The State Department approved a possible $2 billion sale of up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II laser guidance kits to Saudi Arabia, split evenly between air-to-air and air-to-ground variants.

Each guidance section costs $15,000 to $20,000, versus roughly $1 million for an AIM-120 or $450,000 for an AIM-9X, and will likely arm the RSAF's Eurofighter Typhoons and F-15SAs.

The deal comes as Iran escalates attacks on US-hosting nations and Saudi-Houthi tensions reignite, extending a pattern where fighters increasingly use cheap rockets to down drones and cruise missiles.

The Navy awarded Ursa Major $10 million to advance its 3D-printed MK 104 solid rocket motor, which powers the Standard Missile family, through critical design review and static fire testing.

The award targets a longstanding bottleneck; solid rocket motors have relied on just two manufacturers, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman, while a CSIS analysis estimates SM stockpiles need two years to replenish.

Static fire tests are planned this fall, with design review likely in early 2027, and Ursa expects the Navy to eventually downselect or carry multiple vendors forward.

The Pentagon reached framework agreements with Anduril, CoAspire and Zone 5 Technologies under the Family of Affordable Mass Missiles program, targeting roughly $218,000 per round versus $1.3 million for a JASSM.

The program splits into a fighter and bomber-carried variant and an airlifter-dropped variant, both ranging 250 to 500 miles, with the Air Force seeking up to 8,000 rounds a year across vendors.

Budget plans call for 28,000 missiles over five years for $12.6 billion, though the agreements still require testing, qualification and congressional funding before becoming firm orders.

President Trump is expected to urge top defense executives to accelerate production at a Pennsylvania summit, as prolonged conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East strain US stockpiles and industrial capacity.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told industry Tuesday to "go faster," while acquisition chief Michael Duffey cited roughly $20 billion in private investment tied to expanding Patriot production.

Startups are increasingly challenging legacy solid rocket motor makers for munitions work, pressure that is reshaping how the Pentagon structures long-term procurement contracts with industry.

Ghostworks unveiled MRLN, a remote-pilot autonomy system letting a single uncrewed vessel shift between ISR, resupply, mine countermeasures and logistics missions without changing hulls.

Developed with General Atomics and Mercury Marine, MRLN debuted on the 40-foot Minerva-class M-Hull, which carries 17,500 pounds at 30 knots in Sea State 4 conditions.

The system targets the traditional naval tradeoff between speed, range and payload, letting commanders reconfigure one platform mission to mission instead of fielding separate specialized vessels.

Destinus, MBDA, Safran, Airbus and Thales signed a letter of intent to form the Bliksem EXO consortium, aiming for a binding agreement within three months and a space intercept test in 2027.

The system targets threats like Russia's maneuvering Oreshnik missile via kinetic hit-to-kill above the atmosphere, closing a gap Europe now covers only through US Aegis Ashore sites and German-bought Arrow-3.

Destinus leads system integration while MBDA, Safran, Airbus and Thales handle the booster, seeker, battle management and radar chain, targeting full interoperability with NATO's integrated air and missile defense.

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