Latest news with #L3HarrisTechnologies
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall Street Sees Opportunity in Defense Contractor Stocks on Bright Outlook
(Bloomberg) -- US aerospace stocks have been soaring recently, but analysts see opportunities in a lagging cohort they're often clumped with: defense contractors. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The S&P Composite 1500 Aerospace & Defense Index has jumped 40% from its tariff-driven low on April 4, while the S&P 500 has climbed 24% over the same period. The advance has largely been powered by aerospace companies while prominent defense names in the index, such as Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., have been among the biggest laggards. Uncertainty around US government military spending, tariff concerns and fears of decreased demand from global customers have hurt defense stocks in recent months. While analysts expect a lackluster earnings season for the group, they recommend purchasing any drop in the shares as they see prospects for defense companies improving later this year. 'If you see weakness, use these stocks as a buying opportunity,' said Richard Safran, an analyst at Seaport Research, adding that he's bullish on the defense sector but doesn't expect it to have a good quarter. The analyst favors pure-play names like L3Harris Technologies Inc., Northrop and Lockheed Martin. Northrop and Lockheed are set to kick off earnings for the group on Tuesday. The defense sector could experience growth as soon as the second half of the year, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Ken Herbert, who cites the full-year 2026 presidential budget request that's now in place, and potential upside from the $150 billion reconciliation bill. Stretched Valuations The aerospace and defense index is trading at 31 times forward earnings, compared to 27 times for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100. Within the index, the biggest military contractors' valuations are still comparatively lagging. Shares of RTX were trading at 24 times forward earnings as of Friday's close. For Lockheed, 16 times forward earnings, while General Dynamics and Northrop traded around 19. The high valuations of aerospace companies suggest a lot of the good news may already be priced in. Wall Street already anticipates most of these companies to raise forecasts, supported by an improved Boeing Co. production outlook. Upbeat second-quarter results from GE Aerospace last week underscored that bullish sentiment. On the other hand, the brighter outlook for defense stocks in the second half of the year, combined with a significantly lower price tag make them an attractive bet, according to analysts. 'I think the market is underestimating defense spending growth. It's just not being priced in,' Seaport's Safran said. A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
AllAfrica
4 days ago
- Business
- AllAfrica
US banking on cheap missiles to narrow China war gap
The US is betting on a new wave of cheap cruise missiles to win a high-tech war of attrition against China. This month, US defense contractor L3Harris Technologies revealed the 'Red Wolf' and 'Green Wolf' missiles, offering affordable, long-range strike capabilities for the US military amid rising tensions with China in the Pacific, Reuters reported. The systems support the US Department of Defense's (DoD) 'affordable mass' strategy, shaped by recent conflicts in Ukraine and Israel that underscored the need for large stockpiles of deployable munitions. Both multi-role missiles exceed a 200-nautical-mile range and can engage moving naval targets. Red Wolf focuses on precision strikes, whereas Green Wolf is designed for electronic warfare and intelligence collection. Production is underway in Ashburn, Virginia, with initial low-rate manufacturing progressing toward full-scale output. L3Harris anticipates pricing around US$300,000 per unit and aims to produce roughly 1,000 annually. Having completed over 40 successful test flights, the systems mark a strategic pivot as Lockheed Martin and RTX currently dominate the long-range missile market. The Red and Green Wolf systems join a growing list of weapons marketed under the affordable mass concept, including Anduril's Barracuda and Lockheed Martin's Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT), which embody competing visions of low-cost, mass-producible cruise missiles designed to saturate peer adversaries. Anduril's Barracuda—available in three scalable configurations—emphasizes rapid production using commercial components, modular payloads and autonomous teaming enabled by its Lattice software. Designed for flexibility across air, sea and land launches, it has entered a US Air Force/Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) prototype effort. In contrast, Lockheed's CMMT, or 'Comet,' is a modular, non-stealthy missile priced at $150,000 and optimized for global assembly and palletized mass launch from cargo aircraft. Barracuda emphasizes software-defined autonomy and flexible mission roles, while CMMT focuses on industrial-scale modularity and global assembly for cost-effective mass deployment. As the US military turns to low-cost cruise missiles like Barracuda, CMMT and the Red and Green Wolf to achieve affordable mass, a critical question looms: can these cheaper weapons deliver sufficient firepower, scale and survivability to offset industrial shortfalls and support sustained combat in a high-intensity war with China? According to the US DoD's 2024 China Military Power Report (CMPR), China possesses the world's largest navy by battle force, exceeding 370 ships and submarines, including over 140 major surface combatants. Mark Gunzinger argues in a November 2021 article for Air & Space Forces Magazine that the US suffers from a shortage of precision-guided munitions (PGMs), rooted in outdated assumptions favoring short wars, which he argues limits its ability to sustain combat against China. Seth Jones writes in a January 2023 report for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that the US defense industrial base remains optimized for peacetime and lacks resilient supply chains. Jones warns that this situation leaves the US unprepared for a protracted conflict, such as a Taiwan contingency against China, where early depletion of high-end munitions could prove disastrous. He stresses that in a potential US-China war over Taiwan, the US could expend up to 5,000 high-end, multi-million-dollar long-range missiles—including the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), Harpoon anti-ship missile and Tomahawk cruise missile—within the first three weeks of conflict. While ramping up production of lower-end PGMs could, to some extent, alleviate shortages, Evan Montgomery and others argue in a June 2024 article for War on the Rocks that cheap, mass-produced PGMs often lack the performance—stealth, speed, range and penetrating power—needed to generate lasting strategic effects. Drawing on recent case studies, they point out that Israel's neutralization of Iran's April 2024 drone swarm using $20,000-$50,000 Shahed loitering munitions contrasts sharply with Ukraine's selective use of advanced, multi-million-dollar munitions such as Storm Shadow and the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). They note the latter precision strikes forced costly Russian Black Sea Fleet redeployments and disrupted operations. Montgomery and others conclude that low-cost swarms may struggle to inflict meaningful attrition, particularly if autonomy and swarming technologies remain immature or economically unscalable. Given the capability gap between high-end PGMs like the $3.2 million per unit LRASM and more affordable systems such as the Red Wolf, Stacey Pettyjohn and others argue in a January 2025 article for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) that the US must urgently implement a high-low PGM mix to deter China. They argue that China's People's Liberation Army's (PLA) rapid expansion and increasingly coercive maneuvers have outpaced the US's Indo-Pacific posture, exposing a strategic mismatch in both capability and scale. They point out that while high-end weapons are critical for penetrating advanced defenses and executing high-value missions, they are constrained by cost, availability and replenishment lag. Conversely, they state low-cost autonomous systems can be produced more rapidly and in greater numbers to bolster mass and sustain combat effectiveness over time, though they lack the capability of high-end systems. However, Pettyjohn and others caution that the US DoD's risk-averse acquisition culture and absence of a clear operational concept integrating both tiers exacerbate these challenges. Explaining the roots of this problem, Shands Pickett and Zach Beecher write in a June 2025 article for War on the Rocks that a widening rift between traditional prime contractors and non-traditional tech entrants is fracturing the US defense-industrial base. Pickett and Beecher note that primes, known for delivering large-scale, complex systems, are criticized for being slow, risk-averse and too focused on legacy programs. In contrast, they state that non-traditionalists bring agility and innovation, rapidly developing capabilities using commercial best practices. Yet Pickett and Beecher note that these firms often struggle with integration into mission systems and scaling for full-rate production. They liken this incompatibility to clashing software languages, resulting in technical debt, mission gaps and an industrial ecosystem fragmented and ill-suited to modern threats. While low-cost missiles can help close the gap in munitions volume, their strategic value hinges on effective integration, operational clarity and industrial readiness. Without structural reforms to US acquisition practices and production infrastructure, affordable mass may fall short of delivering meaningful deterrence in a high-end conflict with China.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
L3Harris Announces Quarterly Dividend
The Board of Directors of L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.20 per common share, payable Sept. 22, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 5, 2025. About L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies is the Trusted Disruptor in the defense industry. With customers' mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security. Visit for more information.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
L3Harris unveils new long-range missiles with eye on China in the Pacific
L3Harris Technologies has unveiled two new missiles that aim to provide less expensive long-range strike options for the US military as it restocks its supplies while looking for arms to deter China's ambitions in the Pacific. The 'Red Wolf' and 'Green Wolf' missile launch comes as the concept of 'affordable mass' has gained prominence due to the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, which have underscored the need for plentiful, cost-effective weapons. This strategy focuses on having a large number of relatively inexpensive munitions ready for deployment, ensuring military readiness and adaptability. These multi-role missiles with a range of more than 200 nautical miles can hit moving targets like ships, such as in the Pacific Ocean where range is important. Lockheed Martin and RTX currently dominate the space in the US market. 01:26 Trump's Golden Dome shows US 'obsessed with absolute security', China says Trump's Golden Dome shows US 'obsessed with absolute security', China says The most basic version of L3's new missile would cost in the US$300,000-range once production has reached full rate, L3 executives said.
Business Wire
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Wire
L3Harris Introduces Launched Effects Vehicles to Increase US Multi-Domain Superiority
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today debuted a pack of launched effects vehicles, demonstrating the company's ability to respond to the U.S. Department of Defense's urgent need for advanced, capable and affordable munitions it can employ across services and domains. Red Wolf TM and Green Wolf TM are the first in L3Harris' expanding family of multi-role vehicles that can easily integrate and launch from air, ground or maritime-based platforms. Red Wolf is a kinetic platform for long-range precision strikes, while Green Wolf is an electronic warfare platform equipped with electronic attack and detect, identify, locate and report capabilities. Both vehicles are flexible, modular and feature advanced software for in-flight collaboration and re-targeting. They also support swarming capability of autonomous aircraft. 'Our launched effects 'wolf pack' provides U.S. military branches – regardless of platform – with a significant advantage in closing long-range kill chains, defeating adversarial threats in challenging environments and protecting assets,' said Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. 'The Red Wolf and Green Wolf are lethal, modular, affordable and ready to hunt.' L3Harris designed, developed and built the vehicles over the past five years and completed more than 40 flights with them. The platforms can be recoverable, providing flexibility to develop and integrate different payloads. The company will build dozens of systems as part of low-rate initial production by the end of 2025, supported by infrastructure expansions and automation enhancements. About L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies is the Trusted Disruptor in the defense industry. With customers' mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security. Visit for more information.
