🚀 Space and Defense #16

Happy Monday 👋

This week, the US approved a $4.92B sale of E-7 early warning aircraft to South Korea amid rising tensions with North Korea. Anduril is considering Arizona, Ohio, or Texas for its new 5-million-square-foot manufacturing facility, Arsenal-1, to enhance production capabilities. India postponed its first Gaganyaan astronaut launch to 2026, citing delays in preparations and ensuring safety for crewed missions. Berkshire Hathaway acquired approximately $60.7M in Sirius XM stock, increasing its holdings to over 112 million shares amid strategic investments. Chennai-based spacetech startup GalaxEye secured $10M in Series A funding to advance its multi-sensor satellite technology for Earth observation.

What's new?
HolonIQ’s new Green Skills Map and Workforce section reveal industry-wide sustainability skills and jobs, as well as workforce development initiatives, supporting upskilling for a sustainable economy.

🛡️ National Defense

✈️ US Approves Potential $4.9B E-7 Wedgetail Deal with South Korea. The US government approved a potential $4.9B deal for Boeing to sell E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to South Korea. South Korea is seeking to expand its airborne early warning capabilities.

🚢 Indonesia and Russia hold the first joint naval drills. Indonesia kicked off its first joint naval exercise with Russia on Monday as the newly inaugurated Indonesian president looks to deepen security ties with Russia.

🤝 North Korea Unveils New 'World's Most Powerful' ICBM. North Korea's state media announced the country's new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) called the 'Hwasongpho-19', claiming it to be the world's most powerful strategic missile.

🚁 Drones

🏭 Defense Tech Company Anduril Mulls Major Manufacturing Plant. Anduril, a defense technology company co-founded by Palmer Luckey, is considering building its first major manufacturing facility, a 5M-square-foot plant, in Arizona, Ohio, or Texas.

🚀 French German Railgun Reaches Hypersonic Speeds, Ushering in New Defense Era. French and German organizations developed a railgun capable of reaching hypersonic speed, representing a significant advancement in defense technology.

🔫 China Unveils New Anti-Drone Laser System. China's Poly Defense unveiled a new high-powered laser defense system called the 'Red Wing Vanguard' or 'Striker' designed to counter drone threats.

🪐 Space Innovation

🛰️ India Delays First Astronaut Launch to 2026. India's space agency ISRO, delayed the country's first astronaut launch called Gaganyaan to 2026, about a year later than previously planned.

🚀 SpaceX Plans Starship Refueling Test in Orbit. SpaceX aims to transfer propellant from one orbiting Starship to another as early as March 2026, a key technical milestone for the company's ambitious space exploration plans.

📡 Apple to Invest $1.5B in Globalstar for Satellite Communications. Apple plans to invest $1.5B in satellite operator Globalstar to build a new constellation that will improve space-based communications for iPhones.

🛠️ Skills and Workforce

With reskilling and upskilling playing a key role in closing workforce gaps, HolonIQ is now tracking these impactful initiatives shaping the space industry. Read on for this week’s insights.

🌙 The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is expanding its space workforce with two new undergraduate minors. Earth and Planetary Exploration and Technology (EPET) and Human Space Flight Technology. These programs, administered by the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP), aim to provide professional education in human space flight and broaden access to space system science and technology education for students, with a special emphasis on including historically underrepresented groups.

HolonIQ has launched the Green Skills Map, an open-source framework initiated to catalog, evaluate, and contextualize the components of the rapidly expanding field of green jobs. This comprehensive taxonomy will serve as a resource for understanding the full spectrum and complexity of green skills required across various sectors, thereby enabling a cohesive approach toward achieving net zero and decarbonizing the global economy. Green Skills Map spans 11 areas, 54 sub-areas, and 243 green skills clusters. A snippet of the map covering four areas has been included above. Explore the full map on greenskills.org.

💰 Space Deals

💰 Berkshire Hathaway Buys Sirius XM Shares Worth $60.7M. Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, $ 60.7M worth of shares in Sirius XM, the satellite radio company.

🛰️ GalaxEye Raises $10M Series A for Satellite Launch. GalaxEye, a company focused on launching high-resolution, all-weather multi-sensor satellites, secured $10M in Series A funding led by MountTech and Infosys.

🚁 Marut Drones Raises $6.2M Series A to Boost Drone Production. Marut Drones, a startup based in Hyderabad, secured $6.2M. The funds will allow the company to increase its manufacturing capacity to 3,000 drones per year.

💣 Lithuanian Defence Tech Startup Broswarm Raises $0.8M Funding. Broswarm, a Vilnius, Lithuania-based defense tech startup specializing in mine detection, raised $0.8M in funding.

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