Humna Khan

AeroVironment, a drone maker based in Virginia with major operations in Simi Valley, has appointed Robert Smith as its executive vice president and COO, effective April 13. https://lnkd.in/gpSn69ns

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Two big milestones for SOSV / SOSV HAX portfolio company Aspect Aerospace 🚀 They recently shared with Jason Rainbow at SpaceNews: ▪️ $1.9M Direct-to-Phase II (D2P2) SBIR award from the U.S. Space Force ▪️ $500K pre-seed investment from SOSV But what’s really interesting is how they’re rethinking spacecraft design. 🛰️ Instead of launching a single, expensive spacecraft, Aspect Aerospace is can deploy a "𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧-𝐚-𝐛𝐨𝐱", where a single host satellite (about the size of a dorm fridge) can carry, independently task, and deploy up to 100 single-board satellites, one-by-one or all at once for rapid response, on-demand missions. Think: real-time response to events like floods, where a host satellite can release an entire constellation to monitor conditions as they unfold. This is a fundamentally different model for space — more flexible, more responsive, and built for real-world use cases. Read more in SpaceNews linked in the comments. Drew Russ Sam Russ Edmund Spencer

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Joby Aviation and defense contractor L3Harris to test autonomous hybrid aircraft Joby's years of R&D with the DoD may be paying off. The company has signed an agreement with defense contractor L3Harris to develop a gas-turbine hybrid VTOL that can fly autonomously — for defense applications. https://lnkd.in/gcJKMNbc

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Leverington Industry was built to better lives world wide. By professional patent for industrial inventions, we create through empathic communication, to solve global issues and moving beyond simple product development to fostering a culture of applied innovation. This involves aligning every department, from R&D to production, toward solving complex industrial challenges rather than just creating new products. Leverington Industry mission, based on industry best practices: 1. Structure for Actionable Innovation (R&D) Move from Lab to Production Mindset: Do not treat scale-up as a separate phase. Incorporate production constraints—such as material costs, equipment speed, and energy usage—into the initial, invention stage. Invest in Technology Scouting: Establish a dedicated team to monitor trends, patents, and startups. This keeps the company at the forefront of industrial evolution rather than just reacting to it. Use "Gate" Reviews: Implement formal "decision gates" between R&D phases (e.g., feasibility, prototyping, validation) to ensure projects remain aligned with industry needs and provide real value. 2. Embed Innovation in Company Culture Reward Smart Risks: To invent, you must accept failure. Reward employees who take calculated risks, even if the project doesn’t reach commercialization. Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration: Bring production engineers, marketing teams, and customers into the design phase early to ensure inventions are marketable and manufacturable. Hire for Mission Alignment: Use behavioral interviews to select individuals who are passionate about solving industrial problems, not just working in a lab. 3. Focus on Tangible Industrial Impact Tie Inventions to KPIs: Ensure every invention is connected to a specific business key performance indicator (KPI)—like reducing costs by 10% or increasing output speed—to ensure it creates real-world value, not just fancy prototypes. Emphasize Sustainability: Modern industrial invention often requires designing products that are not just more efficient, but more sustainable. Use Agile Methodologies: Utilize iterative development cycles (Scrum or Kanban) to rapidly prototype and pivot based on industrial feedback, enabling faster time-to-market. 4. Engage with the Industry Co-Create with Customers: Involve end-users in the innovation process to ensure the "invention" solves a pain point that exists in their operational reality. Develop "Intelligent" Products: Focus on Industry 4.0 innovations—connecting products with AI, IoT, and data analytics to provide predictive maintenance or operational efficiencies for clients. NOTE: By treating the mission statement as a living, measurable commitment rather than just a tagline, the company ensures it is actively shaping the future of its industry. invent@Leveringtonindustry.com

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The Office of the Secretary of Defense is working with the ARM Institute and other manufacturing innovation institutes on this project.  The post ARM Institute opens project call for military supply chain technology appeared first on The Robot Report. #MilitaryInnovation #SupplyChainTechnology #DefenseIndustry #Manufacturing #WorkforceDevelopment

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🧭 SME Read — What This Means ●Technical: These interceptors must engage ballistic & potentially hypersonic threats in midcourse, from space-based firing positions — requiring cold-gas or micro-propulsion control, precise kill-vehicle guidance, thermal management, space-rated materials & burn-profile optimization. ●Tactical: The architecture will integrate into a layered kill chain w/ OPIR, ground-based radar, space sensors & C2 battle management systems. Latency, tracking continuity & cross-domain fusion are non-negotiable. ●Operational: The program must demonstrate orbital logistics, on-orbit checkout, autonomy for target discrimination, sustained availability & redundancy for constellation survivability under counter-space pressure. ●Strategic: This solicitation is the first concrete step toward a space-layer missile defense shield. Only firms capable of delivering lethal payloads, high-accuracy exo-atmospheric engagement & sustained constellation operations will survive evaluation. 🎯 Opps — CRG Clients Should Target ●Kill-vehicle subsystems (guidance, navigation, control, micro-propulsion). ●Sensor fusion + tracking algorithms tuned for space-layer discrimination. ●Space-qualified materials / thermal protection systems. ●Ground-to-orbit logistics + launch integration support. ●C2/BMC3 integration w/ existing missile-defense nodes. ●Autonomy & AI modules for on-orbit decision support. ●Space-based sustainment (diagnostics, telemetry, on-orbit service concepts). 💡 Hard Truth (SME Advice) - This is not a “we can learn as we go” opp. Companies must show: ●Proven space hardware lineage. ●Compliance with export controls, classified handling & mission assurance. ●Supply-chain integrity for sensitive components. ●Realistic pathway to prototype integration by Space Force deadlines. Most firms are simply not ready. Those who are — must move now. 🚀 Why CRG ●We win this tier of work: $Bn's in client TCV wins across defense, autonomy, missile defense & space-adjacent portfolios. ●We understand the buyers: We shape offerings to what PEO Space Systems & DRPM evaluators actually assess. ●We build mission-credible proposals: Technical, sustainment, cost, schedule — integrated and acquisition-viable. ●We qualify clients fast: Capability triage + compliance alignment so you don’t miss the 7-Dec window. This bid is competitive — we don’t work with everyone. Timing + capability determine who gets into the CRG pipeline. 📩 If you believe you’re a contender, contact CRG today: contact@crgroupinc.com 📅 Schedule a confidential capability review: https://lnkd.in/deYGhiMW #CRG #USSF #SpaceForce #MissileDefense #Interceptors #Kinetic #KillVehicle #OPIR #C2BMC #Ballistic #Hypersonic #C2 #Hardware #Propulsion

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Proud to see Dr. Davide Viganò contributing to the AIAA Aerospace America Year in Review on hypersonics, “Hypersonics in 2025: Progress Amid Evolving Priorities,” highlighting key advances and trends shaping high-speed aerospace systems. Full article: https://lnkd.in/gyUtjPGh #MechanicalAndAerospaceEngineering #Hypersonics #AIAA #FacultyExpertise #AerospaceResearch #MissouriSandT #MinerPride #SolvingForTomorrow

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We’re excited to share that Lockheed Martin has joined us on our mission to mass produce portable nuclear reactors. This strategic investment through Lockheed Martin Ventures further oversubscribes Radiant’s current financing round and adds generations of defense and advanced technology expertise to our growing coalition of investors and partners. “Adding Lockheed Martin as a strategic investor adds a partner who deeply understands the operational environments where reliable, portable power is essential,” said Tori S., our Chief Operating Officer. “Gaining the confidence of a company with the breadth and depth of experience of Lockheed Martin is another proof point of our leadership in this space.” This latest investment, in combination with the hundreds of millions of dollars we raised last year, reflects deepening confidence from both financial and strategic partners in our path to commercialization and our ability to deliver on the world’s first mass-produced portable nuclear reactors. Today's news comes one week after our PDSA was approved by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), seven weeks since we announced our Series D, two months since our first pressure vessel arrived at our headquarters in El Segundo, and a little over three months since we announced we'll build our first factory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. All this comes ahead of startup of our first reactor this summer at National Reactor Innovation Center | NRIC’s DOME facility at Idaho National Laboratory.

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Space-based interceptors. Hypersonic threats. Materials that don't forgive mistakes.   As defense shifts to higher speeds and higher altitudes, precision and repeatability in manufacturing become non-negotiable.   Our VP of Aerospace & Defense, John Borrego, spoke with Anne W. for Via Satellite's cover story on how AI and robotics are helping Machina Labs form heat-resistant aerostructures that can survive Mach 15, extreme heat, and zero margin for error.   We're not just forming metal. We're building the structures that make overmatch possible.

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Aerospace and defense distress is accelerating. Supply chain shocks, rising rates, and liquidity issues are pushing many suppliers into crisis. Bill Bowler’s latest piece breaks down where the pressure is building—and why some buyers see opportunity in the turbulence. Special thanks to Timothy Hassenger of Riverbend Special Situations Group (“Riverbend SSG”) , for sharing his insights. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/g--_mMuZ #Aerospace #Defense #Distressed #PrivateEquity #OpusConnect

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🚨 DoD Contract Alert for Subcontractors Aviation suppliers, electronics manufacturers, aerospace component firms — this is a direct hardware production award tied to the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye platform, with Foreign Military Sales implications. ✈️ $10,555,868 Contract – Intercommunication Systems (E-2D Advanced Hawkeye) Prime Awardee: Mathtech Inc. (Falls Church, VA) Contract Type: Firm-Fixed-Price Total Value: $10,555,868 Award Date: February 19, 2026 Quantity: 123 Intercommunication Systems 96 – U.S. Navy 23 – France (FMS – 20%) 4 – Japan (FMS – 3%) Completion: August 2027 Contracting Activity: Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS), Philadelphia, PA (N00383-26-C-LA25) Acquisition Method: Sole Source (10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1)) Fiscal 2026 Navy Working Capital Funds and FMS funds were obligated at time of award. Scope of Work Procurement and production of Intercommunication Systems supporting the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Airborne Command and Control platform. This is mission-critical avionics hardware supporting fleet aircraft and allied partners. 🔎 Where Subcontractors Can Plug In Even sole-source production awards create supply chain opportunities. Aerospace Electronics Manufacturing Circuit board fabrication Embedded systems components Signal processing modules RF assemblies Mechanical & Hardware Fabrication Enclosures & housings Precision machining Environmental sealing components Mounting brackets Testing & Certification Environmental stress screening (ESS) EMI/EMC testing Quality assurance & inspection MIL-STD compliance validation Supply Chain & Component Sourcing Connectors & cabling Wiring harness assembly Electronic subassemblies Obsolescence management Logistics & Program Support Inventory management Packaging & preservation (MIL-STD-2073) Configuration management Technical documentation support Strategic Insight This contract supports: ✔ U.S. Navy fleet requirements ✔ Foreign Military Sales (France & Japan) ✔ A high-visibility airborne command platform Even though this was a sole-source award, that does not mean subcontracting is closed. Production contracts require: Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers Specialty component vendors Compliance and testing support And because FMS is involved, export compliance (ITAR/EAR) awareness becomes critical. If you are not ITAR-registered or familiar with aerospace compliance frameworks, this is not the place to “figure it out as you go.�� Positioning Strategy If you want in: 1️⃣ Identify which subsystem category you support 2️⃣ Demonstrate aerospace or MIL-STD experience 3️⃣ Highlight any E-2 platform familiarity 4️⃣ Confirm export control compliance capability 5️⃣ Approach Mathtech with a focused supply capability brief Don’t send a general capability statement. Send a production-aligned value proposition.

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