The U.S. Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) a $123.4 million contract on September 24 for additional Lionfish small unmanned underwater vehicles, marking the program’s largest single order to date. The contract originated as a nine-vehicle deal and has since expanded into a framework with options for up to 200 vehicles over five years, with a top value above $347 million. In May, the Navy exercised an option worth just under $37 million, and the September award is more than three times that amount. Lionfish weighs 155 pounds, can dive to 1,000 feet, and is designed for 30-hour mine-hunting missions.

Rio Tinto has invested $2.9 million to add a tellurium recovery circuit at its Kennecott copper refinery in Utah, aiming to produce about 20 tons of tellurium a year from byproducts. The tellurium has been used in more than 71,000 thin-film solar modules at a nearby 25-megawatt solar plant that has been supplying power since December 2025. About 90% of the world’s tellurium is contained in copper ore, and the project is intended to provide a domestic tellurium supply for the U.S. solar industry.