VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American News Group News Commentary - Starting January 1, 2027, a Pentagon contract clause reaches all the way back to the mine. From that date, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clause 252.225-7052 extends its restriction on tungsten metal powder and tungsten heavy alloy from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea to include the mining or production of tungsten ore or feedstock, and the U.S. Geological Survey says tungsten has not been mined commercially in the United States since 2015. Against that backdrop, here is an unusual weigh-in: a New Mexico tungsten explorer in one corner, and four U.S. aerospace and defense companies with fresh results in the other. Companies mentioned in today’s commentary include: Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2), Howmet Aerospace (NYSE: HWM), HII (NYSE: HII), Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY), and Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT).

How the Card Works

Every fighter is measured on the same four lines: weight class, home turf, reach (the most recent numbers it has reported) and next bout (what it has said comes next). The challenger gets one extra line, its fight record, because its history is part of its story. The two corners do different jobs, one looking for tungsten and the other building aerospace and defense hardware, so this is a side-by-side, not a contest, and no one is declared a winner.

In This Corner: The Challenger From Hidalgo County

Western Star Resources Inc.(CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2)

Weight class: Explorer. Western Star describes itself as a mineral exploration company with a growing strategic emphasis on tungsten and critical minerals in the United States, and no mineral resource has been established at Eagle Point.

Fight record: A portfolio of past-producing tungsten assets in Nevada and New Mexico, including the Eagle Point Tungsten Project in New Mexico and the Rowland and White Star tungsten projects in Nevada.

Home turf: The 100%-owned Eagle Point Tungsten Project in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, where the company’s August 2026 mapping identified scheelite-bearing skarn along the contact between intrusive granite and Horquilla limestone. Much of that contact is obscured by talus cover.

Reach: A new high-resolution drone magnetic survey covering approximately 4.9 square kilometres traced the interpreted skarn-hosting contact for approximately 3 kilometres, including across the western part of the property, where it projects beneath shallow cover. The company’s first modern assays from the project, reported in October, showed fourteen of 23 surface samples returning more than 0.10% WO3, including grab samples of up to 0.55% WO3.

Next bout: A planned 17-hole, approximately 1,850-metre (6,070-foot) drill program, positioned on the interpreted contact, with six holes stepping out up to approximately 400 metres north-west of the historical workings. On October 22, a 43 CFR 3809 Exploration Notice was submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Las Cruces District Office for Eagle Point, and the company believes the program will be the first drilling at Eagle Point in more than 70 years.

“The drone survey has done exactly what we needed it to do at Eagle Point,” said Blake Morgan, the CEO and President of Western Star. “With the contact mapped and the 3D model updated, we are going into the maiden drill program with a much clearer picture of where to put the holes.”

CONTINUED... Read this and more news for Western Star Resources Inc. at: americannewsgroup.com

In the Other Corner: Four Aerospace and Defense Companies With Fresh Results

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE: HWM)

Weight class: Third-quarter 2026 revenue of $2.70 billion, up 29% year over year with organic growth of 25%, according to its October 29 results.

Home turf: Commercial aerospace, defense aerospace, gas turbines and commercial transportation. Revenue was driven by 32% growth in the commercial aerospace market, 10% growth in the defense aerospace market, 45% growth in the gas turbines market, and 28% growth in the commercial transportation market.

Reach: Adjusted EPS of $1.46, up 54% year over year, and free cash flow of $562 million after $147 million in capital expenditures.

Next bout: Full year 2027 revenue guidance of approximately $11.5 billion, up about 12% year over year.

“Defense markets remain solid, with further spares needs and likely increases in legacy fighter builds,” said Howmet Aerospace Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Plant.

HII (NYSE: HII)

Weight class: Third-quarter 2026 revenues of $3.5 billion, up 10.8% from a year earlier, driven by growth at Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding, according to its October 29 results.

Home turf: Shipbuilding and mission technologies, from the company that describes itself as the nation’s largest shipbuilder. Newport News Shipbuilding revenues were $1.9 billion in the quarter, up 18.1%, primarily driven by higher volumes in submarines and aircraft carriers.

Reach: New contract awards of $32.4 billion in the third quarter, and year-to-date contract awards of $43.1 billion.

Next bout: The company raised its fiscal 2026 shipbuilding revenue guidance range to between $10.5 and $10.7 billion.

“Our third quarter results reflect solid performance across all three segments, and the significant awards we received during the quarter have now secured approximately 90 percent of our expected shipbuilding revenue through 2030. With that visibility, our focus is squarely on shipbuilding execution,” said Chris Kastner, HII’s president and CEO.

Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY)

Weight class: Aerospace and defense electronics. First quarter fiscal 2027 revenues were $253 million, compared to $225 million a year earlier, according to its November 10 results.

Home turf: Mercury describes itself as a global leader in aerospace and defense electronics, providing breakthrough capabilities in signal and data processing.

Reach: Total backlog at October 2, 2026 was approaching $2.1 billion, an approximate $637 million increase from a year ago, and first quarter bookings of $370 million yielded a book-to-bill ratio of 1.46.

Next bout: Of that backlog, over $1.0 billion represents orders expected to be recognized as revenue within the next 12 months, and the company is raising its outlook for fiscal year 2027.

“Our first quarter results reflect robust organic growth and margins that are in-line with our target profile. Based on this solid execution, we are raising our outlook for fiscal year 2027,” said Bill Ballhaus, Mercury’s Chairman and CEO.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT)

Weight class: Third-quarter 2026 revenues of $3.8 billion, up 4% from the prior year, according to its October 29 results.

Home turf: Aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses, in Textron’s own description. Textron Systems revenues were $360 million, up 16%, largely due to higher volume on armored land vehicles and military training and support services provided by Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC).

Reach: Backlog at the end of the third quarter was $3.5 billion at Textron Systems, $7.6 billion at Bell and $8.0 billion at Textron Aviation.

Next bout: Textron raised its expectation for full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to a range of $6.55 to $6.65, and said its updated outlook reflects the U.S. Army’s receipt of Congressional approval for the ATR request related to the MV-75 Cheyenne program and the associated contract modifications obligating such funding.

“Higher jet deliveries at Textron Aviation and program execution at Textron Systems drove double-digit revenue growth at each of these segments. Bell continued to make significant operational progress on the MV-75 Cheyenne program,” said Textron CEO Lisa M. Atherton.

Reading the Card

The matchup is lopsided by design. The four companies in the far corner report revenue, backlog and contract awards in the billions, while the challenger’s card is still made of a traced contact, early assays and a drill plan. Nothing on this card suggests any business relationship between the four and Western Star; they stand side by side only for this article. The date in the opening paragraph is the backdrop: from January 1, 2027, the defense rule covers tungsten from the mine onward, and Western Star’s next planned step is a 17-hole program at Eagle Point.

Track the Signals Before the Crowd

Drill plans, defense awards and quarterly reports can all shift the conversation around critical minerals names. Eagle Eye is a real-time investor signal-intelligence platform that surfaces sentiment shifts, news flow and trending tickers as they form. Watch it live at eagle-eye.dev.

Article Source: Western Star Resources Inc. news releases dated October 7, October 27 and November 11, 2026; U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Tungsten; DFARS 252.225-7052; third-quarter results releases of Howmet Aerospace, HII and Textron Inc., and Mercury Systems, Inc. first quarter fiscal 2027 results.

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