NatSec News: Nov 9, 2026

In this week’s episode of Acquisition Talk, hosts discuss a packed slate of defense tech and acquisition headlines with Matt McGregor of the Defense Tech and Acquisition Substack. Topics include the delivery of more than 25,000 autonomous and counter-unmanned systems to CENTCOM, a new world speed record for a small jet-powered drone, Shield AI’s ExBat VTOL concept and its $5.3 billion acquisition of Echodyne, General Atomics’ hybrid-electric stealth drone, SOCOM’s low-cost Zeus shoulder-fired missile, and Lockheed’s Lamprey undersea vehicle that recharges from host ships. The conversation also covers subterranean and fiber-optic drone experiments, the role of super-intelligence in military decision-making, challenges unifying the fragmented S&T enterprise, expeditionary robotic factories for Lucas drones, private equity versus venture capital in the AI era, the potential I-81 defense industrial corridor, an Office of Strategic Capital loan to a drone company, and the implications of Democratic control of Congress for the defense budget, continuing resolutions, and reconciliation. Additional items include Navy fleet structure recommendations, Saildrone and M-USV protest outcomes, PAC-3 integration on warships, multi-year fighter procurement, bird-mimicking drones, lessons from Operation Epic Fury, Space Force’s new special operations component, and interoperability issues among satellite constellations.