was a landmark day across transport and defense: SpaceX flew Starship to orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, while the FAA froze Boeing’s 737 Max 10 certification over a software glitch, sending shares down roughly 7%. The Pentagon awarded RTX’s Raytheon a $20.7 billion AMRAAM missile contract, Northrop Grumman won new F-35 radar work and delivered its first 21 of 150 military satellites, and Western automakers — led by GM — publicly pivoted toward defense contracts and cheaper EV batteries amid shrinking market share, as tanker rates hit record highs with the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed.
Top stories:
- SpaceX — Starship launched from Starbase, Texas on its first-ever orbital test flight, deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, orbited Earth and splashed down in the Pacific after roughly three hours.
- NASA / SpaceX — The Falcon 9 rocket for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission arrived vertical at Launch Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral ahead of launch.
- Boeing — The FAA delayed certification of the 737 Max 10 over a newly identified software issue just as deliveries were near, and Boeing shares closed down about 6.9%.
- Airbus — Around 500 A321neo jets are affected by newly discovered quality defects, and Airbus is bracing for slower-than-expected September deliveries; the company also confirmed the A350F freighter’s maiden flight for September 29 from Toulouse.
- RTX / Raytheon — The Pentagon awarded Raytheon a provisional multiyear contract worth up to $20.7 billion to nearly double AMRAAM air-to-air missile output to at least 1,900 a year, replenishing stockpiles strained by Middle East conflict.
- Northrop Grumman — Won a $124 million agreement to begin production of 67 AN/APG-85 radars for the F-35 fleet, and delivered the first 21 of a planned 150 satellites for the U.S. military’s communications and missile-defense network at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
- General Motors — CFO Paul Jacobson said GM will deploy lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery production at scale in 2028 to cut EV costs by thousands of dollars per pack; GM Defense expects $700 million revenue this year, growing 30% annually.
- GM / Ford — Both are losing more U.S. market share than any other automaker as buyers prioritize fuel efficiency amid high gasoline prices, per a Cox Automotive forecast; separately, Reuters reports Western automakers broadly are chasing defense work to utilize idle plants.
- Volkswagen — Refreshed the ID.4 EV and folded it into the Tiguan family as the “ID. Tiguan,” arriving in Europe in early 2027 and confirmed U.S.-bound; the ID. Buzz EV’s U.S. return was pushed to first-half 2027.
- Honda — In final-stage talks to build an up to $2.5 billion U.S. hybrid assembly plant, with Ohio the leading contender and operations targeted for 2030.
- Tesla — The long-awaited $200,000 Tesla Roadster unveiling is set for October 1.
- Harley-Davidson — Kyle Wyman won the wet season finale of the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers at New Jersey Motorsports Park, leading a Harley-Davidson 1-2 finish with teammate Bradley Smith.
- U.S. fuel-economy policy — The Trump administration released new, eased fuel efficiency mandates on September 28, relaxing Biden-era rules automakers called too stringent.
- Shipping / tankers — Product tanker rates surged to a third successive record as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to commercial shipping (day 212, Brent near $106); DSIC delivered its first 115,000 DWT LR2 tanker, Uni-Tankers ordered eight newbuild tankers, and GTT won a tank-design contract for China’s first small-scale membrane-type LNG carrier.
