defence trade

Reports the 412th Test Wing's 11 June 2026 milestone: an operational test pilot flew the B-21 alongside a developmental pilot — unprecedentedly early — marking the shift from airworthiness to combat evaluation (weapons, survivability, crew effectiveness).

“An operational test pilot has never reached the cockpit of a US Air Force aircraft this early in development.”

Reports the Air Force ramping B-21 production: Congress added $4.5B to accelerate output ~25% in 2026, with at least six airframes in production at Palmdale and delivery to Ellsworth targeted for 2027 — a rare on-track major program.

“Congress added $4.5 billion to accelerate B-21 production roughly 25 percent, with at least six airframes in production at Palmdale.”

Reports Israel delivering Tamir interceptors to the US Marine Corps' MRIC program, underscoring the joint Raytheon–Rafael production base (including the new Arkansas R2S plant) that now supplies both the US and Israel as both rebuild stocks.

“Israel delivered Tamir interceptors to the US Marine Corps for the MRIC program, drawing on the joint Raytheon–Rafael production base.”

Details the Tamir interceptor and the November 2025 ~$1.25B Raytheon–Rafael contract to supply Israel with Arkansas-built Tamir/SkyHunter, framed against the inventory strain from the 12-Day War's 500+ Iranian ballistic missiles.

“A Raytheon–Rafael venture won ~$1.25 billion in November 2025 to supply Israel with Arkansas-built Tamir interceptors alongside the US SkyHunter variant.”

Reports the Payne Institute estimate of 402 Patriots fired in Epic Fury's first 16 days and frames the war as a 'race of attrition' the US magazine cannot sustain. Stresses the failure mode is degraded coverage, not sudden collapse.

“U.S. forces fired an estimated 402 Patriots in the operation's first 16 days; under current contracts it would take more than two years to replace that many.”

Details the new SM-3 Block IB production order and RTX's plan to lift SM-6 output above 500/year (4x baseline) while accelerating SM-3 IB/IIA — but notes magazine depth won't recover to pre-2025 levels until 2028–29.

“RTX will raise SM-6 production above 500 units a year and accelerate SM-3, yet pre-2025 magazine depth will not return until 2028 or 2029.”

Reports the scaling of SM-3 interceptor support to $11.7B as Aegis defence expands through 2029, situating the surge within a multi-year plan to widen both inventory and production capacity, not just refill stocks.

“SM-3 interceptor support scales to $11.7 billion as Aegis missile defence expands through 2029.”