Defense Daily

Polaris Nabs ULTV Follow-On Contract From Marine Corps, Includes High Power Variant

Matthew Beinart — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:46:00 +0000

The Marine Corps on Friday awarded Polaris Government and Defense [PII] a new contract worth up to $98.3 million to continue deliveries of its MRZR Alpha platform for the Ultra […]

Space Force Awards Viasat And Intelsat General $438 Million For Continued Work On PTS-G

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:42:39 +0000

U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command has awarded Viasat [VSAT] and Intelsat General–the U.S. division of Luxembourg’s SES–a nearly $438 million contract for satellites under the Protected Tactical Satellite-Global (PTS-G) […]

Senators Push Navy Against Single Destroyer Request In FY ’27

Rich Abott — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:05:20 +0000

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the two senators from Maine last week pushed back on Navy officials for only requesting one Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (DDG-51) […]

Defense Watch: Sub Deal Soon, Mach Buy, THAAD Investment, CUAS Marketplace

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:53:57 +0000

Sub Contract Close. Navy officials on May 19 told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) the service is close to finalizing a contract with General Dynamics’ Electric Boat and HII […]

DoD Opens $30 Million Prize Challenge For Autonomous Non-Tactical Vehicles

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:22:06 +0000

The Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) last Friday kicked-off a $30 million prize challenge that seeks to make better use of the Pentagon’s fleet of manually-operated non-tactical vehicles (NTVs) […]

Rocket Lab To Design, Build And Operate Two GEO Satellites For Space Domain Awareness Under $90 Million Contract

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:26:22 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command has awarded Rocket Lab [RKLB] a $90 million contract to design, build and operate for up to five years two geostationary (GEO) satellites with […]

House Appropriators Pass Energy And Water Bill With Less NNSA Funds Than Requested

Sarah Salem — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:07:42 +0000

The House Appropriations Committee passed 34-25 its version of a bill on Wednesday that would give $27 billion to the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for […]

Navy Looks To Eventually Assemble Battleship At HII Newport News; Faces More Dem Opposition

Rich Abott — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:46:27 +0000

The Navy told lawmakers this week it found a dry dock at HII’s [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard it thinks can use for final assembly of the new Trump-class battleship […]

Blue Water Autonomy Marks Construction Progress On First Liberty Class USV

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:36:44 +0000

Autonomous vessel developer Blue Water Autonomy on Thursday released photos of its first Liberty Class ship under construction at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana,\. The images are of the bow section […]

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin Resumes Flight Tests for CCA Program

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:24:58 +0000

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A Dark Merlin prototype drone for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has resumed flight testing, the Air Force and the […]

Army Confirms FY ‘27 Chinook Request Covers Five MH-47Gs, No New CH-47F Block IIs

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:12:30 +0000

The Army’s fiscal year 2027 funding line for the Chinook heavy-lift aircraft covers five more MH-47Gs for U.S. Special Operations Command but no new CH-47F Block IIs for the service, […]

FAMM More Than Two-Thirds Of Munitions Buy In Air Force FYDP

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:56:20 +0000

The Family of Affordable Mass Missiles (FAMM) represents more than two-thirds of the more than 39,000 munitions in the Air Force’s future years defense plan (FYDP). At a Thursday Senate […]

Stratolaunch Announces Hypersonic Flight Test With Missile Defense Agency

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 21 May 2026 20:51:31 +0000

Stratolaunch on Thursday said that it successfully conducted a hypersonic flight test in March for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), launching its liquid engine-powered Talon-A3 reusable flight vehicle from a […]

Parker Hannifin To Acquire CIRCOR Aerospace From KKR For $2.6 Billion

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 21 May 2026 14:54:34 +0000

Parker Hannifin [PH] on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire CIRCOR Aerospace from the investment firm KKR [KKR] for $2.6 billion in cash in a deal that adds an […]

SpaceX’s IPO Filing Gives First Look Into Company’s Financials

Rachel Jewett — Thu, 21 May 2026 00:15:09 +0000

The space industry and public got the first real look into SpaceX’s financials on Wednesday as the company published initial documents ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO). SpaceX […]

Navy Leaders Downplay Looking At Foreign Navy Shipbuilding Amid Lawmaker Objections

Rich Abott — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:48:20 +0000

The Navy’s top leaders this week seemed to downplay and back down on the service potentially using foreign shipyards to build U.S. Navy ships or buying foreign designed warships overseas […]

SSC And SpaceWERX To Launch Orbital Logistics Challenge

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:40:46 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) and the service’s SpaceWERX innovation arm are to launch an In-Domain Orbital Logistics Challenge to find and advance commercial technologies to sustain satellites. […]

CBO Looks At Options To Quickly Increase Navy Missile Capability

Rich Abott — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:36:48 +0000

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published this week examined three options to quickly increase the size and missile capability of the Navy’s fleet within five years in an effort […]

Senate Defense Appropriators See ‘Risk’ With Army’s Reconciliation Plan To Fund Munitions Increase

Matthew Beinart — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:12:06 +0000

The Senate’s top defense appropriators cited concern this week with the Army’s request to fund the majority of its large increase to munitions procurement in fiscal year 2027 through the […]

Red Cat Acquires Wireless Drone Recharging Company Quaze Technologies

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:27:04 +0000

Red Cat Holdings [RCAT] on Wednesday said it has acquired Quaze Technologies, a developer of wireless power transfer technology for unmanned systems and autonomous machines, adding a new capability to […]

MQ-9 Strikes in Iran Far Outnumber Those of Other Platforms, USAF Chief Says

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:14:03 +0000

The number of air to ground strikes in Iran by U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reapers by General Atomics has far outstripped that by any other aircraft, U.S. Air Force Chief […]

NNSA Touts Early First Production Unit Completion Of W76-Related Project

Sarah Salem — Wed, 20 May 2026 18:25:15 +0000

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed the first production unit of the W76/Mk4B reentry body for the Navy’s submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, the agency said Wednesday. […]

U.S. Special Operations Command Budget For OA-1K Drops From 62 To 53 Planes

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 17:00:32 +0000

U.S. Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) fiscal 2027 future years defense plan (FYDP) said that the budget for the OA-1K Skyraider II Armed Overwatch aircraft has fallen from 62 to 53 […]

Amca Raises $300 Million To Bolster Aerospace And Defense Supply Chain

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:29:01 +0000

Amca, a startup founded 18 months ago to accelerate product development, qualification and delivery, and strengthen the aerospace and defense supply chain, has raised $300 million in a new funding […]

Army To Brief Congress Soon On Planned Projects For New Private Sector Co-Investment Effort

Matthew Beinart — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:29:41 +0000

The Army has assessed over 100 responses to its Strategic Capital Initiative to be “viable,” the service’s civilian leader said Tuesday, with plans to brief Congress soon on moving ahead […]

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle May Launch This Summer

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:26:34 +0000

DULLES-Va.—Northrop Grumman‘s [NOC] Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) is to launch this summer on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as the U.S. Space Force looks to refueling, maneuver, and repair and […]

CNO Details New Ohio SSBN Extension Strategy

Rich Abott — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:21:34 +0000

The Navy’s top officer Tuesday outlined updates in the service’s strategy to extend the service life of several nuclear-armed Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) that could result in quicker turnarounds […]

Army Relooking At Its ‘Whole Aviation Transformation’ Plan, Acting Chief Tells Lawmakers

Matthew Beinart — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:15:58 +0000

The Army is relooking at its “whole aviation transformation initiative,” the service’s acting chief of staff told lawmakers on Tuesday, to include its approach for future procurement of “enduring” platforms. […]

Fischer Criticizes Lack Of SLCM-N Funding, Discourages Reconciliation Process

Sarah Salem — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:12:26 +0000

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) criticized the omission of funding for the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile from the fiscal 2027 budget request, warning the absence of appropriated funding could jeopardize the […]

MQ-25 Okayed For Production With Milestone C Approval

Rich Abott — Tue, 19 May 2026 20:38:30 +0000

The Navy on Tuesday announced the Boeing [BA] MQ-25A Stingray carrier-based unmanned tanker aircraft officially received its Milestone C approval, setting it up for Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) later this […]

Sandhoo Named SDA Director, PAE For Missile Warning And Tracking

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 20:18:51 +0000

After serving as the acting director of the Space Development Agency (SDA) since last September, Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo was named director of the agency effective May 11, SDA said on […]

Shield AI’s AI Pilot Software Selected To Provide Collaborative Autonomy To LUCAS Drones

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:44:35 +0000

Shield AI on Tuesday said the Defense Department has picked the company’s Hivemind artificial intelligence software to pilot Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Aircraft System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones and allow them […]

Coast Guard Plans R&D Effort With Lockheed Martin To Assess HPMs To Stop Small Boats

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 18:02:39 +0000

The Coast Guard plans to work with Lockheed Martin [LMT] to evaluate and test high power microwave (HPM) effectors that would temporarily disable the engines or support electronics of small […]

York Space Systems To Acquire Space Solar Tech Company Solestial To Shore Up Supply Chain

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 13:34:11 +0000

York Space Systems [YSS] on Tuesday said it has agreed to acquire Solestial Inc., a domestic developer and manufacturer of solar cells and related technology used on spacecraft, in a […]

Redwire Says Awarded Large Drone Contract From NATO Ally

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:37:39 +0000

Redwire Corp. [RDW] on Tuesday said it received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract from a NATO ally to deliver the company’s Penguin Mk3 unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Redwire said the […]

Data Center Startup Armada Raises $230 Million; Partners With Johnson Controls On Manufacturing

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:23:32 +0000

Armada, a developer and manufacturer of modular, relocatable data centers has raised $230 million in a new funding round to boost production capacity to meet demand and strengthen its balance […]

RTX Wins ONR Contract To Develop Multiplexing Radar Software

Rich Abott — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:52:17 +0000

RTX’s [RTX] Raytheon segment recently won a $22.6 million contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop new advanced software that will allow radars to perform multiple missions […]

Perennial Autonomy Nabs $500 Million DoD Counter-Drone Contract

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:49:15 +0000

The Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)-401 has awarded Perennial Autonomy a three-year contract with a $500 million ceiling to acquire three of the company’s drone interceptors, a deal that […]

State Department Approves Nearly $4.7 Billion In Helicopters To South Korea, Support To India And Missiles For Belgium

Rich Abott — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:17:27 +0000

The State Department on Monday approved over $4.7billion in two potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs for helicopters to South Korea as well as support services to India military equipment […]

Lockheed Conducts Successful Seeker Test For QuadStar Missile Competing For Army’s NGSRI

Matthew Beinart — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:04:02 +0000

Lockheed Martin [LMT] has confirmed it conducted a successful flight test of the seeker for its Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI) offering. The company described the recent seeker characterization […]

DIU Picks Five Companies As Winners of Drone Dominance Program’s Lethality Challenge

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 18 May 2026 20:17:03 +0000

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has chosen five companies as winners of the Drone Dominance Program’s Lethality Prize. Northrop Grumman [NOC] was the only traditional defense company picked. The […]

DoD Awards DPA Funds To Solid Rocket Motor Component Supplier PacSci

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:12:29 +0000

The Defense Department last Friday evening said it awarded Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Co. (PacSci EMC) $27.3 million to boost production of a key safety component for solid rocket motors […]

Michael DiOrio – Dataminr

Defense Daily Staff — Mon, 18 May 2026 13:40:23 +0000

In this monthly column, Defense Daily highlights individuals from across the government, industry and academia whose efforts contribute daily to national defense, from the program managers to the human resource […]

Lawmakers Request DoD Briefing On Army’s Planned Cuts To Aviation Procurement

Matthew Beinart — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:45:58 +0000

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has sent a letter asking the Pentagon for a briefing on the potential industrial base impacts as a result of the Army’s planned cuts […]

Navy Reveals Long-Term MUSV Fleet Size; Using OTA For Off The Shelf Vehicles

Rich Abott — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:41:35 +0000

The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan published on May 11 revealed more details about how the service plans to acquire Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSVs), including the acquisition strategy and long-term […]

Space Force Awards Northrop Grumman $398 Million For Enhanced PTS-P

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:18:31 +0000

The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $398 million firm-fixed price contract to develop and build an Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype (PTS-P) for […]

Defense Watch: F-35 News, Big GD Sub Award, E-7 Reversal, UxS News

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:16:16 +0000

MQ-9 Follow-On. As the U.S. Air Force considers a follow-on to the MQ-9 Reaper by General Atomics, the service has received more than 50 responses to a request for information […]

Demand Signal For L3Harris’ Vampire Counter-Drone System Exceeds $1 Billion, Executive Says

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 15 May 2026 20:52:39 +0000

An affordable counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) L3Harris Technologies [LHX] began developing five years ago that Ukrainian forces have used since 2022 to fend off Russian drone attacks has a kill […]

Australian AI Sensor Startup Arkeus Raises $18 Million To Help Expand In U.S, Europe

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:33:56 +0000

Australia’s Arkeus has raised $18 million in a Series A round to help developer of artificial intelligence-enabled hyperspectral sensors to expand and scale manufacturing in Australia, the U.S. and Europe. […]

Teledyne FLIR Defense To Provide Rogue 1 Loitering Munition For Army’s LASSO Effort

Matthew Beinart — Thu, 14 May 2026 21:45:05 +0000

The Army has picked Teledyne FLIR Defense’s [TDY] Rogue 1 loitering munition to support the Low-Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program, the company has said, with plans to deliver […]