France to send military equipment to help defend Saudi Arabia's Yanbu

Curtiss-Wright raised its 2026 Naval Defense sales growth outlook to 7-9% and its 2026 Aerospace Defense sales growth outlook to 12-14%, while maintaining its Commercial Aerospace outlook at 10-12%, as strong demand across naval defense, aerospace and defense electronics continued to drive results. In the second quarter of 2026, Naval & Power sales increased 7% year over year on higher naval defense revenues from submarine program activity and increased aftermarket demand, and the company expects Naval & Power sales to grow 10-11%. Aerospace & Industrial sales rose 12% year over year in the second quarter, supported by higher demand for actuation equipment and stronger commercial aerospace activity across narrowbody and widebody aircraft. Defense Electronics orders rose 8% year over year in the second quarter to $1.1 billion, supported by embedded computing, tactical communications, turret stabilization and radar systems, while companywide book-to-bill was 1.16 and backlog reached $4.5 billion, up 10% from December 2025. The strong order pipeline provides revenue visibility as Curtiss-Wright converts backlog into sales, and its exposure to submarines, fighter jets, UAVs and commercial aircraft, along with sustained defense and aerospace demand, could support growth beyond 2026.

Yemen's Houthi group said on the evening of Thursday, September 24, that it had fired missiles and sent drones to attack highly sensitive targets in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as well as facilities belonging to Aramco in Yanbu, a Red Sea port city. It marks a new round of long-range attacks amid an increasingly intense conflict with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said France is preparing to send military equipment to help protect Yanbu, a key industrial and energy hub on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. In other conflicts, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said ending the war that has dragged on for seven months depends on a decision by the United States, while China is pushing all parties to reduce tensions. At the 81st regular session of the United Nations General Assembly, Xinhua News Agency reported that representatives of several countries walked out of the chamber in protest while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his remarks during the general debate. Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the White House on Thursday, September 24, that both China and the United States have the capacity and the responsibility to develop and manage artificial intelligence technology for the benefit of humanity, and must ensure that such technology always remains under human control. Meanwhile, U.S. airlines came out against the idea of adding passenger flights between the United States and China after President Xi Jinping proposed that the two countries increase direct flights. U.S. airlines argued that adding flights would further favor Chinese carriers, since they can still use flight routes through Russian airspace. In financial markets, the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds jumped to 3.115% today, the highest level since August 1996. And Denmark's defense intelligence service warned that Russia may carry out limited military attacks on NATO member states in the coming months, assessing that the risk has increased although it remains at a low level.

Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service, DDIS, has warned that Russia may carry out limited military attacks on member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, in the coming months, assessing that the risk has increased although it remains at a low level. In a report on Thursday, September 24, DDIS said Russia could use long-range weapons to strike critical infrastructure used to support Ukraine, in order to draw Europe's resources away from aid to Ukraine and to sow division within NATO if member states cannot agree on how to respond jointly. However, DDIS said it has not seen signs that Russia is preparing a full-scale invasion of a NATO member state, although that possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, and it also warned that Russia may step up hybrid warfare against Western countries and NATO, including large-scale cyberattacks that disrupt critical societal functions and sabotage that could cause loss of life. The warning comes as several European security officials and politicians have raised alarms about the threat from Russia. Poland said on Thursday that a fire at a Starlink ground station in the country was sabotage aimed at disrupting internet services, including use by the Ukrainian military. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said it is not yet possible to determine who carried out the attack, but there are several indications that the incident fits Russia's new pattern of attacks, according to Reuters.