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Pentagon issues contracts to boost manufacturing capacity for Space Systems. The Pentagon is moving forward with plans to invest in manufacturing capacity for the space industrial base, awarding multiple contracts in recent weeks to companies who supply key space components and subsystems as well as firms with innovative manufacturing technology that's ready to scale. The Defense Innovation Unit, a Pentagon technology hub designed to help funnel promising commercial capabilities to the military at scale, awarded other transaction agreements in July and August to two companies through its Adaptive Space Manufacturing and Integration Scale project. The effort aims to leverage commercially available tools and adaptive manufacturing processes to kick-start higher production rates across the space industrial base. ALL.SPACE, a firm owned by York Space Systems, was one of those recipients. The company said in an Aug. 31 statement that it will demonstrate on-demand production of its Hydra satellite communications terminal with the goal of producing hundreds of units per month and potentially thousands per year. "This award reflects a fundamental shift in how defense capabilities are being fielded," ALL.SPACE Chief Operating Officer Rod McCurdy said in a statement. "Hydra was designed to deliver resilient connectivity across multiple networks and orbits, and this effort provides an opportunity to demonstrate how those capabilities can be delivered at the pace required by next-generation space and defense architectures." A second company, Freeform Future Corp., received a contract in July to scale its production of key propulsion and structural hardware. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a laser-based additive manufacturing platform called Skyfall, which it says will significantly expand its production. Separate from the DIU awards, the Pentagon announced Sept. 1 it would invest $11.4 million in Stellant Systems, a company that makes vacuum tubes that can amplify certain radio frequency signals. In a statement, the Pentagon said it would use Defense Production Act funds to support qualification of the company's space-based amplifier and to boost production rates, which it says "will greatly reduce schedule, cost, and performance risks to U.S. government satellite programs." The Space Force is preparing for a sizable increase in the number of satellites it operates. Deputy Chief of Space Operations for strategy, plans, programs, and requirements Gen. David N. Miller Jr. said in May that the service's five-year budget projection includes "thousands" of satellites. Those will fall across a number of mission areas, including space-based moving target indication, data transport, missile warning, and space domain awareness. In May, the Space Force awarded more than $4 billion to SpaceX to build out a new Space-Based Air Moving Target Indicator constellation and another $2.3 billion contract to field satellites as part of its Space Data Network program. It's also planning to launch new fleets of surveillance and reconnaissance satellites starting in 2029. The service hasn't said how many spacecraft these constellations will include, but officials have said hitting these numbers will require significant expansion of current production capacity. "If a company is nominally making 10, we want you to be prepared to make 40," Space Systems Command Commander Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant said in April. "We want industry to make the investments in capitalization and facilitization, and in return you're going to get these large production contracts." Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has said he's interested in awarding multiyear procurement contracts for both aircraft and satellites. He told Air & Space Forces Magazine in July the goal is to give industry the demand signal it needs to make investments in its manufacturing capacity. "When the future is uncertain, it's hard for industry to make those investments to either modernize their facilities or do what they need to do to get to the production capacity we need," Meink said. "So those long-term deals are a huge part of that." Space, ALL.SPACE, Defense Innovation Unit, Defense Production Act, DIU, Freeform Future Corp., space industrial base, York Space Systems Air & Space Forces Magazine [crypto-donation-box type="tabular" show-coin="all"]

TransDigm announces acquisition of Stellant Systems, Inc. CLEVELAND, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE: TDG) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Stellant Systems, Inc. ("Stellant" or "the Company"), a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, for approximately $960 million in cash, including certain tax benefits. Stellant, headquartered in Torrance, California, is a leading global designer and manufacturer of high-power electronic components and subsystems serving the aerospace and defense end market. The Company's products are highly engineered, proprietary components with substantial aftermarket content and a strong presence across major aerospace and defense platforms. Approximately 50% of Stellant's revenue is derived from the aftermarket, and nearly all its revenue is generated from proprietary products. Stellant is expected to generate approximately $300 million in revenue for the calendar year ending December 31, 2025. The Company has manufacturing locations in Torrance, California; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; Melville, New York; and Topsfield, Massachusetts. The Company employs approximately 950 people. Mike Lisman, TransDigm's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are excited to have an agreement to acquire Stellant. The Company's highly engineered, proprietary products generate significant aftermarket revenue and fit well with our long-standing business strategy. The Company has established positions across a diverse range of both commercial and defense platforms, adding new products and services to TransDigm's portfolio. As with all TransDigm acquisitions, we expect this acquisition to create equity value in-line with our long-term private equity-like return objectives." The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States and customary closing conditions. About TransDigm Group TransDigm Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a leading global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components for use on nearly all commercial and military aircraft in service today. Major product offerings, substantially all of which are ultimately provided to end-users in the aerospace industry, include mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, engineered latching and locking devices, engineered rods, engineered connectors and elastomer sealing solutions, databus and power controls, cockpit security components and systems, specialized and advanced cockpit displays, engineered audio, radio and antenna systems, specialized lavatory components, seat belts and safety restraints, engineered and customized interior surfaces and related components, advanced sensor products, switches and relay panels, thermal protection and insulation, lighting and control technology, parachutes, high performance hoists, winches and lifting devices, and cargo loading, handling and delivery systems, specialized flight, wind tunnel and jet engine testing services and equipment, electronic components used in the generation, amplification, transmission and reception of microwave signals, and complex testing and instrumentation solutions. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause TransDigm Group's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, TransDigm Group. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the sensitivity of its business to the number of flight hours that its customers' planes spend aloft and its customers' profitability, both of which are affected by general economic conditions; supply chain constraints; increases in raw material costs, taxes and labor costs that cannot be recovered in product pricing; failure to complete or successfully integrate acquisitions; its indebtedness; current and future geopolitical or other worldwide events, including, without limitation, wars or conflicts and public health crises; cybersecurity threats; risks related to the transition or physical impacts of climate change and other natural disasters or meeting regulatory requirements; its reliance on certain customers; the United States ("U.S.") defense budget and risks associated with being a government supplier including government audits and investigations; failure to maintain government or industry approvals; risks related to changes in laws and regulations, including increases in compliance costs and potential changes in trade policies and tariffs; potential environmental liabilities; liabilities arising in connection with litigation; risks and costs associated with its international sales and operations; and other factors. Further information regarding the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results can be found in TransDigm Group's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports that TransDigm Group or its subsidiaries have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, TransDigm Group undertakes no obligation to revise or update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transdigm-announces-acquisition-of-stellant-systems-inc-302651037.html