The defense-prime layer that cracked last cycle repaired hard this week — RTX ran to RSI 74.4 and LMT to 72.1, both now near-overbought after double-digit weekly and monthly gains, while NOC, DFEN, and MSI all lifted out of their fresh collapse/downtrend downgrades back into pullback or basing regimes. The pure-play pocket mostly stabilized too, though it's a repair in price, not structure — all seven collapse-regime names from last cycle are still tagged collapse, and PL's thesis rating flipped to broken.

Data as-of the Friday 2026-07-24 close for the book. Prior scan: 2026-07-17-drone-defense (data as-of the 2026-07-17 close).

Last cycle's cracks in the durable layer healed this cycle. NOC's collapse-regime downgrade from July 17 lifted back to pullback — RSI improved from 43.5 to 55.5 and its 7-day print flipped from -3.35% to +3.96%. DFEN's fresh downtrend tag from last cycle also repaired to pullback, RSI jumping from 39.9 to 55.3 on a +12.29% week. MSI's downtrend downgrade lifted to basing, RSI up from 51.2 to 55.0. RTX and LMT both ran further: RTX's RSI climbed to 74.4 with its regime upgraded from basing to uptrend, on a +9.96% week and +14.98% month; LMT's RSI reached 72.1 on a +14.51% week and +18.50% month, its regime lifting from the unlabeled default to basing. Both now sit inside near-overbought territory after a strong run — worth watching for a cooldown rather than chasing at these levels. AXON stayed put structurally — its downtrend regime from last cycle is unchanged, RSI roughly flat at 47.1. Inside the pure-play pocket, price mostly stabilized without structural repair: AVAV's RSI improved from 41.4 to 46.2 and its 30-day reading flipped positive (+5.16%, was -16.16%), but its regime is still tagged collapse. KTOS's RSI improved to 43.1 with its 30-day loss narrowing to -1.25%, also still collapse. ONDS posted the heaviest weekly gain in the pocket (+19.45%) on continued elevated volume, still collapse-tagged. PL is the one name that moved the wrong way on rating: its thesis is now explicitly marked broken, alongside a further RSI slide to 28.1 — the weakest read in the book. LASR's thesis stays intact with a steady RSI near 51, and ITA remains the steadiest ETF-style hold.

• NOC: regime upgraded collapse → pullback; RSI 43.5 → 55.5, 7-day flipped from -3.35% to +3.96%, -31.07% from high (was -32.61%).
• DFEN: regime upgraded downtrend → pullback; RSI 39.9 → 55.3, 30-day flipped from -11.86% to +3.41%.
• MSI: regime upgraded downtrend → basing; RSI 51.2 → 55.0, 7-day flipped from -1.87% to +1.09%.
• RTX: regime upgraded basing → uptrend; RSI 54.1 → 74.4, 7-day +9.96% (was -1.24%), 30-day +14.98% (was +4.26%); -2.49% from high (was -9.79%).
• LMT: RSI 43.4 → 72.1, regime now tagged basing (was unlabeled); 7-day +14.51% (was -2.76%), 30-day +18.5% (was -0.43%).
• PL: thesis rating now marked broken; RSI 29.6 → 28.1, still the lowest RSI in the book, regime still collapse.
• AVAV: 30-day flipped from -16.16% to +5.16%; RSI 41.4 → 46.2; regime unchanged at collapse.
• KTOS: 30-day improved from -15.09% to -1.25%; RSI 37.9 → 43.1; regime unchanged at collapse.
• ONDS: 7-day +19.45% (was -10.06%), the heaviest weekly gain in the pocket on continued elevated volume; regime unchanged at collapse.
• AXON: RSI roughly flat at 47.1 (was 48.1); regime unchanged at downtrend — the one name in the durable layer that didn't repair this cycle.

Regime labels describe chart structure, not a trade call. Three names — NOC, DFEN, MSI — repaired the structural downgrades flagged last cycle, which matters more than any single week's RSI move. RTX and LMT's runs into near-overbought RSI (74.4, 72.1) are a genuine extension, not a fresh discount — a strong week doesn't erase the risk of a cooldown from here. The pure-play collapse pocket (AVAV, KTOS, KRKNF, ONDS, DRSHF, RCAT, AMPX, PL, DPRO) mostly improved on price without a single regime upgrade among them — treat that as stabilization, not repair, until a regime tag actually changes. PL's newly-broken thesis rating is a standalone signal independent of its price action.

Tier A — Durable holds, regime uptrend/basing/uptrend (all repaired or extended this cycle): RTX, LMT, ITA, TDY. RTX and LMT both extended into near-overbought RSI on strong weekly gains.

Tier B — Fresh regime repairs this cycle: DFEN, NOC, MSI. All three lifted out of last cycle's downtrend/collapse downgrade back into pullback or basing.

Tier C — Pullback zone, thesis intact or steady: LASR (thesis intact), ESLT.

Tier D — Downtrend, unrepaired: AXON. The one name in the durable layer that stayed on its downtrend tag from last cycle.

Tier E — Structural avoid, collapse regime (still 9 of 22 names, unchanged from last cycle): AVAV, KTOS, KRKNF, ONDS, DRSHF, RCAT, AMPX, PL, DPRO. Prices mostly stabilized, but none upgraded structurally; PL's thesis newly rated broken.

Tier F — Data caveat: AVEX, EOPSF (too-young regime, thin trading history).

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-07-24 close — *.