Northrop Grumman

One of two legacy solid rocket motor suppliers, investing over $1 billion since 2018 to expand propulsion manufacturing. - Expanding solid rocket motor production capacity

For three decades, the Pentagon told defense contractors to consolidate. Now it's paying $1 billion to help one spin off—and the strategy is cascading across the entire defense industrial base. The Defense Department announced in January 2026 it will take an equity stake in L3Harris's solid rocket motor business, which will become a separate publicly traded company in the second half of 2026. It's the first time the Pentagon has directly invested in a defense supplier rather than simply buying its products. By early February, the model had already proven its power: Congress passed an $838.7 billion FY2026 defense budget with $2.9 billion earmarked specifically for munitions and industrial capacity expansion, and Raytheon announced five landmark framework agreements to triple Tomahawk production and double AMRAAM output over seven years.

Updated Feb 5

Defense prime whose Scaled Composites subsidiary is building JetZero's full-scale demonstrator in Mojave, California. - Strategic investor and manufacturing partner via Scaled Composites

The tube-and-wing aircraft design has dominated commercial aviation since the Boeing 707 entered service in 1958. JetZero, a Long Beach startup, just raised $175 million to challenge that 67-year-old paradigm with a blended-wing body aircraft that merges fuselage and wings into a single lifting surface—promising 50% fuel savings over conventional jets.

Updated Jan 13

Major defense contractor building bombers, fighter jets, and nuclear weapons systems. - Stock surged 8.3% on budget proposal after initial drop on buyback ban

Trump wants to spend $1.5 trillion on defense in 2027—a jaw-dropping 66% jump from this year's $901 billion. One day he banned defense contractors from stock buybacks until they deliver weapons on time. The next day he promised them a gold rush. Defense stocks whipsawed, then surged: Northrop up 8.3%, Lockheed 7.9%.

Updated Jan 13