The defense-prime/ETF layer kept extending while most of the tape sold off elsewhere — RTX pushed further into an outright breakout regime and now sits just -1.25% from its 52-week high, and AXON finally shed the stuck downtrend tag that had lagged the rest of the durable layer for two straight cycles. LASR is the one clean reversal: its thesis stays intact, but RSI cooled from 51.1 to 44.2 on a -15.86% week. The nine-name pure-play collapse pocket held its membership unchanged for a second cycle, with DRSHF sliding to the lowest RSI in the book.

Data as-of the 2026-07-28 close for the full 22-name book — no staleness this cycle. Prior scan: 2026-07-25-drone-defense (data as-of the 2026-07-24 close).

While chip and optical names sold off broadly this cycle, the defense-prime/ETF layer kept building on last cycle's repair. RTX's regime lifted from uptrend to breakout as RSI climbed from 74.4 to 77.8, now sitting just -1.25% from its 52-week high — a genuine extension, not a discount. MSI jumped from RSI 55.0 to 67.3 while holding its basing tag, and ITA and DFEN both extended further inside their existing uptrend/pullback regimes. LMT cooled only slightly (RSI 72.1 to 71.0), still basing near its highs. The standout structural change is AXON: its regime finally lifted from downtrend to pullback this cycle, the first repair after being flagged as the one unrepaired name in the durable layer for two consecutive scans, with RSI up from 47.1 to 56.4. Against that broad strength, LASR is the one clear reversal — its thesis rating stays intact, but RSI fell from 51.1 to 44.2 on a -15.86% week, the sharpest weekly loss in the durable-adjacent tier. Inside the nine-name pure-play collapse pocket, membership held exactly unchanged for a second straight cycle (AVAV, KTOS, KRKNF, ONDS, DRSHF, RCAT, AMPX, PL, DPRO) — some names improved on price without a regime change (AVAV's 30-day gain widened to +12.48%, KTOS's flipped to +3.6%), while others deepened further (PL's 30-day loss widened to -34.72%, still thesis-rated broken; DRSHF's RSI fell to 26.0, now the lowest in the book).

• RTX: regime upgraded uptrend → breakout; RSI 74.4 → 77.8, 30-day +16.68% (was +14.98%); -1.25% from 52-week high (was -2.49%).
• AXON: regime upgraded downtrend → pullback — the first repair in the durable layer after being flagged stuck for two cycles; RSI 47.1 → 56.4, 7-day flipped from -1.56% to +7.14%.
• MSI: RSI 55.0 → 67.3, regime still basing; 7-day +8.38% (was +1.09%).
• LASR: RSI 51.1 → 44.2, thesis still intact; 7-day -15.86% (was +1.11%), 30-day flipped from +9.73% to -2.68% — the sharpest cooldown in the book.
• LMT: RSI 72.1 → 71.0, roughly flat, still basing; -16.0% from high (was -17.83%).
• DRSHF: RSI 32.7 → 26.0, now the lowest reading in the book; 30-day deepened to -18.4% (was -13.37%); regime still collapse.
• PL: RSI 28.1 → 29.8, thesis still rated broken; 30-day deepened to -34.72% (was -22.17%); regime still collapse.
• AMPX: RSI 30.6 → 32.0; 30-day deepened to -32.47% (was -26.20%); regime still collapse.
• AVAV: RSI 46.2 → 50.3; 30-day improved to +12.48% (was +5.16%); regime still collapse — price improving without a structural upgrade.
• ONDS: RSI 48.1 → 49.1; 7-day cooled to +2.61% (was +19.45%), giving back most of last cycle's spike; regime still collapse.

Regime labels describe chart structure, not a buy/sell call. RTX's move into breakout and AXON's repair off a two-cycle-stuck downtrend tag are the most structurally meaningful changes this cycle — both matter more than any single week's RSI print. LASR's cooldown is a real reversal in a name that had been the steadiest thesis-rated hold in the book; the intact rating hasn't changed, but the price action has. The nine-name collapse pocket kept its exact membership for a second cycle — price improving inside a still-collapse tag (AVAV, KTOS) is stabilization, not repair, until the regime label itself changes.

Tier A — Durable prime/ETF layer, extending or freshly repaired (9): RTX (breakout), LMT (basing), MSI (basing), ITA (uptrend), DFEN (pullback), NOC (pullback), ESLT (pullback), TDY (basing), AXON (pullback, freshly repaired this cycle).

Tier B — Thesis-rated, cooled sharply: LASR. Thesis still intact, but the sharpest weekly reversal in the book.

Tier C — Pure-play, pullback (no collapse tag): UMAC.

Tier D — Structural avoid, collapse regime (9 of 22, membership unchanged for a second cycle): AVAV, KTOS, KRKNF, ONDS, DRSHF, RCAT, AMPX, PL (thesis: broken), DPRO.

Tier E — Data caveat, too-young regime: AVEX, EOPSF.

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-07-28 close — drone-defense.