Recent geopolitical conflicts may give the impression that developments in the defense sector have already been priced into stock prices. However, beyond the US-Iran war, the long-term narrative of AI integration in modern warfare is far from over.
As early as April 2017, the U.S. Department of Defense launched Project Maven (officially: Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team), its first dedicated military AI project, marking a significant step in deeply embedding AI into combat systems. Now, Maven Smart Systems is being procured by NATO for alliance operations.
Which companies are the main drivers of modern defense intelligence?
Currently, $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ is one of the main participants in the Maven project. Other participants include $Maxar Technologies Inc (MAXR.CA)$ in satellite remote sensing and $Leidos (LDOS.US)$ in intelligence.
Meanwhile, the AI-ification of defense companies not only requires combat assistance software systems from companies like Palantir but has also led to a surge in hardware demands such as sensors, navigation, and electronic control systems. $L3Harris Technologies (LHX.US)$ , $TransDigm (TDG.US)$ , and $RTX Corp (RTX.US)$ Raytheon Technologies are major players in this field. Other relevant information is as follows:
On the other hand, traditional military entities need to be integrated to support defense AI. The Department of Defense's JADC2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control) project links traditional defense department actions together.
Dividing by Space Force, Navy, Army, and Air Force, the product lines of various companies are as follows:
What defense assets were used in the US-Iran conflict?
The U.S. Central Command recently disclosed on social media the defense equipment used in military actions against Iran.
Related equipment includes:
1. Tomahawk missiles (from $RTX Corp (RTX.US)$ Raytheon Technologies). This missile has been used since the 1991 Gulf War, characterized by relatively slow speed but high precision and modular sensor replacement capabilities.
2. The launch platform for Tomahawk missiles is the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. $Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII.US)$ and $General Dynamics (GD.US)$ both produce the destroyers. Aircraft carriers are made solely by HII, and both stocks have seen significant increases in recent years.
3. The main land-based missile launch platform is the HIMARS rocket artillery, with $Lockheed Martin (LMT.US)$ as the primary contractor.

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