Uncategorized Archives - Defense Daily

Trump’s FY ‘27 Navy Budget Request Doubles 2026 Ship Level

Rich Abott — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:23:45 +0000

The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 topline budget request seeks 34 total Navy ships for $65.8 billion, doubling the ship count enacted in the FY ‘26 budget by adding more […]

Defense Watch: Railgun Testing, DOGE Endures, FAMM Engines, Faster FMS

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:45:12 +0000

Railgun Redux. The Navy’s White Sands Detachment (WSD) began testing a Navy railgun again in February at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The testing was revealed in a […]

Senate Confirms New Navy Sub Portfolio Head, Air Boss

Rich Abott — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:16:15 +0000

The Senate last Friday confirmed Vice Adm. Robert Gaucher to a new role overseeing the entire submarine portfolio alongside three other Navy officials confirmed to existing positions. In December, Secretary […]

Northrop Grumman Conducts Static Fire Test Of Latest Rapidly Developed Solid Rocket Motor

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 22:37:26 +0000

Northrop Grumman [NOC] on Thursday conducted a static fire test of the latest solid rocket motor designed and developed in 12 months under its Solid Motor Annual Rocket Technology Demonstrator […]

Defense Watch: SHIELD Grows, Navy CCA Demo, Lunday Sworn In, York Sets Price

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 22:13:14 +0000

More SHIELD. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on Jan. 15 announced it made another 340 awards under the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) multiple award contract, raising the […]

DIU, DAWG, Navy Launch $100 Million Challenge For Autonomous System Control

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:23:49 +0000

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the relatively new Defense Autonomous Working Group (DAWG) and the Navy this week launched a $100 million prize challenge to prototype “market-ready solutions” that can […]

AE Industrial Partners To Acquire 60 Percent Stake In L3Harris’s Rocketdyne Business

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:49:56 +0000

The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners on Monday said it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in the Space Propulsion and Power Systems business of L3Harris Technologies [LHX] […]

Navy Wants F/A-XX But DoD Still Looking To Balance Industrial Base With F-47

Rich Abott — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:43:41 +0000

The top Navy officer recently confirmed the service still wants the F/A-XX sixth-generation fighter, but is cognizant of cost effectiveness and balancing it with overall industrial base concerns. When asked […]

Ghost Bat CCA Fires AMRAAM In Manned-Unmanned Demo Against Fighter-Class Drone

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 20:42:16 +0000

A Boeing [BA]-developed Ghost Bat autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) equipped with an air-to-air missile recently shot down a target drone during a manned-unmanned teaming demonstration with Australian E-7 airborne […]

Navy Renews Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Contract With HawkEye 360

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:59:43 +0000

HawkEye 360 on Tuesday said the Navy has awarded it a five-year $98.8 million contract to continue providing radio frequency (RF) data and analytics to detect and monitor vessels of […]

Space Force Accepts Long Range Discrimination Radar After Operational Testing

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 21:54:56 +0000

The Space Force’s Combat Forces Command (CFC) last week accepted a key ground-based, long-range radar for missile warning, tracking and targeting after the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) concluded operational testing, […]

HII Introduces Small EW System For Use On Unmanned Systems To Detect, Attack Threat Emitters

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 19:36:20 +0000

HII [HII] on Monday debuted a new electronic warfare (EW) system that is being validated on unmanned systems to detect and attack threat emitters to give operators spectrum dominance across […]

U.K. Gets FMS Nod For Navy AEHF Multiband Terminals

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 21:58:23 +0000

The State Department on Monday said it approved a potential million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the United Kingdom for six Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Navy Multiband Terminals, bringing […]

Anduril Partners With HD Hyundai To Develop Navy MASC Bid, Family of USVs

Rich Abott — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 22:39:02 +0000

Anduril Industries and South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries on Thursday announced a partnership to design and produce a new family of dual-use Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs), including a variant […]

CHAOS Industries Raises $510 Million In New Funding Round

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:04:31 +0000

Defense technology startup CHAOS Industries on Thursday said it has raised $510 million in a new funding round to be put toward product development and manufacturing. The Series D raise […]

Veritas Capital To Acquire Digital Solutions Firm MetroStar Systems

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 20:07:03 +0000

Veritas Capital on Wednesday said it has agreed to acquire the digital transformation solutions firm MetroStar Systems, which serves the defense and intelligence communities. Terms of the deal were not […]

Boeing Wins $2.7 Billion In PAC-3 Seeker Production Contracts, Lockheed Martin And Diehl Make A Deal

Rich Abott — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:04:42 +0000

Boeing [BA] on Tuesday announced it won a series of multiyear contracts worth $2.7 billion total to produce more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) seekers. Boeing produces the seekers under prime […]

AV Adds To Switchblade, UAS Product Lines In Pursuit Of Army LASSO, MRR Programs

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:25:51 +0000

AeroVironment [AVAV] is expanding its array of loitering munitions and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by adding capabilities to two products and introducing a medium-range suicide drone and a vertical takeoff-and-landing […]

AEI Releases Space-Based Interceptor Calculator, Costs Can Balloon Into Trillions For Larger Constellations

Rich Abott — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 21:31:50 +0000

An American Enterprise Institute (AEI) official created an interactive Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) Calculator to help show how the government’s design choices can vastly affect system cost, size and performance as […]

Amendment To House Defense Bill Would Allow DoD Office To Acquire Equity In Companies

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 20:10:42 +0000

A relatively new Defense Department office whose goal is to attract private capital to critical areas of the defense industrial base that suffer from a lack of investment would be […]

DoD Taps Three Vendors For Funds To Expand Solid Rocket Motor Capacity

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 16:30:36 +0000

The Defense Department last Friday said it awarded three companies a combined $39.6 million using Defense Production Act (DPA) funding to expand the industrial base for solid rocket motors (SRMs). […]

NATO Adopts Front Door Approach to Engage With Space Startups

Mark Holmes — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:05:44 +0000

NATO is looking to make it easier for space startups in NATO nations to get their tech deployed in the field. James Appathurai, interim managing director of NATO DIANA, said […]

Investors Buoyant As Apex Raises $200 Million To Expand Satellite Bus Production Capacity

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:23:34 +0000

Excited by strong customer demand, investors are pouring another $200 million into satellite bus developer and manufacturer Apex to enable the company to continue buttressing efforts to accelerate production and […]

Ernst Says Democrats Stalling On New SBIR Bill

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 19:29:21 +0000

As the fiscal year deadline approaches for reauthorizing a federal program that provides seed funds to small businesses developing products that have potential benefit to the government and commercial sector, […]

Gebara: Sentinel Flight Test ‘Well Prior to’ 2028, ‘Not Currently’ Concerned With NNSA’s Pit Rate

Sarah Salem — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 18:36:21 +0000

Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, the Air Force’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, said on a Wednesday webinar that the first Sentinel flight test would be […]

Senate NDAA Provision Could Protect NNSA Staff From DOGE Axe

Sarah Salem — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:50:11 +0000

A provision in the Senate’s version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could protect employees in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons from the Department of Government […]

DoE Deputy Secretary ‘Concerned,’ Orders Plutonium Special Study in Letter to NNSA

Sarah Salem — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 20:53:09 +0000

In a letter to Teresa Robbins, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly said he is ordering a special study to evaluate key […]

Los Alamos Elevator in Plutonium Facility Faces Technical Failures, DNFSB Says

Sarah Salem — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:53:58 +0000

An elevator for transporting radiological material within the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plutonium facility suffered “several mechanical failures” over the last few months, according to a report […]

DARPA Christens Prototype USV, Finishing Testing Ahead of Demo

Rich Abott — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:23:49 +0000

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Monday christened its prototype for the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program, the USX-1 Defiant, as it finishes testing in preparation for […]

Senators ‘Still Talking’ Topline Near $60 billion For DOE Funding Bill

Sarah Salem — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 21:17:41 +0000

Disagreement between the Senate Energy and Water subcommittee chair and ranking member over the topline of their appropriations bill has led to it not being released yet, according to an […]

With Congress in Recess, Pending DoE/NNSA Noms Make For a Busy Fall

Sarah Salem — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 21:02:34 +0000

With Congress out on recess this month, a busy September looms with authorization bills requests in both chambers to finalize by Oct. 1 and pending nominations in the Senate for […]

NNSA Deploys Security Simulation Tech at Lawrence Livermore

Sarah Salem — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:56:14 +0000

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will deploy Cornelis Networks technology to power Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s high-performance computing cluster “Lynx.” The “Lynx” cluster is a […]

BWXT Enjoys Strong Quarter Led Government Operations

Sarah Salem — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:57:23 +0000

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies [BWXT] in the second quarter, which the company attributed to strong performances in government operations. “We had exceptionally strong second quarter 2025 financial results driven […]

Senate Defense Appropriations Bill Has Deterrence Reductions, Reconciliation Complaints

Sarah Salem — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:55:05 +0000

While the Senate’s appropriations bill for the Department of Defense includes a $21.7 billion topline increase, many nuclear modernization programs in the DoD got a reduction. The Senate Appropriations Committee […]

Australia, UK Sign Treaty to Advance AUKUS and Nuclear Sub Development

Sarah Salem — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 13:59:29 +0000

Australia and the United Kingdom signed a treaty July 26 with aims to deepen long-term cooperation on developing nuclear-power submarines under the AUKUS agreement, a statement by both defence ministries […]

Pentagon Announces New Naval Nominations

Rich Abott — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 20:35:46 +0000

The Defense Department on July 18 announced several new nominations for the Department of the Navy, including Naval Air Systems Command, the I Marine Expeditionary Force, and Navy Personnel Command. […]

House Appropriations Bill That Funds NNSA Clears Committee, Moves to Full House

Sarah Salem — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 17:03:32 +0000

The House appropriations committee voted to advance a fiscal 2026 appropriations bill Thursday that would give $25.317 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That’s around $1.182 billion above […]

BWXT Awarded $2.6 Billion In Naval Nuclear Reactor Parts Biz

Sarah Salem — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 21:21:09 +0000

BWX Technologies [BWXT], based in Lynchburg, Va., announced Thursday the award of $2.6 billion in contracts, including future year options, to manufacture naval nuclear reactor components. The contracts, which build […]

Senate Authorizes Highest Limit Yet for NNSA At $26.87 billion

Sarah Salem — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 16:12:04 +0000

The Senate Armed Services Committee released bill language for its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would set the spending cap for the National Nuclear Security […]

Globalstar Enters CRADA With US Army to Evaluate Devices

Rachel Jewett — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:41:30 +0000

Satellite operator Globalstar has a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army to assess the company’s devices for low probability of intercept and detection communications. Globalstar […]

House Armed Services Passes NDAA Measures on DoD, NNSA

Wayne Barber — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:07:02 +0000

The House Armed Services Committee Tuesday approved fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provisions to, among other things, create a new Rapid Capabilities Program within the National Nuclear Security […]

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 […]

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

House Appropriations Panel Seeks To Slash GAO funding

Wayne Barber — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:14:50 +0000

The Government Accountability Office, which serves as Congress’s watchdog over federal programs, would see its budget nearly cut by nearly half in fiscal 2026, under a bill advanced by the […]

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. […]

SASC Member Says B61 Aboard Aircraft Carrier Better Option Than SLCM-N

Sarah Salem — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 19:10:36 +0000

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), in a recent hearing, said an aircraft carrying a B61 bomb will be a “much reduced cost” alternative to the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile aboard a […]

EnergySec Grilled on Cutting National Lab Funding, Says ‘Open’ To Expanding

Sarah Salem — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 19:06:02 +0000

Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expressed their disapproval Wednesday to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on a proposed 11 percent cut in the Department of Energy’s […]

Commentary: DoD Zeroes in on Boosting Cybersecurity for Systems that Sustain the Military

Defense Opinion — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:43:14 +0000

By Steve Orrin, Defense Opinion Writer The Department of Defense (DoD) is sharpening its cybersecurity focus on operational technology (OT), the systems that sustain military operations. With hostile actors increasingly targeting these […]

Editor’s Note

John Robinson — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:34:03 +0000

In observance of the Juneteenth holiday, Defense Daily will not be published June 19. Your next issue will be dated June 23.

Marine Corps Confirms Testing With Army Vessel That Will Be Basis Of New First Draft Of LSM

Rich Abott — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 21:26:23 +0000

A Marine Corps unit that the Pentagon plans to ultimately deploy with the Landing Ship Medium (LSM) confirmed to reporters it has tested with an Army watercraft set to be […]