Aerospace, Defense & Government Services | Industry Update Fall 2026

Aerospace, Defense & Government Services | Fall 2026_

Aerospace

Boeing 737 MAX-7 Clears Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) Certification

• The FAA has granted Boeing an amended type certification for the 737 MAX-7, clearing the smallest member of the MAX family for commercial service after nearly a decade of review
  • Southwest Airlines, the launch customer, holds 282 unfilled MAX-7 orders and is now preparing for its first delivery

Aircraft Lessors Secure Future Production Capacity at Farnborough Airshow

• With single-aisle production slots virtually sold out into the early 2030s, aircraft lessors are stepping in to secure future capacity early so airlines can access guaranteed delivery slots and diversify fleet risk
  • Boeing led the numerical tally of orders driven by major lessor commitments and key widebody selections across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa

GE Aerospace Acquires Consolidated Precision Products (“CPP”) for ~$11.8B

• CPP is one of the world’s largest producers of precision sand castings, producing complex superalloy, titanium, aluminum, magnesium, and steel castings for a variety of leading commercial and military aircraft, weapon systems, regional / business jets, helicopters, and industrial gas turbines
• The acquisition is a strategic move in the escalating race among engine manufacturers and suppliers to control critical components as casting and forging remain significant bottlenecks to production
  • GE Aerospace will have greater control to fulfill its growing civil and defense backlogs and accelerate new engine technologies for the current fleet and next-generation platforms
  • GE Aerospace can leverage the acquired resources to prepare for emerging opportunities with Airbus and Boeing as the companies explore replacements for their single-aisle jets, rather than just a solution to a near-term bottleneck

Sources: Airbus, Boeing, and other publicly available resources

Global Defense

Europe Wants ITAR-Free Weapons and Components

• Honeywell Aerospace CEO, Jim Currier, announced that ITAR-free technology has become “a prerequisite” for winning European defense contracts amid concerns about how American International Traffic in Arms Regulations (“U.S. ITAR”) restricts foreign governments’ ability to sell or transfer domestically built weapons containing components originating in the U.S.
  • The Canadian Defence Industrial Strategy is designed to depend less on U.S. defense contractors by growing production capabilities at home and through EU partnerships

Polish Firm MESKO Signs $2B Deal to Arm Four NATO Nations

• MESKO and Poland’s Ministry of National Defence Armaments Agency have signed a framework agreement to supply thousands of Piorun missiles and launch systems for the international EDIRPA consortium
  • EDIRPA, comprised of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Norway, is an EU program aimed at incentivizing cooperation in defense procurement between member states to jointly coordinate acquisitions of critical defense products

German and Dutch Armies Order 69 Additional BOXER Infantry Fighting Vehicles

• This option exercised by the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (“OCCAR”) follows the contract award in 2025 for 222 BOXER RCT30 systems and further demonstrates the benefits of multinational cooperation in capability development and acquisition between Rheinmetall and KNDS with total order volumes of ~€6.5B
  • Germany, which had previously ordered 150 of the vehicles, will receive a further 35 units while the Netherlands will take delivery of 34 additional vehicles, increasing the total Dutch fleet to 106
  • The addition of the German and Dutch armed forces brings the total number of nations utilizing the Boxer RCT30 under contract to four

NATO Rearmament Drives Structural Expansion of European Defense Industry

• With governments entering binding procurement contracts for multi-year deliveries, industrial production is being rapidly ramped up. Demand is concentrated in areas such as air & missile defense, ammunition, guided missiles, drones & electronic warfare, naval submarines, naval surveillance, and naval air defense
  • EU defense spending is forecasted to reach over €454B in 2026. The EU’s SAFE (“Security Action for Europe”) financing instrument is supporting collaborative procurement and European industrial sourcing

New European Patriot Missile Maintenance Hub in Poland

• To strengthen Europe’s MRO capacity, Poland, upon selection by the U.S. Government, is making a $253M investment into a Patriot PAC-3 Interceptor maintenance facility
  • In parallel, U.S. Department of War (“DoW”) and German Ministry of Defense (“MOD”) agreed to build an additional production hub in Germany to produce Patriot interceptors

EU Defense Spending Does Not Automatically Translate to Supplier Profitability

• The downturn in the European automotive industry is freeing up capacity and qualified labor, but long lead-time components, government contracting terms, and working capital requirements continue to present a challenge
  • Supply chains supporting ammunitions, air defense, electronics, propulsion, and MRO expansion are likely to benefit the most from multi-national procurement programs

Sources: NATO, PitchBook, and other publicly available resources.

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The full report, including Global, US Defense, Government Services and Space Market update as well as global M&A activity, debt and equity capital markets activity, can be downloaded at the top of the page.

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If you have any questions about the report, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our team.

Dr Christoph Stoecker

Industry Advisor & General Counsel

stoecker@mcfcorpfin.com