England did not make it to the World Cup final, but London Town will likely still be buzzing next week as the Farnborough International Airshow kicks off Monday. And while last week’s NATO Summit got a bit prickly, there’s an appetite for unity amid increasing global tensions. Dozens of countries, major weapons makers, defense tech companies, and suppliers are expected at the weeklong show. And states’ representatives will be there as well, trying to draw international business. Trends to watch are how the U.K. and other European countries are spending their newly padded defense budgets. Are they buying more U.S. weapons? Or are they buying more homegrown tech? And for U.S. companies, what are they pitching?BAE Systems is teasing a futuristic fighter pilot helmet. Northrop Grumman plans to talk up its F-16 modernization efforts, including electronic warfare system upgrades, and Raytheon will showcase its Coyote counterdrone system: “It's the first major show since multiple theaters of operation have been using the Coyote system,” Joseph DeAntona, a Raytheon executive who focuses on land and air defense, told reporters Monday. “I think the customers that are attending Farnborough will be…wanting to know more about it and what it would take for them to potentially consider Coyote as a counter-UAS solution for them.”And while it’s not flashy, aircraft maintenance and repair could be big—especially as private capital moves in. “There's also a ton of interest in the [maintenance, repair, and overhaul] business, for example. We're seeing a lot of private equity and, you know, financial sponsors interested in that space,” Doug Peck, managing director at the consulting firm BCG, told Defense One. “There's going to be no shortage of demand for these aircraft, these systems, over time—whether that's from just the commercial passenger travel market or from the military side. But…the capacity to actually keep up with that growth is much stickier. So you're just seeing backlogs for these basic sustainment facilities and MRO facilities just really, really grow. And therefore the margins that they're going to be able to demand should only look better over time as well.”It’ll be my first time at the airshow. If you’re there, you’ll likely catch me in Converse singing Fergie’s “London Bridge” in celebration after I file a story. WelcomeYou’ve reached the Defense Business Brief, where we dig into what the Pentagon buys, who they’re buying from, and why. Send along your tips, feedback, and pub recommendations to lwilliams@defenseone.com. Check out the Defense Business Brief archive here, and tell your friends to subscribe!Pushback on buybacks ban. The Chamber of Commerce joined dozens of trade organizations in a bid to get Congress to remove a provision in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit defense contractors from paying dividends or repurchasing publicly traded stock without a waiver from the Pentagon.
Defense Business Brief: Farnborough preview, thoughts + trends; Trade groups balk at NDAA buyback provision; Pennsylvania’s DIB
England did not make it to the World Cup final, but London Town will likely still be buzzing next week as the Farnborough International Airshow kicks off Monday. And while last week’s NATO Summit got a bit prickly, there’s an appetite for unity amid increasing global tensions. Dozens of countries, major weapons makers, defense tech companies, and suppliers are expected at the weeklong show. And states’ representatives will be there as well, trying to draw international business. Trends to watch are how the U.K. and other European countries are spending their newly padded defense budgets. Are they buying more U.S. weapons? Or are they buying more homegrown tech? And for U.S. companies, what are they pitching?BAE Systems is teasing a futuristic fighter pilot helmet. Northrop Grumman plans to talk up its F-16 modernization efforts, including electronic warfare system upgrades, and Raytheon will showcase its Coyote counterdrone system: “It's the first major show since multiple theaters of operation have been using the Coyote system,” Joseph DeAntona, a Raytheon executive who focuses on land and air defense, told reporters Monday. “I think the customers that are attending Farnborough will be…wanting to know more about it and what it would take for them to potentially consider Coyote as a counter-UAS solution for them.”And while it’s not flashy, aircraft maintenance and repair could be big—especially as private capital moves in. “There's also a ton of interest in the [maintenance, repair, and overhaul] business, for example. We're seeing a lot of private equity and, you know, financial sponsors interested in that space,” Doug Peck, managing director at the consulting firm BCG, told Defense One. “There's going to be no shortage of demand for these aircraft, these systems, over time—whether that's from just the commercial passenger travel market or from the military side. But…the capacity to actually keep up with that growth is much stickier. So you're just seeing backlogs for these basic sustainment facilities and MRO facilities just really, really grow. And therefore the margins that they're going to be able to demand should only look better over time as well.”It’ll be my first time at the airshow. If you’re there, you’ll likely catch me in Converse singing Fergie’s “London Bridge” in celebration after I file a story. WelcomeYou’ve reached the Defense Business Brief, where we dig into what the Pentagon buys, who they’re buying from, and why. Send along your tips, feedback, and pub recommendations to lwilliams@defenseone.com. Check out the Defense Business Brief archive here, and tell your friends to subscribe!Pushback on buybacks ban. The Chamber of Commerce joined dozens of trade organizations in a bid to get Congress to remove a provision in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit defense contractors from paying dividends or repurchasing publicly traded stock without a waiver from the Pentagon.
