SpaceX just named a crypto billionaire as commander of its first crewed Mars mission. The U.S. Army is deploying AI targeting systems. The defense budget is gunning for $1.5 trillion. Oh, and someone’s sending a humanoid robot to the Red Planet.
The aerospace and defense industry is making bold moves. But while the front page is all rockets and robots, in-house legal teams supporting A&D companies can’t afford to let the background become the foreground. Here are five things worth keeping a close eye on right now:
1. Autonomous Weapons & AI Liability
International negotiations on a legally binding treaty governing lethal autonomous weapons systems have a 2026 deadline. For companies building or supplying AI-enabled defense technology, legal questions around liability, compliance, and export controls are still largely unsettled.
2. Commercial Space Contracts
SpaceX’s IPO filing projects that Starship will commence payload delivery to orbit in the second half of 2026. As commercial space becomes operational rather than aspirational, in-house counsel will need to get fluent in a new generation of contracts, liability frameworks, and insurance structures that didn’t exist five years ago.
3. Government Contracting Complexity
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act brought fresh layers of compliance obligations around procurement, cybersecurity, and domestic sourcing requirements. If your company touches any federal A&D contract, your legal team needs to be agile enough to adapt quickly to these new areas.
4. Export Controls & Sanctions
As geopolitical tensions drive defense investment globally, the stakes have never been higher around ITAR and EAR compliance. One misstep in dual-use technology transfer can halt an entire program. This is an area where legal teams must be strategic partners in business decisions; reactive support simply isn’t enough.
5. IP in the Age of Military AI
The rapid deployment of AI-augmented defense systems has outpaced existing regulatory frameworks, leaving IP questions around AI-generated inventions, data rights in government contracts, and software ownership genuinely unresolved. In-house teams need a position on this before it becomes a dispute.
The A&D industry is having its most exciting moment in decades. Make sure your legal function is keeping pace with the mission.
Questions about legal resourcing for your team? Entrusted Advisors is purpose-built to give legal teams the bandwidth to be strategic in a rapidly evolving landscape. Book a call with our team today to learn more.