Duffy investigates L3Harris over FAA outage that grounded U.S. flights

The U.S. Navy's NAWCWD launched facilities to increase Tomahawk missile production to over 1,000 per year, using a museum exhibit warhead casing for testing. The expansion is under a $22.9B contract with RTX. General Dynamics and Raytheon are involved in production.

US air travel disruptions continued into Sunday, with over 11,600 flights canceled or delayed. The FAA blamed the issue on a router problem at a contractor, L3Harris. The FAA expects operations to normalize by late Sunday. Airlines like Delta, United, American, and JetBlue canceled significant numbers of flights. The FAA and airlines are working to resolve the issue and prevent future disruptions.

US air travel faced disruptions after a nationwide ground stop due to a communications failure caused by FAA contractor L3Harris. Airlines cancelled thousands of flights, and FAA head Bryan Bedford expects operations to normalize by late Sunday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned potential user or installer error from L3Harris, which saw its shares drop 4% after hours. The FAA is conducting additional testing with L3Harris to assess risks.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is investigating whether L3Harris Technologies Inc. was at fault for a nationwide aviation traffic control system shutdown. The outage, caused by a router issue during a fiber upgrade, grounded flights for over four hours. Duffy suggested possible incompetence, such as an installation error or faulty equipment. The FAA is working with other contractors for a replacement network. L3Harris shares closed at $272.35 on Friday, up 17% from their 52-week low.

L3Harris Technologies (LHX) was working on the FAA's air traffic control network when a router issue caused nationwide flight delays. The FAA's ground stop lasted nearly five hours, and LHX's stock fell 4.2% in after-hours trading. The cause of the issue is still under investigation, with potential implications for LHX's government contracts.

U.S. defense contractors reported Q3 earnings growth and secured new contracts, but Democratic election wins raised concerns over military spending. Curtiss-Wright (CW) reported 10% revenue growth and raised its 2026 EPS forecast. Leidos (LDOS) and BWX Technologies (BWXT) also posted earnings. Lockheed Martin (LMT), Boeing (BA), and others won multi-million-dollar contracts. Defense stocks fell, with CW, LDOS, and BWXT down 21%, 26%, and 30% YTD.