Aerospace & Defense: On the Radar: 9/21/26-9/25/26

Coming Up This Week: DoD has decided whether Boeing or Northrop will be prime contractor for the Navy's next-gen F/A-XX fighter, with an announcement likely soon, perhaps by the end of the quarter. Presidents Trump and Xi are to meet at the White House on Sept 24; Boeing indicated major order announcements from China are unlikely to emerge from the meeting. Aero/Def Recap: Commercial Aero coverage (-2.3%) underperformed the market (-0.1%), with HONA (+3.4%) leading while SARO (-7.2%) and BA (-5.8%) lagged; Defense coverage (+2.0%) outperformed, with Space (+3.7%), Small Caps (+2.7%), Services (+1.0%) and Large Caps (+0.2%) all up, led by AVAV (+9.0%) and YSS (+8.5%). Headline News: DoD and Lockheed signed a framework agreement to accelerate production of the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (AIM-260); the State Department approved a potential FMS to Saudi Arabia for up to 48 F-35s worth up to $24bn;