Defense

Opinion

Virginia is Branding the Wrong Industry and Pitching It's Economy in a Tricorn Hat

Jul 30, 2026

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9 min read

Virginia is Branding the Wrong Industry and Pitching It's Economy in a Tricorn Hat

Calling agriculture Virginia’s largest private industry and forestry its third largest may be politically familiar for rural Virginia. It is also a backward-looking description of a Commonwealth whose real economic power now comes from defense, maritime commerce, nuclear technology and advanced industry.

Ledger Star Staff

Defense

The Navy’s Largest Shipbuilding Award Will Reshape Virginia

Jul 30, 2026

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5 min read

The Navy’s Largest Shipbuilding Award Will Reshape Virginia

The $76.6 billion submarine agreement is more than a contract for Newport News Shipbuilding. It is a generational economic opportunity for Hampton Roads and a potential legacy project for Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Ledger Star Staff

Aerospace

The Pentagon lacks a hypersonics strategy. Virginia already has the map.

Jul 19, 2026

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5 min read

The Pentagon lacks a hypersonics strategy. Virginia already has the map.

NASA Langley, Dahlgren, Norfolk, Yorktown and the Virginia Capes could form a national research-to-range corridor. The federal government has not connected the pieces.

Ledger Star Staff

Defense

Jul 17, 2026

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4 min read

Youngkin joins Red Cell as firm targets gaps in the defense industrial base

The former Virginia governor will help the McLean venture studio build companies designed to move emerging technology into national-security missions faster.

Ledger Star Staff

Defense

Kongsberg Expands at Sea as Its Virginia Missile Factory Takes Shape

Jul 17, 2026

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3 min read

Kongsberg Expands at Sea as Its Virginia Missile Factory Takes Shape

The Berg Propulsion acquisition broadens the newly independent maritime company, while the Kongsberg name is becoming increasingly connected to Hampton Roads’ sea, air and space defense economy.

Ledger Star Staff

Defense

Jul 17, 2026

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2 min read

Saronic plans massive Texas shipyard for defense and commercial vessels

Saronic plans to begin construction later this year on a new shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, that could eventually employ 10,000 workers and build some of the largest vessels in the world.

Defense

Jul 13, 2026

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3 min read

The Nimitz comes home...

NORFOLK — The USS Nimitz entered Naval Station Norfolk on Thursday with nearly 3,000 sailors aboard, completing a four-month deployment and beginning what is likely to be the final chapter of one of the most consequential warships in American history.

Defense

Virginia is Branding the Wrong Industry and Pitching It's Economy in a Tricorn Hat

The Navy’s Largest Shipbuilding Award Will Reshape Virginia

The Pentagon lacks a hypersonics strategy. Virginia already has the map.

Youngkin joins Red Cell as firm targets gaps in the defense industrial base

Kongsberg Expands at Sea as Its Virginia Missile Factory Takes Shape

Saronic plans massive Texas shipyard for defense and commercial vessels

The Nimitz comes home...

The Ledger Star