Aerospace & Defense

  • August 14, 2026

    4 Questions On Excess Manufacturing Capacity Tariffs

    Stakeholders anticipate new tariffs on key trading partners stemming from allegations that excess manufacturing capacity is causing harm to U.S. businesses, but several open questions remain about the extent to which duty burdens will increase and whether countries will retaliate in response. Here, Law360 considers four such questions.

  • August 14, 2026

    Drone-Maker Gets Partial Do-Over In Chinese Gov't Ties Suit

    The D.C. Circuit Friday partially overturned a lower court win for the U.S. Department of Defense in its dispute with a drone-maker over being designated a Chinese military company, saying there is no publicly stated rationale for the decision.

  • August 14, 2026

    Tetra Tech Loses Bid To Halt Army Corps Fuel Services Award

    A federal judge has denied Tetra Tech Inc.'s push to block performance of a challenged award the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued to Pond Constructors Inc. for fuel support services, pointing in part to a lapse in essential services it would cause.

  • August 14, 2026

    Trump Hits Imported Drones With Up To 100% Tariffs

    Large drones and those with certain capabilities "that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes" and their components will face a 100% ad valorem tariff starting in September, President Donald Trump ordered, with smaller drones and other components facing a 25% tariff.

  • August 13, 2026

    Calif. Judge OKs $57M Deal On Former Navy Site's Cleanup

    A California federal judge has approved a $57 million settlement between the U.S. government and Tetra Tech EC Inc., resolving claims that the company billed the Navy for radiation cleanup work at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that it never performed.

  • August 13, 2026

    3 Firms Guide Defense Tech Co. Aevex's $650M BlackSea Buy

    U.S. defense technology company Aevex Corp. said it has agreed to purchase BlackSea Technologies in a deal valued at about $650 million, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Crowell & Moring LLP advising Aevex and Cooley LLP representing BlackSea.

  • August 13, 2026

    Sierra Nevada Gets FCC OK For High Frequency Flight Sensor

    The Federal Communications Commission gave the green light to Sierra Nevada Co. LLC's request to operate enhanced flight vision systems in the 92-95.5 gigahertz spectrum band.

  • August 13, 2026

    White House Aims Customs AI Tool At Chinese Tariff Evasion

    The White House identified Thursday over 40 countries from which imports carry a heightened risk of transshipment, an illegal practice of misrepresenting goods entering the U.S. that originate elsewhere such as China, and government officials are working on a new artificial intelligence enforcement tool to address those concerns.

  • August 13, 2026

    FCC Told Foreign Drone Ban Could Hinder Public Safety Work

    A nonprofit that donates drones to public safety agencies and science programs has urged the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a potential ban on foreign-made military-grade drones.

  • August 13, 2026

    Wireless Cos. Want FCC Protection In Upper Microwave Bands

    Top wireless carriers are seeking assurance from the Federal Communications Commission that it will not craft new rules in the upper microwave spectrum bands that could lead to interference with their licensed use of the airwaves.

  • August 12, 2026

    WSJ Says Binance Sued Because It's Unhappy With Facts

    The publisher of the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday urged a Manhattan federal judge to deep six a defamation suit brought by Binance over reporting about internal investigators at the crypto exchange who were allegedly fired after flagging Iranian sanctions violations, saying the company is just unhappy with the way the Journal reported the facts.

  • August 12, 2026

    DC Court Says Firms' Fee Arbitration Pact Wasn't Coerced

    An appeals court has affirmed an arbitral award issuing a Washington, D.C., law firm zero fees in connection with efforts by defense contractor Wye Oak Technology Inc. to enforce a $120 million judgment against Iraq, rejecting the firm's argument that an underlying fee deal was coerced.

  • August 12, 2026

    Norwegian Air Affiliates Seek Boeing Exec Depo In 737 Case

    Norwegian Air subsidiaries that claim Boeing duped them into a 737 Max deal by overstating the jets' safety urged a Washington federal judge Tuesday to order the deposition of a former Boeing executive, contending he has unique insight into information shared with top corporate leaders during the aircraft's development.

  • August 12, 2026

    SpaceX On Hunt For More Spectrum

    SpaceX is hungry for more spectrum, telling the Federal Communications Commission it ought to set "aggressive, technology-agnostic" buildout milestones in order to get new wireless satellite services to market just as the company unveils plans to build its own terrestrial network.

  • August 12, 2026

    GAO Says Army Can't Bar Small Biz Teams From $50B Deal

    The U.S. Army's prohibition on small businesses submitting proposals as teams to secure a potentially $50 billion contract aimed at establishing a marketplace for the acquisition of professional services goes against small business regulations, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said.

  • August 12, 2026

    She Has A Point: Shutts & Bowen's Jodi-Ann Tillman

    Jodi-Ann Tillman of Shutts & Bowen LLP was brought into patent infringement litigation over drum technology just months before trial, and her performance earned high praise from opposing counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP partner Laura Ganoza.

  • August 12, 2026

    Trump Pick Sets Stage For More Fights Over FCC's Power

    A move by the White House to fill the third Republican vacancy on the Federal Communications Commission — but leave a long-empty minority seat on the five-member board unfilled — sets up what will likely be more pitched battles over not only the FCC's powers, but its future composition.

  • August 12, 2026

    Lawmakers Probe Rare Earths Co. Over $620M DOD Loan

    Democratic lawmakers have asked the CEO of Vulcan Elements to address reports that a senior White House adviser pressed defense officials to loan the rare earths startup $620 million after a firm affiliated with Donald Trump Jr. invested in it.

  • August 12, 2026

    Army Corps OKs Enbridge Tunnel Amid Line 5 Permit Fight

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit Wednesday allowing Enbridge Energy LP to tunnel beneath four miles of the Straits of Mackinac for its Line 5 oil pipeline, and environmental and tribal groups fighting the project say a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision bars the construction.

  • August 12, 2026

    9th Circ. Enforces $2B Devas Satellite Award

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday enforced an over $2 billion arbitral award issued to a satellite communications company, ruling for the first time that the legal concept that a dispute might be better heard elsewhere does not apply in cases seeking to enforce international arbitral awards.

  • August 12, 2026

    Army Loses Bid For 4th Circ. Burial Remains Rehearing

    The Fourth Circuit won't rethink its decision that the U.S. Army must return the remains of two Indigenous children to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska who have been buried at a former Indian boarding school cemetery in Pennsylvania for more than a century.

  • August 11, 2026

    GAO Backs Army's Fix In $251M Amentum Order Fight

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a DCS Corp. protest challenging a corrective action the Army proposed for an engineering and technical assistance procurement, rejecting assertions the action was aimed at helping Amentum Services Inc. retain a $251.6 million task order award.

  • August 11, 2026

    FCC Revokes Odyssey's Drone Authorization

    The Federal Communications Commission revoked Odyssey Robot LLC's equipment authorization for a drone and its remote controller, citing allegedly false claims by the company that its products were made in the U.S.

  • August 11, 2026

    Feds Settle American Airlines Claims Over DC Midair Collision

    American Airlines and its regional affiliate PSA Airlines have settled their cross-claims seeking to have the federal government share the costs or indemnify them for any potential judgment or damages in litigation over the deadly January 2025 midair collision over Washington, D.C.

  • August 11, 2026

    Contractor Will Pay $1M To Settle Claims Over Testing Lapses

    A Massachusetts-based wire manufacturer will pay about $1 million to settle allegations it failed to perform testing required for products supplied to the U.S. Navy over a 10-year span, according to federal prosecutors.

Expert Analysis

  • Quantum Readiness May Paradoxically Raise Contractor Risk

    Author Photo

    The organizations best positioned for the cryptographic system migration deadlines and other requirements under President Donald Trump’s recent quantum executive orders will be those able to inventory their cryptographic dependencies while protecting their vulnerability road map from adversaries, says Jesse Lemon at The Beckage Firm.

  • Justices Stand On Statutory Specifics In Cisco And Landor

    Author Photo

    With its June 23 decisions in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, the U.S. Supreme Court doubled down on the critical point that the statute invoked in a federal claim must authorize a private lawsuit and the remedy sought, says Patrick Judd at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Trump EOs Pair Quantum Push With Cyber Defense Overhaul

    Author Photo

    Two recent executive orders that mark a significant federal commitment to both advancing and defending against quantum technology create potential opportunities for companies in the quantum, AI and technology sectors and pose future compliance obligations contractors should begin considering now, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

    Author Photo

    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • More Cos. Will Copy SpaceX's Shareholder Proposal Opt-Out

    Author Photo

    For more than 80 years, the shareholder proposal looked like a federal right guaranteed to all public company investors, but after SpaceX opted out before its recent initial public offering, other companies are likely to follow, says Mohsen Manesh at the University of Oregon School of Law.

  • Perfectus Deal Raises Trade Missteps To Enterprise Risk Level

    Author Photo

    Former inspector general Parisa Salehi at Parker Poe discusses what the U.S. Department of Justice's recently settled False Claims Act case against Perfectus Aluminum can teach companies about satisfying trade reporting obligations as agencies increasingly coordinate enforcement.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

    Author Photo

    Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

  • 2 Prediction Market Cases Will Test Insider Trading Theory

    Author Photo

    Prosecutors in two recent Southern District of New York cases have filed separate charges against two defendants who used confidential information gathered from each employer to place prediction market bets, but each prosecution must overcome different legal hurdles established by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Second Circuit, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert.

  • Ill. Law Firm MSO Bill Clashes With Court Power, Ethics Rules

    Author Photo

    An Illinois bill prohibiting law firms from certain business arrangements with management service organizations, sent to the governor for signature last week, encroaches upon the courts' constitutional powers and goes beyond the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct in regulating investment in law-related services, says Matthew O’Hara at Smith Gambrell.

  • Constructing AI Compliance Plans As State Laws Diverge

    Author Photo

    With Colorado, Connecticut and the federal government recently announcing wildly different approaches to artificial intelligence regulation, creating a workable compliance program means addressing overlapping obligations using shared systems rather than separate silos, say attorneys at Ogletree.

  • Opinion

    State Courts Must Be Gatekeepers Of Expert Testimony

    Author Photo

    Based on my experience in the state judiciary, emulating federal courts' role as gatekeepers of expert witness testimony would help state court judges maintain the appearance of impartiality and assist juries, thus enhancing the overall confidence people have in their justice system, says Lorie Gildea at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Weighing The Implications Of The Anthropic Export Directive

    Author Photo

    The Trump administration recently issued an export control directive against Anthropic to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, representing one of the first uses of the regime against a frontier large language model in widespread commercial distribution, says attorney Sohan Dasgupta.

  • Series

    Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

  • Brief Iran Sanctions Pause Will Most Benefit Non-US Cos.

    Author Photo

    Due to its short duration, the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recently issued general license easing Iran sanctions will mostly benefit companies with preexisting commercial relationships involving Iranian petroleum, and is unlikely to mitigate overcompliance and de-risking behavior by U.S. and foreign financial institutions, says Michelle Roberts at Berliner Corcoran.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Aerospace & Defense archive.