Latest news with #military
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. Navy ship renamed to honor Oscar V. Peterson
The U.S. Naval ship previously named after Harvey Milk will be renamed Oscar V. Peterson, a World War II hero, as announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why BlackSky Technology Stock Popped Today
BlackSky won a $24 million delivery order from NGA earlier in the week. This morning, Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on BlackSky stock. BlackSky's revenue growth remains slow, and the stock remains unprofitable. 10 stocks we like better than BlackSky Technology › Shares of BlackSky Technology (NYSE: BKSY), one of the leading providers of digital satellite photos of Earth from space, rocketed 18.9% through 12:35 p.m. ET Thursday on a couple of positive developments. On Tuesday, BlackSky announced the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded the company a $24 million, four-year contract to perform global monitoring of military and economic facilities. Two days later -- today -- Canaccord Genuity analyst Austin Moeller responded by raising his price target on BlackSky stock from $14 to $20 per share. Let's start with the NGA contract. Technically a "delivery order" under a much larger umbrella contract awarded last year, this "Luno A Facility Operational Monitoring" contract hires BlackSky to "perform AI-enabled object and pattern-of-life change detection to monitor trends and anomalies in vehicle, aircraft, vessel, railcar, and ground equipment activity at military and economic facilities worldwide, including ports, airfields, military installations, and railways." So it's basically it's a spy satellite contract. It's also worth an additional $6 million a year to BlackSky, with the potential to grow even bigger over time, as more delivery orders under the original umbrella contract roll in. But is this development big enough to justify adding more than $100 million to BlackSky's market capitalization today? I doubt it. BlackSky stock has already more than doubled over the past year. Yet revenues are up less than 10%, the company's still burning cash, and it's still losing about $54 million a year. Analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence don't expect BlackSky to earn its first profit before 2028 at the earliest. While $20 a share may not sound like much today, I'm afraid BlackSky stock is still too expensive to buy. Before you buy stock in BlackSky Technology, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and BlackSky Technology wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $687,731!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $945,846!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 818% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 175% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why BlackSky Technology Stock Popped Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Berlin to simplify rules in bid to speed up defence surge, draft law says
BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - The German government seeks to speed up defence procurement by simplifying legal procedures, fostering European cooperation and facilitating orders to start-ups to make its military combat-ready, according to a draft law seen by Reuters late on Friday. The speedy surge of the German military's capabilities "must not fail due to overly complex procurement procedures or lengthy authorisation processes", the document said, while warning of signs that Moscow's war objectives reach beyond Ukraine. "The time factor is crucial." At a NATO summit in The Hague, leaders on Wednesday agreed to hike the alliance's defence spending target to 5% of national GDP, with 3.5% dedicated to core defence and 1.5% to related security issues. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government on Tuesday approved a budget framework which is expected to see Berlin's total military spending rise from 95 billion euros in 2025 to 162 billion euros in 2029, equalling 3.5% of GDP. The new defence procurement law is part of efforts to speed up military purchases that in the past have been plagued by lengthy delays, project failures and cost overshoots. The draft law determines that all procurement that contributes to Europe and NATO's military readiness inherently touches upon vital national security, which constitutes a basis to invoke an exemption under European public procurement law. That would amplify a trend that Berlin has been following for some time by more often making use of a national security clause under EU law to prioritize domestic procurement, while also seeking to minimize delays caused by legal challenges. The hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups and innovative companies to join competitions are to be lowered by enabling advance payment to these firms, according to the draft, dated June 25. The paper also makes provisions for a future simplification of European defence procurement rules, something now under discussion at the EU level, by stating that the German law should not be tougher than European law but facilitate joint European defence procurement across the board. The law will entitle contracting entities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union or the European Economic Area, and to determine that a certain share of the contracted goods or services must originate in the EU, according to the document. The draft law does not, however, attempt to change the rule that all defence purchases with a volume of 25 million euros or more must be approved by parliament, a requirement seen by many experts as a major hurdle against speeding up procurement. At the start of June, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would need up to 60,000 additional troops under the new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, effectively expanding the military to some 260,000 troops. The Bundeswehr has not yet met a target of 203,000 troops set in 2018, and it is currently short-staffed by some 20,000 regular troops, according to defence ministry data.
The National
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
US Senate rejects bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers
The Republican-led US Senate rejected a Democratic-led bid on Friday to block Donald Trump from using further military force against Iran, hours after the President said he would consider more bombing. The Senate vote was 53 to 47, along party lines, against a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for more hostilities against Iran. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate armed services and foreign relations committees, on introduced the bill last week. The legislation expressed concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the US into conflict - which it–ultimately did when Mr Trump ordered strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure days later. 'It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,' the Democratic senator said. 'I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict." Asked o' Friday if he would bomb Iranian nuclear sites again if he deemed necessary, Mr Trump said: 'Sure, without question.' Passage of the resolution was seen as a long shot. Republicans have a majority in the Senate, and have overwhelmingly stood with the President in support of his decision to strike Iran. There were some fractures in the Make America Great Again movement that seem largely to have healed now that it seems the strikes will not provoke a longer conflict. Most Republicans hold that Iran posed an imminent threat that required decisive action from Mr Trump. Democrats, meanwhile, have cast doubt on that justification, arguing the President should have come to Congress first. They also said the President did not update them adequately, with Congress's first briefings taking place on Thursday.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
New bill would expand exception to Medal of Honor 5-year limitation
Thanks to a new bill, the Medal of Honor may be awarded to service members for acts of valor that occurred decades ago. 'Valor never expires,' Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who introduced the Valor Has No Expiration Act, said in a recent press release. 'Neither should the opportunity for our bravest heroes to be recognized with our highest honor. There is no reason why those who went above and beyond are ineligible for the Medal of Honor due to an arbitrary time standard, when their true account may not be known or was kept classified for decades.' The act seeks to extend and expand upon the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act, which, according to Issa's press release, waived the five-year limitation for Medal of Honor consideration — but only for actions occurring between 1940 and 1990 and only for classified 'intelligence activities.' The Valor Has No Expiration Act would remove such arbitrary timelines and expand the criteria to include classified acts or those withheld from the public record. Issa notes that he was inspired to propose the bill due to his friend and constituent, Naval aviator Capt. Royce Williams, and his 1952 actions during the Korean War. Flying a F9F-5 Panther fighter, Williams found himself alone, outmanned and piloting what was considered an inferior aircraft when he was swarmed by seven MiG-15 aircraft. Despite initially flying with two other VF-781 pilots, Williams soon found himself alone. 'In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job … I was only shooting what I had,' said Williams in a previous account of the fight. 'They had me cold on maneuverability and acceleration. … The only thing I could do was out-turn them.' For 35 minutes, Williams engaged with the enemy, shooting down four of the planes in what is considered the longest dogfight in U.S. military history. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, no other American fighter pilot has ever shot down four MiG-15s in one fight. Williams' action, however, was kept classified for more than 50 years, making the pilot ineligible for the Medal of Honor. 'Capt. Royce Williams — now 100 years young — is an American hero of the highest order. Every American should know his story and what he did on that day nearly 73 years ago should go unrecognized no longer,' said Issa. 'With this reform legislation, America's heroes — whether undiscovered, unknown, or unrevealed — can be honored as they should. Acts of valor have no expiration date.'
