Navy surges Gecko Robotics AI contract to $300M; Anduril FQ-44 flies under F-22 pilot command

Companies mentioned: Anduril, BAE Systems, Boeing, DARPA, DIU, Elbit Systems, Gecko Robotics, Ghost Shark, ICEYE, ISE, Marine Corps, Palantir, Space Nuclear Power Corporation, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy

Government Contracts

The biggest dollar figure today belongs to Gecko Robotics, whose Navy AI-enabled maintenance contract ceiling surged to $300M. This is a remarkable scale-up for a company that started with wall-climbing inspection robots and now finds itself as a core vendor for fleet readiness. The Navy's willingness to expand the ceiling this aggressively suggests Gecko's sensor-and-AI approach is delivering real maintenance hour savings — and that the service wants to scale it across hull classes far faster than originally scoped.

BAE Systems locked in a framework agreement for up to 25,000 APKWS precision guidance kits per year, signaling the Pentagon is serious about sustained, affordable munitions production. APKWS is a workhorse program — converting dumb rockets into precision weapons at a fraction of JDAM cost — and the per-year framing tells us this is about production line stability, not a one-time buy. Separately, Palantir scored another entrenchment win as the Marine Corps made Maven Smart System available service-wide via expanded enterprise licensing effective October 1. The switching costs for displacing Palantir from the USMC are now approaching the astronomical.

DARPA awarded Space Nuclear Power Corporation an agreement for ground-testing an autonomous nuclear reactor controller, a small but forward-looking bet on unattended space power systems. And DIU advanced to the next phase of its unmanned vessel competition, keeping the OTA pathway open for companies building autonomous maritime platforms.

Partnerships & M&A

Anduril delivered arguably the most consequential headline of the day: an F-22 pilot controlled the company's FQ-44 Collaborative Combat Aircraft in flight, serving as an airborne quarterback issuing high-level directives to the autonomous wingman. This is the first publicly confirmed instance of a 5th-gen fighter pilot commanding a CCA in real-time maneuvering, and it gives Anduril a decisive lead in demonstrating operational viability. The timing is notable — Germany just dropped Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat from its rapid CCA procurement plan, potentially opening European interest for proven alternatives.

Elbit Systems acquired ISE, a Canadian company specializing in autonomous underwater systems, expanding its subsea portfolio and securing a North American production footprint. With Australia unveiling Ghost Shark payloads and DIU pushing unmanned vessels forward, the autonomous undersea domain is clearly heating up — and Elbit is buying its way in rather than building from scratch.

What to Watch

• CCA competitive dynamics are shifting fast. Anduril's FQ-44 flight milestone combined with Germany rejecting Boeing's MQ-28 could reshape the global CCA market. Watch whether European allies begin exploring Anduril or whether Airbus/Dassault accelerate their own programs in response.
• Autonomous undersea warfare is reaching an inflection point. Between Elbit's ISE acquisition, Australia's Ghost Shark payload reveals, and DIU's unmanned vessel competition advancing, capital is flowing into subsea autonomy from multiple directions. Investors should track which companies emerge from the DIU competition's next phase.
• Palantir's DoD moat keeps deepening. With the Marine Corps now the latest branch to go enterprise-wide on Maven, Palantir's competitive position is approaching the kind of lock-in that legacy defense primes enjoy on hardware programs. The question is whether any challenger — Anduril's Lattice, Microsoft, or others — can crack the operational AI layer before Palantir's entrenchment becomes permanent.

Deals & Contracts

Elbit Systems — Acquisition

Unmanned Systems

Elbit's acquisition of Canadian firm ISE deepens its autonomous underwater portfolio at a time when subsea competition is intensifying globally. With Australia's Ghost Shark program generating headlines this same week and the DIU advancing its own unmanned vessel competition, Elbit is clearly positioning for a growing addressable market in autonomous undersea warfare — and gaining a North American production footprint in the process.

Source →

Gecko Robotics — Government-backed Funding ($300M)

AI & Autonomy

The Navy surging Gecko's AI-enabled maintenance contract ceiling to $300M is a powerful validation signal for non-combat defense AI applications. Gecko — still a relatively young company — is now securing contract values that rival some mid-stage defense primes' entire portfolios. This cements the 'sense-and-predict' maintenance model as a budget priority for fleet readiness, and the expanded ceiling suggests the Navy wants to scale across more ship classes faster than originally planned.

Source →

Palantir — Government-backed Funding

AI & Autonomy

The Marine Corps making Maven Smart System available service-wide via expanded Palantir enterprise licensing is a significant entrenchment event. Once a platform reaches universal access across a service branch, displacement costs become enormous. This effectively makes Palantir the default AI-enabled battlefield management layer for the USMC and further cements its position as the DoD's de facto AI operating system alongside its Army and combatant command deployments.

Source →

BAE Systems — Government-backed Funding

General Defense Tech

A framework agreement for up to 25,000 APKWS guidance kits per year signals the Pentagon is locking in sustained precision munitions production capacity. APKWS is a relatively low-cost precision conversion kit that turns unguided rockets into laser-guided weapons — exactly the kind of affordable mass it needs for both near-peer deterrence and FMS demand. The 'per year' framing suggests a multi-year commitment designed to keep production lines warm and stabilize BAE's munitions revenue.

Source →

Space Nuclear Power Corporation — Government-backed Funding

Space Defense

A DARPA agreement for ground testing an autonomous nuclear reactor controller is a small but strategically meaningful award. Space nuclear power is emerging as a critical enabler for both military and commercial space operations, and DARPA's interest in autonomous reactor control specifically signals a path toward unattended, long-duration space power systems — a key enabler for persistent space-based ISR and communications architectures.

Source →

Anduril — Strategic Partnership

AI & Autonomy · CCA

An F-22 pilot serving as airborne 'quarterback' and issuing high-level directives to Anduril's FQ-44 Collaborative Combat Aircraft in flight is a landmark manned-unmanned teaming milestone. This validates the operational concept that fighter pilots can command autonomous wingmen in real time and positions Anduril's Fury-derived platform as the leading CCA contender. Notably, Germany just dropped Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat from its rapid CCA procurement, which could redirect European interest toward Anduril's proven flight-tested system.

Source →

DIU — Government-backed Funding

Unmanned Systems · DIU

The Defense Innovation Unit advancing to the next phase of its unmanned vessel competition is a signal that production-ready autonomous surface and subsurface platforms are closer to fielding than many realize. DIU's OTA-based acquisition pathway allows for much faster contracting than traditional FAR-based procurement, meaning winners of this next phase could see meaningful revenue within 12-18 months rather than the typical 3-5 year defense procurement cycle.

Source →

Tags: acquisitions, ai, autonomous-systems, cca, government-contracts, munitions, space, unmanned-systems