Defense Business Brief: Handshake deals > plane orders?; Inside the aerospace supply chain, plus thoughts on that critical minerals EO

Maybe it was just me, but there seemed to be more handshake deals between companies than airplane buys—military and commercial—at last week’s Farnborough International Airshow. As a Farnborough first-timer, I had very few expectations. I guessed there likely wouldn’t be as many aircraft flying because of surging fuel prices and the Iran war. And the NATO Summit already had several major announcements. But given the fanfare, should there have been more big buys trumpeted? Or are industry deals—showcasing how willing companies are to collaborate—the new normal?“There are always partnerships being announced, but I think it was more of a lack of the large order announcements that we typically see that made them more visible,” said Grant Holve, a commercial aerospace analyst for Forecast International, a sibling brand of Defense One that provides market analysis and intelligence. “It was a 50-50 split between commercial and defense this year…usually it's like 80-20 or 70-30 tilted toward commercial.”The lack of big purchase announcements coupled with the strong European defense spending backdrop seemed curious to me. But a theme emerged: dual-use commercial aircraft venturing into the defense arena.“Commercial crossovers into defense aerospace seemed to be an identifiable theme. That was a takeaway I noticed specifically with the ‘contested logistics’ space for air taxi companies,” said Jon Hemler, director of Forecast International's military aerospace and weapons division. Those eVTOL makers definitely made a splash, from Archer Aviation’s snazzy black and gold chalet (and partnership with Anduril) to Sikorsky teaming with Beta Technologies’ MV250 on autonomous cargo aircraft.“It's increasingly an area where civil firms can partner with defense companies as an entry point to the market,” Hemler said. 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 song recommendations to lwilliams@defenseone.com. Check out the Defense Business Brief archive here, and tell your friends to subscribe!A boom for the aerospace supply chain. The more electrified and digitally-infused aircraft get, the more parts they need. That’s good business for distributors like FDH Aero, which team up with multiple suppliers to bulk buy, store and sell parts to customers.

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