Welcome to today's Defense Business Briefing, your weekly roundup of the latest defense industry news.
Saronic raised $175M in private capital to aid the Navy in autonomous surface vessel demand
Saronic, a company that specializes in maritime defense, secured $175 million in private capital funding, valuing the company at $1 billion and giving way to continued development of autonomous surface vessels.
Bell revenues up $93M in second quarter due to FLRAA progress
Bell Textron's revenues were up $93 million in the second quarter of calendar year 2024 compared with the second quarter of 2023, executives said in the company's quarterly earnings call.
SECNAV announces $50 million Michigan workforce development initiative
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro today announced the official start of the new Michigan Maritime Manufacturing Initiative -- a shipbuilding jobs program that aims to build a training pipeline to staff thousands of defense industry jobs across the state of Michigan and the larger Great Lakes region.
Deloitte Consulting awarded $2.4 billion to orchestrate submarine production revival
The Defense Department has awarded Deloitte Consulting a contract worth as much as $2.4 billion over five years to bolster the submarine industrial base and improve production to a sustained rate of one Columbia- and two Virginia-class boats per year, according to a notice.
Connecticut lawmakers, Navy launch maritime workforce campaign to attract submarine builders
Two Connecticut House members have launched a new "maritime workforce campaign" in conjunction with the Navy and industry that aims to attract workers to the shipbuilding industry and improve submarine output, according to a Tuesday announcement from House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee Ranking Member Joe Courtney (D-CT).
The week ahead
Senior military officials are slated to speak at various defense forums this week.
Pentagon accepts first F-35s enabled with incomplete TR-3 upgrade
Lockheed Martin has delivered the first two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters fit with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 upgrade, officially lifting the Pentagon's year-long pause on accepting new jets despite the software still facing outstanding issues, according to a statement issued by the F-35 Joint Program Office.
New DOD Arctic strategy warns of 'insufficient investment' amid crowded global threat picture
The Defense Department has released a new Arctic strategy, cautioning that "insufficient investment" in early warning air defense sensors and other military readiness could imperil national security as the region becomes increasingly challenging for the U.S. military due to rising cooperation between Russia and China as well as the effects of climate change.