HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 22, 2026--
Karman Space & Defense (“Karman,” “Karman Holdings Inc.” or “the Company”) (NYSE: KRMN), a leader in the rapid design, development and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of Defense’s core mission priorities and the nation’s accelerating demand for access to space, today announced that Northrop Grumman Corporation has awarded a $21.3 million contract for the Proof of Manufacture (“POM”) phase of the U.S. Navy’s MK 54 Torpedo Fleet Exercise Section (“FES”) program.
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This contract award builds on Karman’s decades of proven performance as a critical supplier of maritime defense systems across submarine, surface ship, and autonomous naval platforms, including mission critical undersea warfare and fleet readiness applications.
The MK 54 Fleet Exercise Section (FES) is a recoverable training configuration used in U.S. Navy anti-submarine warfare exercises involving the MK 54 lightweight torpedo. It replaces the live warhead with a non-explosive exercise and recovery assembly, enabling safe deployment in training environments, collection of performance data, and recovery of the system for reuse. The FES supports fleet readiness, reduces lifecycle training costs, and enhances safety during operational training.
The MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo is deployed across multiple platforms, including submarines, aircraft, and surface ships operated by the U.S. Navy and allied partner nations.
The POM phase will validate the system’s design, manufacturing, and testing processes while supporting the transition to Low-Rate Initial Production (“LRIP”), enabling the U.S. Navy to conduct full system qualification prior to fleet fielding.
“We’re excited to move forward from the Proof of Demonstration phase to the Proof of Manufacture phase for the next generation of the U.S. Navy’s MK 54 Fleet Exercise Section,” said Jon Rambeau, chief executive officer of Karman. “The FES is an innovative solution to a complex challenge that Karman developed, tested and is now poised to produce for the Navy. Serving our nation’s military needs is core to our mission and drives our team to achieve the impossible every day.”
About Karman Space & Defense
Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of Defense’s core mission priorities and the nation’s accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload Protection & Deployment Systems, Hydro/Aerodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs. Karman is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, with multiple facilities across the United States. For more information, visit Karman Space & Defense.
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MK 54 Torpedo Fleet Exercise Section
U.S. air travel is recovering smoothly after a nationwide ground stop, though some passengers are both weary and wary after repeated flight delays and cancelations.
Just over 1,300 of the more than 26,000 flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. That amounts to about 5.2% of scheduled flights. Prior to Friday's ground stop, the average cancellation rate for U.S. departures was 3.4%.
The four-hour stoppage was the longest in 25 years. It caused massive travel disruptions, but officials said they expected airline schedules to fully recover by late Sunday or early Monday.
“As we look to the end of the day and into tomorrow, we should be running at full capacity,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday. “We’re well on our way.”
At Nashville International Airport, Lona Ivers, Will Ahern and their children were trying to get home to Minnesota after vacationing in Tennessee. They made it from Knoxville to Nashville with no problems Saturday, only to have their flight to Minnesota canceled.
“We thought we were safe, but we weren’t,” Ivers said.
Instead, they spent the night in a hotel and were re-booked on a flight not scheduled to leave Nashville until late Sunday night.
“I already hate flying so this just makes me hate it more,” said 14-year-old Bella Ahern. “Everything about this sucks. I already hated airports, and now I’m stuck here.”
Here’s what to know:
In New Jersey, Ashley Lynn Qua said she arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport three hours early for her Sunday flight with all her essentials in her carry-on and armed with “an extra ounce of kindness.”
“I’m not blaming anybody like the pilots, the flight attendants, the guy who’s serving me my third coffee of the morning. Those are not the people I’m upset with,” she said. “As I interact with everybody at the airport today, I know it’s not their fault.”
Qua, 32, a clean energy researcher, was on her way to a conference in Las Vegas. While her flight was expected to be on time, some of her colleagues were dealing with delays and cancellations.
Pete Alfieris, 60, was hoping to return home to Florida after attending a wedding in New York.
“Our flight has been delayed an hour or so so far, so fingers crossed that we can get out of here and go back to sun in Florida,” he said. “It’s just too cold up here.”
Alfieris, a facilities manager, said the entire travel system should be revamped.
“Honestly, it’s very perplexing,” he said. “We are in 2026, 2027. You know, we should have better infrastructure.”
The Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday described a radar site in Amarillo, Texas, and a radio communications site in El Dorado, Arkansas, as potential sources for the problem, which involved excess data flooding the air traffic control system and causing intermittent disruptions to communications and radar feeds.
Duffy said after a contractor replaced old copper wire with new fiber wire at the Arkansas site and the router was turned on, a problem then cropped up in Texas, cascading into the ground stop.
“We didn’t think that should or would happen,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”
In multiple appearances on Sunday news shows, Duffy continued to press Congress for billions of dollars for upgrades to the air traffic control infrastructure.
“I can’t apologize for what was passed on to us. And I can’t blame Republicans or Democrats, because it’s all of them. It goes back, 20, 25, 30 years of a lack of investment,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The air traffic control modernization began last year after Congress approved $12.5 billion of funding. Duffy and the White House are pushing for $30 billion more to complete the work. About 70% of copper wire has been switched to fiber already, officials said Saturday.
Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication the failure was related to a cyberattack and no lives were at risk.
Microsoft said Saturday that services were fully restored after its own massive outage. There was no indication the FAA ground stop was related to the service disruption that took Microsoft services offline Thursday, according to federal officials and a company spokesperson.
Over 430 million people use Microsoft 365 apps, Microsoft said on its website. Users reported Microsoft 365 services including Outlook, Teams and AI assistant Copilot were interrupted.
Two travelers sleep in the baggage claim area at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Baggage waits for travelers to claim in at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A traveler sleeps at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded flights nationwide. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A display board shows canceled flights to the U.S., in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (Florian Wiegand/dpa via AP)
Passengers wait for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, in Houston after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted nationwide ground stops. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
