Defense and aerospace stocks have bullish tailwinds as primes make big acquisitions and investment in defense startups hits records. Per PitchBook data shared by @tectonicdefense, $35.6B went into defense and defense-adjacent startups in the first half of 2026, a 40% increase from 2025. x.com 

Rising regional conflicts and soaring NATO spending commitments favor defense companies such as Rocket Lab and RTX, which carry massive multi-year backlogs. Rocket Lab, a $40 billion space launch and defense technology player, is up about 2,700% from its lows. RTX is up a more modest 69% but acts as a remarkably safe, high-yielding haven when institutions rotate. Both sit on the winning side of a 2026 market where money is rotating into favored sectors rather than lifting the whole index. x.com 

Aerospace stocks have been unfairly punished by noise while the sector's long-term structural trends remain incredibly strong. Not even COVID could bring aerospace down, and the latest correction stems from sharp geopolitical tensions and oil price spikes. A Trump climbdown and easing tensions should soon light the fuse. x.com 

Defense, drone and space stocks such as AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, Kratos and AeroVironment are set to receive non-cyclical, perpetual capex while many sit 60%-70% below their highs. Spending is rising in the US and across the rest of the world, flowing to names that are not crowded or recently up 1,000%. The sector has reset and been left for dead, making it a target basket for next year, including Ondas, LightPath, nLight, Karman and Inflection Point. x.com  x.com 

TTM Technologies' data center and networking business is growing fast enough to become half or more of the company, a shift expected eventually but that showed up in a single quarter. Its end markets are strong, including circuit boards for TPUs and aerospace and defense. The stock is probably getting a little extended here. x.com 

Karman Holdings is an overlooked, profitable space stock with a lot of catching up to do if the market keeps chasing space. Its presentation mentions Golden Dome several times, which the market seems to have missed. It is in a falling wedge and held support earlier this month. x.com  x.com 

Theon International is a European defense company with excellent management, executing a roll-up strategy with huge tailwinds from European defense spending. Focused on night vision, it just bought a counter-drone company. Fundamentals improved in the latest quarter, yet the stock is down big on broad defense-market bearishness and sits within 10% of its trailing lows. x.com 

Ondas, AeroVironment, LightPath, Kraken Robotics and Kratos are the best defense rotation candidates right now, since the sector will eventually pick up steam again and positioning before the move is key. x.com 

Space is becoming a major capital cycle, making SpaceX, Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs and Redwire the top five space stocks. In its first public earnings report, SpaceX grew revenue 92% to $7.8B, and Starlink reached 12 million subscribers. x.com 

These 15 growth stocks across distinct sectors offer high reward with credibility and still have room to run: Penguin Solutions, Ondas, Bloom Energy, T1 Energy, Amprius, Firefly Aerospace, Rocket Lab, Satellogic, Planet Labs, One Stop Systems, Eos Energy, IonQ, Lightwave Logic, AXT and AST SpaceMobile. x.com