🔎 Defense Tech Signal — Friday

• The Air Force is seeking nearly $1B from Congress to begin procurement of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, signaling the transition of “loyal wingman” drones from prototype experimentation to program-of-record production.
• The U.S. Space Force is using K2 satellites to test laser crosslinks from medium Earth orbit for missile defense experiments, advancing resilient, high-bandwidth space networking for tracking and intercept architectures.
• The U.S. Navy is partnering with AI firm Domino to accelerate development of options to counter Iranian naval mines, highlighting operational demand for AI-driven planning and decision support in contested maritime environments.

Sources:

1) Defense News — https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-military/2026/04/30/from-prototypes-to-production-us-air-force-seeks-nearly-1b-for-initial-cca-procurement/
2) SpaceNews — https://spacenews.com/space-force-taps-k2-satellites-to-test-laser-communications-for-missile-defense/
3) Defense News — https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2026/05/01/us-navy-turns-to-ai-firm-domino-for-options-to-counter-iranian-mines/

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