Cycles

Starship V3 scrubs on pad mechanics, targets second attempt today

SpaceX's first V3 launch attempt failed due to a hydraulic pin on new Pad 2; Flight 12 reattempts May 22 with redesigned Raptor 3 engines and new Ship architecture.

SOCOM's Civilian Overseer Gets Real Budget Authority Over Drone Programs

USSOCOM's advisory board SOLIC is being transformed into an institution with genuine control over Special Operations autonomous systems acquisition, signaling a structural shift in how SOF validates and fields emerging defense tech.

Geekplus wins RBR50 for robot arm that solves warehouse automation's last mile

Geekplus' Robot Arm Picking Station achieved production-ready deployment at Schneider Electric with 99.99% accuracy and zero retraining required, closing the final bottleneck in fully autonomous warehousing.

How a two-person startup is fixing turbine lubrication for one-way weapons

Zulu Pods has built a sealed, 3D-printed lubrication module for expendable engines that reduces fuel consumption and simplifies design, capturing a gap in the $6.4B loitering munition market.

Trilogy Metals' Arctic Project Clears FAST-41 Permitting Gate

Trilogy Metals' Alaska copper project wins acceptance into federal FAST-41 permitting program, marking concrete progress on one of the West's largest undeveloped polymetallic deposits backed by 10% U.S. government equity stake.

Helsing's $1.2B raise and HENSOLDT deal reshape European drone warfare

Helsing secures $1.2B funding and partners with German sensor maker HENSOLDT to equip CA-1 Europa combat drone, positioning Europe's defense AI leader to compete with Anduril.

Nominal raises $80M, lands $53M Air Force contract

Hardware testing platform Nominal closed Series B-2 at $1B valuation, then secured $53M Air Force IDIQ to standardize DoD test infrastructure, the real inflection point.

Army picks three firms for modular EW prototype competition

Army selects Pacific Defense Strategies, SRC, and Herrick Technology Labs to build prototypes of a new modular electronic warfare system designed to counter advanced RF threats across air, ground, and autonomous platforms.

Kodiak AI, General Dynamics build autonomous counter-UAS truck

Kodiak AI and General Dynamics Land Systems unveiled the Leonidas AGV, a fully autonomous vehicle integrating Epirus microwave counter-UAS tech, targeting U.S. Army procurement while Kodiak raised $100M in new capital.

Cerberus backs zinc batteries with $250M, insurance wrap to challenge lithium

Eos Energy and Cerberus launch Frontier Power USA with $250M committed capital and first-of-its-kind technology insurance framework, signaling institutional shift toward non-lithium long-duration storage.

Canada commits $30M to clean agtech as VC capital tightens

Six Canadian nonprofits will distribute $30 million in government grants over two years to accelerate clean agriculture technology deployment, arriving as private agtech venture funding contracts.

Purdue spinoff gets $174K USDA grant for nitrogen-efficient wheat

Novin AgriTech received federal SBIR funding to validate a tissue culture-free wheat transformation platform, the first genotype-independent NUE trait engineering program at commercial stage.

Firestorm Labs wins $100M Air Force contract for 3D-printed drones

Firestorm Labs lands $100M USAF contract for Tempest 50 sUAS, gaining Air Force backing for expeditionary additive manufacturing that could compress drone production timelines and costs by 80 percent.

Anduril quietly built hypersonics. Now it's testing them for real.

Anduril Industries is contracting Rocket Lab for three $30M hypersonic test flights with its own capital, confirming a private defense tech firm is now funding independent hypersonic R&D outside government programs.

Saronic Wins $392M Navy Contract for Autonomous Surface Vessels

Texas startup Saronic Technologies secured a $392M+ Navy production contract for autonomous maritime drones by mid-2031, marking the largest scale-up yet for a non-traditional vendor in undersea autonomy.

SpaceX's Starship V3 Booster Aces 33-Engine Static Fire, May Launch Window Set

SpaceX completed the first full-thrust 33-engine static fire of Booster 19 at new Pad 2, validating Version 3 hardware targeting 100+ metric tons reusable LEO capacity, nearly three times Flight 11's payload.

NextEra's Battery Storage Record Signals Utility Demand Shift Away From Solar

NextEra Energy Resources contracted 1.3 GW of battery storage in Q1 2026, setting a company record and revealing utilities are now driving grid storage adoption over hyperscalers, with prices rising $20/MWh.

MISUMI invests in Oishii to industrialize vertical farm automation

Japan's MISUMI Group backs Oishii's standardized farm modules, signaling industrial-scale manufacturing is entering controlled-environment agriculture.

Canada funds North America's only cobalt refinery with C$20M commitment

Electra Battery Materials secures definitive Canadian government funding for its Ontario cobalt sulfate refinery, completing a $48M tri-government capital stack and eliminating the continent's last critical minerals processing gap.

Darkhive wins $49.7M Army contract, closes $30M Series B from RTX Ventures

San Antonio startup Darkhive secures largest-ever APFIT award for tactical edge command software, backed by $30M Series B led by RTX Ventures, signaling mega-prime confidence in commercial autonomy platforms.