highlights Archives - Defense Daily

NGA, Army Unit Test AI-Based System For Locating And Identifying Objects In The Field

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 20:59:49 +0000

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the Army’s 18th Airborne Corps in May successfully tested a prototype tool that uses imagery data from small drones and can train artificial intelligence […]

Philly Shipyard Outlines Hanwha’s Improvements, Workforce Plans

Rich Abott — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 22:00:38 +0000

PHILADELPHIA – The Philly Shipyard’s new Korean owners plan to boost the workforce numbers, use several new technologies, and add new capabilities to help it dramatically increase the production rate. […]

L3Harris and BAE Systems to Work Under $300 Million Italian Air Force Electronic Attack Contract

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 20:49:42 +0000

As the U.S. Air Force fields its EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack aircraft by L3Harris Technologies [LHX] and BAE Systems, the companies are now set to work on a new […]

Rune Technologies, Software Developer For Comprehensive Logistics, Raises $24 Million

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 19:05:23 +0000

Rune Technologies, a startup developing artificial intelligence-enabled software for managing, tracking, and predicting military logistics across all echelons, has closed a $24 million funding round it will invest to scale […]

DoD, Partners Demonstrate Beyond Line-Of-Sight Drone Cargo Flights In National Airspace

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 20:56:04 +0000

A Defense Department development program to demonstrate uncrewed aerial logistics beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) in the national airspace has resulted in a series of successful flights, an important milestone for […]

House Passes $831.5 Billion FY ‘26 Defense Spending Bill

Matthew Beinart — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 20:42:32 +0000

The House late on Thursday voted 221-209 to pass its $831.5 billion fiscal year 2026 defense appropriations bill. The legislation was crafted by House appropriators before receiving full budget details […]

York Space Systems To Acquire Global Ground SatCom Company ATLAS Space

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:00:06 +0000

Satellite developer and operator York Space Systems last Friday said it has agreed to acquire ATLAS Space Operations, adding a global provider of satellite communications ground infrastructure that together York […]

Acceleration of LRSO Proposed By Senate Defense Authorizers

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 19:17:36 +0000

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s fiscal 2026 bill would provide nearly $756 million for the U.S. Air Force AGM-181 Long Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear-tipped cruise missile by RTX [RTX]–$149 million […]

Airbus Teams with Kratos on XQ-58A for German Air Force

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:10:26 +0000

Germany’s Airbus Defence and Space said on Wednesday that it will collaborate with California’s Kratos Defense and Security Solutions [KTOS] to field Kratos’ XQ-58A Valkyrie drone with an Airbus mission […]

Bussiere Would Become Second AFGSC Head to Serve as USAF Vice Chief

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:06:34 +0000

U.S. Air Force Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the seventh head of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) since its founding in 2009, would become the second AFGSC commander to ascend to […]

SASC’s NDAA Topline Boost Supports Billions More For DDG-51, Virginia-Class Sub, Sentinel ICBM

Matthew Beinart — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:48:34 +0000

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s $32 billion topline increase in its defense policy bill includes authorizing billions more for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer (DDG-51), Virginia-class submarine and future […]

More Muscle Behind Base and Shelter Hardening Needed, Boozman Says

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 19:15:31 +0000

The U.S. Air Force and other military services need to put more muscle behind base and shelter hardening to protect critical aircraft and other assets, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), the […]

HASC Approves FY ‘26 NDAA, Adds Increases For Virginia-Class Sub, DDG-51, Ukraine Aid

Matthew Beinart — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 17:32:53 +0000

The House Armed Services Committee late on Tuesday voted to advance its version of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, with the panel adopting measures to add $1 […]

Anduril Successfully Flight Testing Barracuda Missile Variant For Army Program

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 08:30:00 +0000

Anduril Industries in May successfully completed flight tests of the munitions variant of its Barracuda-100 autonomous air vehicle under an Army testbed program aimed at proving out multiple ranges, missile […]

HASC Bill Would Make TacSRT a ‘Program of Record’

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:33:51 +0000

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal 2026 defense bill would require the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to establish a Title 10 requirement for the tactical, surveillance, […]

Accelerate HACM Production Ramp, HASC Advises USAF

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:07:21 +0000

The U.S. Air Force plan to field a limited number of RTX [RTX] Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missiles (HACM) by 2028 has led to a stated concern by the House Armed […]

Navy Used BALTOPS Exercise To Demonstrate USV Tactics, Evaluating Vessels

Rich Abott — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:37:30 +0000

The head of a Navy task force focused on evaluating and using lower cost unmanned systems for 6th Fleet said recent testing at the Baltic Operations 2025 (BALTOPS) maritime exercise […]

DoD AI Office Awards Frontier AI Contracts For Workflow Needs

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 19:02:08 +0000

The Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) has awarded contracts to Anthropic, Alphabet’s [GOOG] Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk’s xAI to help the department leverage autonomous models […]

HASC Releases NDAA Text With Nuclear Energy Working Group, Two-Site Pits

Sarah Salem — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 17:53:27 +0000

The House Armed Service’s starting version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and establish a New Advanced Nuclear […]

BREAKING: Noem Terminates Eastern Shipbuilding’s Work For Third And Fourth OPCs

Cal Biesecker — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 17:48:25 +0000

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last Friday said she has canceled Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s work for the final two Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPCs) under the company’s contract with the Coast […]

HASC, SASC NDAAs Differ On Topline By Billions, Agree On Pursuing Major Acquisition Reforms

Matthew Beinart — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 21:43:36 +0000

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have proposed conflicting toplines in their respective versions of the next defense policy bill, with the latter adopting a $32.1 billion boost, while […]

Authorizers Support New LSM Plan, Impose Vessel Construction Manager Strategy

Rich Abott — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 21:33:52 +0000

The newly released House and Senate Armed Services Committee’s FY 2026 defense authorization bills both support the Navy’s latest strategy to move forward with a non-developmental design for the Medium […]

Coast Guard Seeks Sources For Interim Long-Range C2 Plane That Also Serves DHS Chief

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 21:14:59 +0000

The Coast Guard last Thursday issued a source sought notice to help it survey the market for a potential lease of a Gulfstream jet that could be used as one […]

Hegseth Directs Widespread Use Of Expendable Drones By End Of 2026

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 21:45:26 +0000

Responding to a recent presidential directive to bolster American drone capabilities, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military services to take a more aggressive role in quickly purchasing small […]

CENTCOM Chief Wants $150 Million To Acquire Technology To Test And Evaluate

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 19:32:06 +0000

Absent its own acquisition or technology budget, U.S. Central Command has a need for $150 million in fiscal year 2026 to purchase new and emerging systems and technologies to test […]

Booz Allen Invests In Cybersecurity Firm Focused On Machine Identity

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:32:32 +0000

Booz Allen Hamilton [BAH] on Thursday said its venture capital unit has made a strategic investment in Corsha Inc., which provides secure machine-to-machine communication to protect operational technology. The value […]

USSF MILNET Block II to Link With SDA Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:47:13 +0000

The National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) MILNET Block I has around 200 satellites, including SpaceX Starshields, for communications and future space-based ground moving target indication. Now, the U.S. Space Force is […]

Sixth-Generation Fighter And Munitions Top The Navy’s Unfunded Priority List

Rich Abott — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:45:42 +0000

The top items on the Navy’s FY 2026 unfunded priorities list (UPL) are focused on munitions buys and funding the sixth-generation fighter program. As the top priority at $841 million, […]

DARPA Taps Bell To Build X-Plane Demonstrator, Aims For Flight Testing In 2028

Matthew Beinart — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:14:53 +0000

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Bell [TXT] to build a X-plane demonstrator capable of flying at speeds of up to 450 knots, with the office […]

DIU Wants Low-Cost UUVs For Kinetic, ISR Effects

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 19:05:10 +0000

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has issued a new solicitation seeking low-cost unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) solutions for separate problem sets, one-way attack and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support […]

DoD Spending On Startups Doubles But Remains Scant Overall, SVDG Report Says

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:40:15 +0000

Spending by the Defense Department in 2024 on the top 100 startups with dual-use and defense technology more than doubled versus 2023 but remains less than 1 percent of the […]

Defense Department Seeks Public Input On Trump’s Acquisition Reform Order

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:37:29 +0000

The Defense Department on Wednesday asked for public comment on a presidential directive to reform how the department acquires stuff, including mandating a preference for commercial solutions. The public has […]

House Sends Massive Reconciliation Bill With $150 Billion For Defense To Trump’s Desk

Matthew Beinart — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 00:38:06 +0000

The House on Thursday voted 218-214 to pass the massive reconciliation bill with $150 billion for defense that the Pentagon has built into its fiscal year 2026 spending plans. After […]

Editor’s Note

John Robinson — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:09:21 +0000

In observance of the Independence Day holiday, Defense Daily will not publish July 3 and 4. Your next issue will be dated July 8

Lockheed Martin Wins Another $2.97 Billion Contract To Upgrade Aegis Over Next Decade

Rich Abott — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 17:57:35 +0000

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] another 10-year contract to maintain and upgrade the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system in a contract worth up to $2.97 […]

Ursa Space, NV5 Nab First Luno B Awards By NGA

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 17:53:44 +0000

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) last Wednesday announced its first awards under its Luno B commercial analytics services contract with orders to Ursa Space Systems and NV5 Geospatial. Under a […]

Parker Tapped To Lead Boeing’s Defense Business

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:39:47 +0000

Steve Parker, a long-time Boeing [BA] veteran who has led the company’s defense segment in an acting capacity since last September, has been named president and CEO of the business […]

Shield AI, RTX Partner On Collaborative Autonomy, Sensor Integration

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:04:04 +0000

RTX [RTX] is integrating Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy pilot software into an operational weapon that will allow it to autonomously coordinate and collaborate with other systems equipped with the same […]

Army Exploring Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Propulsion Technology With Electra

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:00:33 +0000

Electra has received a small research contract from the Army to mature hybrid-electric propulsion systems the company is developing for its ultra-short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft to advance the […]

Army To Prototype Two Autonomous Launcher Concepts For Both Offensive, Defensive Fires

Matthew Beinart — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 21:19:32 +0000

The Army has detailed plans to pursue two autonomous launcher concepts that would fire both offensive and defensive weapons, seeking information on industry’s potential solutions for a new rapid prototyping […]

Ex-Lockheed CFO Malave Heads To Boeing For Top Financial Job

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 20:53:48 +0000

Jay Malave, who abruptly left Lockheed Martin [LMT] in April as their chief financial officer (CFO), will join Boeing [BA] in the same role in August. Malave on Aug. 15 […]

Space Force Solicits Industry Ideas On ‘Quick and Efficient’ SBI Deployment

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 20:36:59 +0000

The U.S. Space Force program executive office for space combat power is soliciting input from industry on the rapid fielding of space based interceptors (SBI), which the Trump administration’s Golden […]

U.S. Warns DIB Companies Of Potential Iranian Cyber Activity

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 20:01:20 +0000

U.S. defense companies, in particular those working with Israeli companies, should be alert for potential malicious activities being committed by Iranian entities, U.S. government agencies warned on Monday. The warning […]

Finnish MoD Looks to Purchase SAR Satellites From Iceye

Rachel Jewett — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:19:37 +0000

The Finnish Ministry of Defenseis looking to purchase satellites from Iceye for intelligence and surveillance capabilities from space, under a new letter of intent announced June 27. The letter of intent enables the […]

Space Force Awards SpaceX $81 Million Task Order for USSF-178

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 21:47:56 +0000

The U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) said on Friday that it has awarded SpaceX a nearly $82 million contract to launch the USSF-178 mission under a National […]

DARPA Accelerates Flight-Testing For Unmanned VTOL Aircraft Effort

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 21:03:11 +0000

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has sped up the start of flight-testing by more than a year of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones in an attempt to […]

Maxar Intelligence Partnered With Satellogic On Luno A Order

Rachel Jewett — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 19:38:14 +0000

Maxar Intelligence said it is teamed with geospatial data provider Satellogic on its first task order with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) under the Luno A program for commercial analytic services. […]

USAF Requests $387 Million for ARRW Production

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 16:10:50 +0000

The U.S. Air Force’s fiscal 2026 budget request includes $387 million for production of Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] AGM-183A hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). ARRW “quantities (price per unit) and […]

Army Seeks $2.4 Billion In FY ‘26 To Flexibly Move Around Drones, C-UAS, EW Portfolios

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 21:38:11 +0000

The Army is officially moving ahead with its push for more agile funding authority, requesting $2.4 billion for fiscal year 2026 that it would look to flexibly move around its […]

DoD Cites ‘Flexibility’ In Defending Use Of Reconciliation For Budget, Including Golden Dome, Shipbuilding

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 21:13:22 +0000

After releasing the most extensive details to date on its $961.6 billion fiscal year 2026 budget request, the Pentagon on Thursday defended its decision to factor in anticipated reconciliation funds […]