Starfighters Space Joins Exos Aerospace Team Pursuing U.S. Air Force AEDC Velocity Alliance Opportunities

The team still must complete onboarding, and participation does not constitute a government contract or funding commitment.

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Teaming adds Mach 2+ F-104 airborne flight testing to Exos-led team seeking a role in the multibillion-dollar modernization of Air Force aerospace test infrastructure

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Starfighters Space, Inc. ("Starfighters" or the "Company") (NYSE American: FJET), the space company operating the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ supersonic aircraft, today announced it has joined a team led by Exos Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc. (“Exos Aerospace”) to pursue opportunities through the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex (“AEDC”) Velocity Alliance.

The Velocity Alliance is an enterprise-level acquisition vehicle established by AEDC and the Air Force Test Center to accelerate the sustainment, restoration and modernization of critical U.S. aerospace test infrastructure, including for hypersonic technologies. The Air Force has described the Alliance as a pre-qualified, competitive ecosystem of industry partners capable of supporting a multibillion-dollar portfolio of infrastructure projects.

Exos Aerospace submitted a white paper under the Alliance’s second onboarding opportunity, Solicitation FA9101-26-9-Velocity_Alliance, naming Starfighters as its external teaming partner. Exos Aerospace has informed Starfighters that the Air Force Test Center evaluated the white paper as technically acceptable. The Exos team is now completing the remaining onboarding requirements for Alliance participation.

“Adding Starfighters gives our team a high-speed airborne test capability that complements AEDC’s world-class ground-test facilities,” said John Quinn, Co-founder and CEO of Exos Aerospace. “Their operational F-104 fleet would let us offer the Air Force real-atmosphere flight data alongside the agency’s modernized infrastructure.”

Starfighters’ F-104 aircraft can be configured to carry test articles and payloads through high-speed atmospheric flight conditions, supporting research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of aerospace and defense technologies. A typical 45-minute Starfighters mission can include up to approximately 10 minutes at Mach 2+.

“Starfighters brings a capability that is extremely difficult to replicate: an operational commercial F-104 fleet capable of sustained Mach 2+ flight in the real atmosphere,” said Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space. “Exos selected Starfighters to bring high-speed airborne flight testing to its team. Successful onboarding would create another pathway for us to pursue government missions where our aircraft, infrastructure and flight-test experience can provide meaningful value.”

Starfighters previously demonstrated its airborne testing capability through GE Aerospace’s Atmospheric Test of Launched Airbreathing System (“ATLAS”) program, a separate effort funded under Defense Production Act Title III and unrelated to AEDC, in which a Starfighters F-104 completed three successful supersonic captive-carry flights from Kennedy Space Center carrying an advanced propulsion test vehicle. The Company is building on that experience through its Wind Tunnel in the Sky™ platform, a reusable airborne capability for sustained real-atmosphere testing of advanced aerospace, defense and hypersonic technologies.

Participation in the onboarding process does not constitute a contract award, task order or commitment of government funding. There can be no assurance that Exos Aerospace will complete onboarding, that the team will receive any future project award, or that Starfighters will generate revenue from the Velocity Alliance. References to AEDC, the Air Force Test Center and the U.S. Air Force are for identification only and do not imply endorsement by the Department of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.

About Starfighters Space, Inc.

Starfighters Space (NYSE American: FJET) operates its fleet of F-104 aircraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Midland International Air & Space Port in Texas, making it the only company in the world with the commercial capability to fly at sustained Mach 2+ speeds, supporting a variety of aerospace applications. The iconic F-104 jets are configurable as a platform for air-launched payloads, training for pilots, and to support RDT&E (Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation) for hypersonic technologies, advanced materials, missile defense systems, microgravity science, spaceflight hardware validation, and defense electronic systems.

About Exos Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc.

Exos Aerospace Systems & Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Greenville, Texas, builds and operates reusable suborbital rockets that fly, recover and refly payloads and hardware, helping de-risk orbital, lunar and national-security programs. Exos has flown commercial payloads since 2018 on its SARGE vehicle; its enhanced successor, BLK3, is scheduled for its next flight in early 2027. Learn more at www.exosaero.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially due to risks and uncertainties affecting the Company’s business, including those described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and are made as of the date of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261110524508/en/

Media Contact: fjet@gateway-grp.com

Investor Contact: investors@starfightersspace.com

Source: Starfighters Space, Inc.

Key Terms

research, development, test and evaluation (rdt&e) technical

Research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) is a category of activities and budgetary funding that covers the creation, maturation, demonstration and formal testing of new technologies, systems or capabilities. It typically spans basic and applied research, technology development and prototyping, and the test and evaluation processes that verify performance and safety before production or deployment; in government and defense contracting contexts RDT&E is treated as a distinct programmatic and accounting line used to plan, award and report spending on those non‑production efforts.

task order regulatory

A task order is a specific request for work or services issued under an existing contract, telling a supplier what to deliver, when, and for how much. For investors, task orders matter because they convert a broad contract promise into real, billable work—like adding items to a standing shopping list—and so winning or delivering task orders can directly affect a company’s near-term revenue and cash flow visibility.

hypersonic technologies technical

Technologies that enable controlled flight or operation at hypersonic speeds—generally defined as five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) or faster—including the vehicles, propulsion systems, materials, guidance, sensors and thermal-protection systems needed to survive and maneuver in those conditions. The term covers both propulsion approaches (rocket-boosted and air-breathing systems such as scramjets), vehicle types (for example, glide vehicles and cruise vehicles), and the specialized high-temperature materials, cooling and control systems required to manage extreme aerodynamic heating and communications challenges.