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Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on when you are listening. Let us begin the first part of this multi-segment series on the U.S. Army’s newest weapons programs and how they fit into our Military Procurement Portfolio.

For many of you who are approaching retirement, in retirement, or well into those later years of life, I want to make something very clear: when we talk about owning the companies that design, manufacture, and maintain these weapons systems, we are talking about long-term ownership. The Military Procurement Portfolio is not designed for trading in and out, chasing headlines, or reacting emotionally to the news cycle. It is meant to be held for at least five years. That time horizon allows the technologies we are discussing to move from development into deployment, from experimental to operational, and eventually into long-term revenue streams for the companies that supply our defense infrastructure.

I often explain retirement planning with four simple stages. There are the pre-go years, when you are still working, saving, and setting your foundation. Then come the go-go years, when retirement is fresh, energy is high, and travel, hobbies, and new experiences are at their peak. As time passes, most people transition to the slow-go years, when energy decreases, travel becomes less frequent, and routine settles in. Finally, there are the no-go years, when activity is limited, and the focus is on health, care, and comfort. These stages are not just about personal life—they are also a useful framework for how we think about investing. Certain holdings perform well in the early years, others provide stability in later years, but the military procurement sector fits across all four stages because it provides a combination of growth, resilience, and reliability that few industries can match.

Let us consider why. Our nation is always investing in defense. Unlike consumer goods or technology gadgets that may go in and out of fashion, the need to defend the country never goes away. Whether it is missiles, drones, artillery systems, or reconnaissance technology, each development represents billions of dollars in contracts spread over decades. When we own equity in the companies supplying these programs, we are attaching ourselves to predictable and enduring cash flows.

At the same time, military procurement is not immune to cycles. New weapons take years to develop, test, and field. There are moments when programs hit delays, or when Congress debates budget allocations. That is why patience is critical. In retirement, patience is a virtue in more ways than one. Just as we plan for a retirement that could last 20, 30, or even 40 years, we plan for investments that grow steadily over long horizons. The Military Procurement Portfolio is structured to ride through political noise, economic downturns, and shifting headlines.

In this series, I will walk you through five of the most significant weapons systems currently being developed by the U.S. Army. Each represents not just a leap forward in technology, but a significant financial opportunity for the companies behind them. These include hypersonic weapons like the Dark Eagle, long-range precision strike missiles, advanced loitering drones, next-generation smart munitions, and land-based launchers adapted from Navy systems. All of these programs are designed to confront modern threats, and in doing so, they reinforce America’s leadership in defense manufacturing.

Before diving into the details of each system, I want to set the stage by explaining why we focus on Army programs specifically. When people think of cutting-edge technology, they often picture the Air Force with its stealth bombers or the Navy with its aircraft carriers. But the Army, year after year, quietly invests more in research and development than Russia spends on its entire military budget. These investments often go unnoticed because they involve less glamorous but highly effective systems—precision missiles, battlefield networks, smart munitions, and drones that directly shape how wars are fought.

For our purposes as investors, this means the Army’s procurement programs offer two things we value deeply: scale and staying power. The contracts are large, the timelines are long, and the need is permanent. This creates a dependable environment for shareholder returns.

So as you listen to this first section, keep two things in mind. First, we are not speculators. We are long-term owners. Second, the companies involved in military procurement are not just building weapons; they are building enduring value, much like you are building a retirement designed to last through the pre-go, go-go, slow-go, and no-go years.

In our next section, we will begin with the most headline-grabbing of these new systems: the Army’s hypersonic missile program, known as the Dark Eagle. It is faster than anything fielded before, it represents a joint venture between branches of the military, and it provides a perfect example of why patient ownership in defense equities rewards those who think long term.