to sending clear, long-term demand signals across the defense industrial base.”

Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said the company will invest its own money to expand capacity in advance of any orders.

“JATM is one of our nation’s most important air dominance capabilities, but because of the classified nature of the program, it’s also a story we haven’t been able to tell,” Cahill said in a statement. “We’re proud to finally talk about the extraordinary work behind this missile and how we’re working with the U.S. government to rapidly scale production.”

Lockheed has been developing JATM for the U.S. Air Force and Navy to outrange and eventually replace the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The company said the AIM-260 offers greater range and effectiveness than current U.S. air-to-air weapons. Public estimates put its range at more than 120 miles, a response to longer-range Chinese weapons such as the PL-15.

Sized to fit the internal bays of fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35, the missile must deliver that added range with a footprint no larger than the AMRAAM it replaces. The first public images of the missile were taken May 13, when aviation photographer Jonathan Tweedy photographed an AIM-260 loaded on a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The framework agreement sets the stage for future multi-year procurement of JATM and boosting foreign military sales, the Pentagon stated in a news release. In August, Australia announced plans to become the first international JATM customer.

Sources: Defense News · Breaking Defense

The U.S. Navy has awarded defense startup Castelion a $200 million production delivery order for its Blackbeard hypersonic missile, the service announced Tuesday. The weapon is described as a low-cost, scalable, air-launched hypersonic strike weapon that can be fielded across carrier strike groups, providing carrier-based strike fighters with a responsive, long-range, high-speed strike option against maritime and land targets.

The Navy championed the contract as one of the first successful examples of the Department of the Navy Rapid Capabilities Office and how it “has adapted its acquisition structure to more rapidly meet the needs of the warfighter,” according to the service’s press release.

According to Inside Defense, Blackbeard is intended to serve as a standoff weapon with a 200-nautical-mile range, arming aircraft including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

The award leverages the Small Business Innovation Development Act from the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act “to rapidly transition successful technology developed through private capital investment directly into production,” the Navy said. The approach “reduces millions of dollars in redundant, non-recurring engineering costs while introducing aggressive commercial competition into the munitions production ecosystem,” according to the release.

The latest contract follows a series of related awards to Castelion. In February, the Navy awarded the startup nearly $50 million after selecting Blackbeard for its Multimission Affordable Capacity Effector (MACE) program. The Navy earmarked $156 million in its fiscal 2027 budget request to procure 353 MACE missiles. In June, the Navy awarded the company $23.4 million for pre-production prototypes and 50 associated storage and shipping containers, according to Castelion.

The Navy has long sought an air-launched hypersonic anti-surface missile and, since 2021, pursued an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile through the program dubbed Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (HALO). In subsequent years, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin competed for that contract, with the Navy hoping to field HALO before 2030. However, the service scrapped the program in 2024, citing budgetary constraints.

Sources: Defence Blog · Defence Blog

The U.S. State Department on Sept. 17, 2026, approved a potential Foreign Military Sale of up to 48 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, valued at up to $24.3 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the potential sale the same day, starting a 30-day review period during which lawmakers can object to the deal.

The package includes 49 Pratt & Whitney F135 engines — one spare beyond the 48 needed to power the aircraft — along with secure communications and navigation equipment, electronic warfare support, training simulators, spare parts, and years of maintenance and logistics support. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pratt & Whitney Military Engines in East Hartford, Connecticut, would be the main contractors, according to the Defence Blog. The State Department’s notice did not mention weapons or delivery timelines.

In a statement, Lockheed Martin said the government-to-government agreement “exemplifies our shared commitment to enduring security, stability, and long-term cooperation,” adding that the aircraft’s capabilities “directly support” Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Pratt & Whitney referred questions to the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office.

President Donald Trump first pledged to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia in November 2025, ahead of a Washington visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, when the two countries also signed an agreement designating Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally. Trump repeated the commitment in March 2026, according to the Defence Blog. The approval would make Saudi Arabia the second country in the Middle East, after Israel, cleared to fly the stealth aircraft.

The sale has drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers following a New York Times report that U.S. intelligence warned the transfer could give Beijing access to the jet’s sensitive technology. It is unclear whether enough legislators oppose the deal to block it, Breaking Defense reported.

The State Department’s notice states the sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” and that it “will not alter the military balance in the region.”

The terms of the deal are not final, as prices and quantities can fluctuate during negotiations. The congressional notification is not a signed contract; formal negotiations between the U.S. and Saudi governments would follow the review period.

Sources: DVIDS News · Breaking Defense

A new report from the American Foreign Policy Council finds the United States has no tested plan for responding to a nuclear detonation in space, based on a series of 2025 war games that tested possible responses to such a crisis. The report, published April 24, 2026, analyzed the outcome of two workshops held in May 2025 with former officials from the National Security Council, the Pentagon, the intelligence community, the Space Force, U.S. Space Command and the commercial satellite industry.

The war games used three draft contingency plans—for a suspected nuclear device in orbit, a confirmed device, and a detonation—applied to four scenarios using a fictional Russian satellite modeled on a real Russian platform and a Chinese adversary as stand-ins. In the second scenario, Russia announced it had a nuclear weapon in orbit and warned the U.S. to comply with its demands or lose its military and commercial satellites, a threat the workshop judged credible and one against which the U.S. “appears to lack response options.” The third and fourth scenarios detonated a weapon outright, first in low orbit and then in geostationary orbit as a Chinese demonstration during a Taiwan crisis, with strategists finding no capability in existence to recover from either.

Across all four scenarios, the report concluded that the U.S. can defend its own satellites against an adversary’s direct action, but it has no tested plan for detecting, managing or recovering from an adversary’s nuclear weapon in orbit.

The report follows Air Force Secretary Troy Meink’s confirmation that the United States “now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” the first public acknowledgment by any American official that the U.S. has such weapons. That confirmation prompted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to declare that “We believe that space must be free of any weapon,” according to AFP. Also last week, Ukrainian military intelligence said it breached the network of Russia’s Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology and obtained documents on a Russian orbital program, including “a scalable, unified space platform called ‘Tiporyad,’ aimed at enhancing the reconnaissance, communication, and command capabilities of the Russian army.”

Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, said in April that Russia “continues to invest in counter-space weapons, with the most concerning reports being that they are potentially thinking about placing on orbit a nuclear ASAT weapon.” Such a weapon “would hold at risk everyone’s satellites in low Earth orbit, and that would be an outcome that we just couldn’t tolerate,” he said.

Context

The report’s findings come as the U.S. Missile Defense Agency on September 16 posted a pre-solicitation notice for a new mobile radar, called Forward Based Mode Radar Next, designed to be flown into a war zone aboard a C-17 and set up within hours. The agency says current forward-based radars are largely static or semi-mobile, making them vulnerable to counterattack. The notice is not a request for proposals, and no timeline for a formal solicitation has been announced.

Sources: USNI News · Defense News

The U.S. Air Force is again considering buying newly built F-16 fighters, possibly an upgraded F-16G variant, to address the aging of its fleet, according to multiple sources who spoke with Air and Space Forces Magazine and Aviation Week, which first reported the news. The service has not defined mission requirements or options, an Air Force spokesperson said.

The move follows a Congressional Research Service report published earlier this month that said the Air Force had 1,098 fighters in May 2026, 47 aircraft below the statutory requirement of 1,145. The service aims to increase its fighter fleet to 1,558 aircraft by 2035, with an interim objective of about 1,369 fighters by 2030.

According to the sources, the procurement could involve a new variant called F-16G, described as an improved version of the Block 70 currently in production. Aviation Week reports the variant could include conformal fuel tanks, 600-gallon wing tanks, an infrared search and track pod, a Sniper targeting pod, and a drag chute.

The Block 70, upon which the F-16G would be based, includes the APG-83 AESA radar, a new Center Pedestal Display, the AN/APX-126 Advanced IFF, Link 16 datalink, full NVIS and JHCMS II compatibility, a new Embedded GPS/INS, a modern COTS-based avionics subsystem, a high-volume data bus, and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System. Newly built aircraft would have an extended structural life of 12,000 hours, more than 50 percent beyond previous production F-16s.

The 826 F-16s currently in service are on average 34 years old and have already undergone a service life extension program. The last F-16C delivered to the Air Force was Block 50 CC-231 AF 01-7053, on Mar. 18, 2005.

“The Department of the Air Force is in initial phases of analyzing options for the next Future Years Defense Program,” an Air Force spokesperson said. “At this stage, we have neither defined the precise mission requirements nor the spectrum of options that could fill it.”

Lockheed Martin said it stands ready to support the Air Force. “Our proven products are the backbone of the USAF fleet and provide the most advanced and versatile capabilities to ensure air dominance now and for decades to come,” a company spokesperson said.

The Air Force has said it is not projected to have sufficient obligation authority to afford increased production rates of F-35As and F-15EXs, which could reach about 100 and 24 per year respectively by 2030. Adding F-16s would add another stream of aircraft to help reach the 1,558-aircraft goal more quickly, even with slower procurement rates.

Sources: The Aviationist · The War Zone

The U.S. Air Force is considering buying new F-16 fighters to address a shortfall in its fighter fleet, a move that would supplement the F-35 and future Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft. The Air Force has not confirmed a requirement, saying it is still analyzing options for its next Future Years Defense Program.

Lockheed Martin declined to confirm details about the F-16G when asked on Sept. 16, saying only that it remains ready to support the Air Force’s mission needs. The Air Force likewise declined to comment on the F-16G specifically, stating it is in the early stages of reviewing options for its next Future Years Defense Program and has not yet settled on requirements.

F-16G Details

According to a Defence Blog report citing Aviation Week, the F-16G would build on the current Block 70 F-16, Lockheed’s newest production version, and add:

• Conformal fuel tanks
• 600-gallon wing tanks
• An infrared search and track pod
• A Sniper targeting pod
• A drag chute

These additions would extend the jet’s range and give it greater sensor capability compared with earlier F-16 models still flying in Air Force squadrons.

Background and Context

The idea of buying new F-16s is not new. Then-Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Will Roper raised the option in 2021, pointing to the active F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina, as a way to add capacity while the F-35 program worked through its delivery pace. Lockheed builds F-16s and F-35s at separate facilities, but the F-35’s more complex production process has left the Air Force short of new airframes to replace F-16s reaching the end of their service lives.

A 2025 Air Force study identified a need for more fighter production to close a growing capacity gap. The Congressional Research Service says the service wants to grow its fighter inventory from 1,098 aircraft in fiscal 2026 to 1,558 by fiscal 2035, a target the Air Force has described as necessary to keep risk to its operations at an acceptable level under the National Military Strategy.

Inside Defense reported in December 2025 that the Air Force was considering a new F-16 variant as a lower-cost way to fill capability gaps than buying more F-35s. Air and Space Forces Magazine has reported that the F-16G is expected to come up for discussion at an upcoming Corona conference, the periodic gathering of the service’s top generals.

Neither the Air Force nor Lockheed Martin has said when a decision on the F-16G might come, or how many aircraft such a program could involve.

Sources: Shephard Media · Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Air Force is establishing a new career field and weapon system to counter drone and missile threats to its bases, a direct response to recent attacks on US installations, service officials announced Sept. 16, 2026.

The new career field will focus on operating and maintaining the new weapon system, which is designed to detect, track, and defeat small unmanned aircraft systems and cruise missiles. The service did not disclose the system’s name, cost, or fielding timeline in the announcement.

The decision follows a series of attacks on US bases in the Middle East and elsewhere, which have highlighted the growing threat from low-cost drones and missiles. The Air Force has been exploring ways to bolster base defenses, including directed-energy weapons and other counter-drone systems.

“We are committed to protecting our Airmen and our installations from emerging threats,” said a service official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This new career field and weapon system will give us the capability to defend against these threats effectively.”

In a related development, BAE Systems unveiled a new family of compact electronic warfare systems, called Shadow EW, on Sept. 15, 2026, at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The systems are designed to bring electronic warfare capabilities to small drones and other airborne platforms, potentially complementing the Air Force’s new base defense efforts.

The Shadow EW family includes three variants: the Shadow EW 100, Shadow EW 120, and Shadow EW 500. The Shadow EW 100 covers 70 MHz to 6 GHz, the Shadow EW 120 extends coverage down to 5 MHz, and the Shadow EW 500 covers 10 MHz to 18 GHz with two wideband receiver channels for direction finding and geolocation.

The Air Force’s new career field and weapon system are part of a broader effort to adapt to the changing threat environment, where adversaries increasingly use low-cost drones and missiles to attack high-value targets.

Sources: Stars and Stripes · DVIDS News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced plans to exhume and identify the Korean War remains interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, a move that will open the hallowed monument for the first time in decades.

The remains, designated as the Korean War Unknown, were interred in the tomb in 1958. The exhumation is part of an ongoing effort by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to identify unknown service members from past conflicts using modern forensic techniques, including DNA analysis.

Officials said the decision follows years of advances in forensic science that may now allow for identification. The exact date of the exhumation has not been announced.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier also holds remains from World War I and World War II, which will not be disturbed. The Korean War Unknown was selected for exhumation because of the likelihood of successful identification, according to the report.

In related news, the Army has announced the identification and burial of several other service members lost in past conflicts:

• Army Pfc. Howard G. Krapf, missing from World War II, will be interred Sept. 21 at Fairview Cemetery in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania. Krapf was killed by enemy machine gun fire on Nov. 8, 1944, during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. His remains were found in April 1948 by a German demining team.
• Army Cpl. Richard N. Lennox, 18, will be interred Sept. 19 at Lakeside Memorial Cemetery in Holly, Michigan. Lennox was captured in November 1950 and died in late October 1951 at Prisoner of War Camp 1 in Changsong, North Korea. His remains, designated Unknown X-14257, were disinterred on June 13, 2016, by DPAA personnel.
• Army Technician Fifth Grade Robert W. Hirst, 22, will be interred Sept. 24 at Kentucky Veterans Central Cemetery in Radcliff, Kentucky. Hirst died of malaria on July 5, 1942, at Cabanatuan Prison Camp in the Philippines, after surviving the Bataan Death March.

The Pentagon’s decision to exhume the Korean War Unknown reflects a stated commitment to identify all unaccounted-for service members from past conflicts, according to officials.

Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News

The U.S. Navy has awarded Castelion a production delivery order valued at up to $200 million to manufacture Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapons for carrier-based aviation, the company announced Sept. 16.

The order, placed by the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation (PAE(A)) office through its Future Capability Development and Integration Aviation Rapid Capabilities Cell, covers the manufacture, assembly, testing, and delivery of an initial lot of Blackbeard Hypersonic Weapons. The award follows an order for 50 Early Operational Capability (EOC) weapons placed in June.

According to Defense Department contracts cited by USNI News, $43 million of the new funding will support production of 444 Blackbeard missiles. Castelion is aiming to keep per-missile costs around $500,000 to enable mass affordable production, USNI reported.

Blackbeard is an air-launched hypersonic strike weapon designed to give naval aviation a responsive, long-range, high-speed strike option against maritime and land targets, according to Castelion. The company said the weapon significantly increases magazine depth and expands the lethal reach of naval aviation.

Castelion CEO Bryon Hargis said the Navy’s decision to move into production reflects confidence in the program.

“The Navy’s decision to move into production reflects its confidence in the Blackbeard program, and the progress we’ve made together,” Hargis said. “That’s how you get capability to the fleet fast, clear red tape, and partner with industry.”

Castelion said it developed Blackbeard with hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force. The company’s production strategy uses vertical integration and commercial manufacturing methods to control cost, quality, and schedule from raw material to finished round.

Work under the award will be performed at Project Ranger, the company’s 1,000-acre manufacturing campus in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and at its facility in Torrance, California.

The award builds on a series of U.S. Army and U.S. Navy platform integration contracts, according to the company.

Sources: Naval News · USNI News

China on Tuesday urged the United States to halt its military buildup in outer space, a day after Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink confirmed that the U.S. has “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.” Meink made the statement on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in what the Space Force’s official account described as the first acknowledgment that it had deployed weapons in space. He did not identify the systems, their number, when they were launched, or whether they could strike objects in space, on the ground, or both.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo stated at a regular press briefing on Tuesday that Washington should “stop expanding military build-up in outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions.” China’s state-backed Global Times reported on Tuesday that the disclosure exposed what it called Washington’s pursuit of “space hegemony” and risked fueling a global space arms race. Chinese military analyst Song Zhongping told the newspaper the acknowledgment marked a shift from protecting space assets and relying on ground-based counter-space systems toward directly deploying weapons in orbit.

Meink’s wording does not establish that the United States has placed guns, explosives, or missile interceptors in orbit, according to Military.com. Space Force doctrine defines space control as offensive and defensive operations conducted to gain and maintain freedom of action in space. Offensive counter space operations can impair or destroy an adversary’s space capabilities, while defensive operations protect U.S. systems. Non-kinetic options include electronic warfare that jams communications, cyber operations against satellites or ground stations, and directed energy that can disrupt or damage sensors.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty does not impose a complete ban on weapons in Earth orbit. Article IV prohibits placing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit and bars military bases, weapons tests, and maneuvers on the moon and other celestial bodies. It does not categorically prohibit weapons orbiting Earth. Article III requires space activities to comply with international law, including the United Nations Charter. Possessing an orbital weapon is not itself a use of force, although threatening to use it could violate the charter if using it in the stated circumstances would be unlawful.

In 2022, the United States committed not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile tests and backed a United Nations resolution to that effect. The U.S. has also produced debris by destroying a satellite, although on a smaller and shorter-lived scale. Anti-satellite attacks add long-lived debris to an already congested environment, and if debris in a particular orbit reaches a critical concentration, NASA warns that the cascade could continue without additional launches and eventually make that region too dangerous to use.

Both governments have developed counter space capabilities of their own, according to public assessments. Last week, state news agency Xinhua said in an analysis of a U.S. orbital military exercise that Washington’s push to weaponize this domain risked creating a “security dilemma,” forcing other countries to strengthen counter-space capabilities that the United States would then regard as new threats.

“If the U.S. continues down this path, other countries may be forced to respond,” Song Zhongping told the Global Times.

Meink’s statement marks the first time a Pentagon official has so directly acknowledged offensive weapons in orbit, but he provided no further details on the systems’ capabilities or deployment timeline.

Sources: Defense News · Air Force Times