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The Pentagon Has Decided It Has a Hypersonic Problem -- and the Process Discipline to Solve It Is Coming Out of the Commercial Sector

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  • Defense primes report record backlogs & raised guidance, with industrial throughput now the binding constraint rather than contract availability.
  • Starfighters Space (FJET) engaged Integrated Launch Solutions (ILS) to provide engineering, licensing, & mission integration support for its STARLAUNCH pathway.
  • ILS brings expertise from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, ULA, SpaceX, & the U.S. Air Force to support trajectory analysis, range coordination, & regulatory compliance.
  • Starfighters appointed Jose Arias & Catrina L. Medeiros from Blue Origin's New Glenn program to lead Space Operations & STARLAUNCH Operations.
  • Kratos Defense reported Q1 2026 revenue of $371.0 million, raised full-year outlook to $1.700–$1.760 billion, & expects $400 million in hypersonic revenue for 2026.
  • Lockheed Martin reported Q1 sales of $18.0 billion, secured a $365 million Aegis contract, & was selected for up to $3.2 billion in Space-Based Interceptor agreements.
  • Northrop Grumman reported Q1 sales of $9.9 billion, holds a $96 billion backlog, & secured a $1.3 billion award to accelerate Glide Phase Interceptor development.
  • Karman Holdings posted record 2025 results with 37% revenue growth, raised 2026 revenue guidance to $715–$730 million, & cited generational demand for missile programs.
  • Starfighters operates the world's largest fleet of MACH 2+ commercial supersonic aircraft configured for air launch & high-speed wind tunnel testing.
  • The STARLAUNCH pathway utilizes modified F-104 aircraft to compress ten days of fixed-facility testing into a single 45-minute flight for hypersonic validation.
  • The article positions Starfighters as a solution to the capacity bottleneck faced by the defense industrial complex in flight-testing hypersonic systems.