New York, February 11, 2026, 11:51 EST — Regular session
- RTX shares rose about 2% in late-morning trade, outpacing most large defense peers
- Raytheon said its reusable, “non-kinetic” Coyote Block 3NK defeated drone swarms in a U.S. Army demonstration
- Investors are watching for follow-on counter-drone orders and fresh commentary from RTX management next week
RTX Corp (RTX.N) shares rose 1.9% to $198.81 in late-morning trading on Wednesday.
The move comes as the company’s Raytheon business leans harder into counter-drone systems, a market that has drawn more attention from militaries after drone use surged in recent conflicts and around high-profile security events.
For investors, the near-term question is simple: does this turn into steady production and contract dollars, or is it another good demo with a long wait for orders.
Raytheon said earlier on Wednesday it successfully showcased the Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic (NK) in a recent U.S. Army demonstration, including “intercept, and recovery” and the ability to be recalled and redeployed. “Coyote provides warfighters a cost-effective defense for individual drones and swarms,” Tom Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, said in the release. (Rtx)
Axios reported Raytheon downed multiple drones simultaneously during an Army exercise and that the company expects “significantly” increased production “across the Coyote family” this year, though Laliberty declined to disclose figures. The report said the company knocked out at least 10 drones during Operation Clear Horizon trials in October. (Axios)
The Coyote system already sits inside a larger Pentagon-backed pipeline. The Pentagon said in September it awarded Raytheon a $5.04 billion U.S. Army contract for its Coyote missile system. (Reuters)
RTX has also been stacking smaller, technology-heavy announcements that don’t always move the stock day-to-day but feed the narrative of defense modernization. On Tuesday, RTX’s BBN Technologies said it won a contract tied to an advanced “spectrum coexistence” effort — essentially, trying to keep 5G networks and defense radars from interfering with each other when they use nearby radio frequencies. “Lives are put at risk when a radar misses a target,” said Chris Vander Valk, a BBN principal investigator. (Rtx)
Other big defense names were mixed on the day, leaving RTX’s outperformance looking more stock-specific than sector-wide. Lockheed Martin was up about 0.5%, while Northrop Grumman was flat and General Dynamics and L3Harris were down on the session.
RTX’s shares had closed at $196.19 on Monday, lagging some aerospace and defense peers that day, according to MarketWatch. (MarketWatch)
But there is a catch for bullish traders: Raytheon’s release does not spell out contract value, delivery timing, or the pace at which a “non-kinetic” interceptor — a system designed to disable a drone without a traditional explosive hit — scales in volume production. Procurement can be lumpy, and demos do not always convert on the schedule investors want.
Next up, investors will be listening for management tone and any hints on production ramps and demand signals. RTX said Chairman and CEO Chris Calio is scheduled to speak at Citi’s Global Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference on Feb. 18. (Rtx)
