Defense Watch Archives - Defense Daily

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 […]

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 […]

Defense Watch: Mythos, DARC, DARPA Plane, New SWO Boss, Startup Raises

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 08 May 2026 20:56:21 +0000

Michael on Mythos. Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, said there is broad interest across the U.S. government in assessing Anthropic’s new Mythos artificial intelligence-powered cyber security model, which […]

Defense Watch: DoD AI Deals, P-8 Upgrade, Drone and Counter-Drone News

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 01 May 2026 21:02:25 +0000

AI/Classified Networks. The Pentagon announced on May 1 it has entered into agreements with SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services to leverage their advanced artificial intelligence […]

Defense Watch: Space Acquisition, Naval Autonomy, FMS Deals, Drone Warhead

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 20:35:46 +0000

NRO Nominee. The Trump administration nominated Roger Mason to replace National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Director Chris Scolese who last May told the House Armed Services Committee of his intention to […]

Defense Watch: Talon Blue News, Iranian Missiles, LTAMDS Award, DDG News

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:13:54 +0000

CCA Engine. RTX’s Pratt & Whitney said that one of its PW500 engines is installed on a Northrop Grumman YFQ-48A Talon Blue drone, which may be an entrant for Increment […]

Defense Watch: EA-37s in Wargame, Laser Use OK’d, Army ADOC, UAS Award, FMD Chief Back

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:30:23 +0000

More EA-37Bs? The Air Force’s EA-37B saw its first combat use in Operation Epic Fury, according to U.S. Central Command, and the service’s fiscal 2027 budget requests $660 million for […]

Defense Watch: Unhappy Dem, Hypersonic Test, More Army Ousters, DDG Launch

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:44:42 +0000

Reed Knocks Budget. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, criticized the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion defense spending request for fiscal year 2027, specifically pushing […]

Defense Watch: GMTI, New SASC Member, CH-47F Award, Big sUAS Order

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:57:20 +0000

Dems Want Iran Hearing. Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee have called on Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) to immediately convene a public hearing with Pentagon officials on the Trump […]

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 […]

Defense Watch: PAC-3 and Wedgtail Awards, C-UAS Standards, Dem Praises Hegseth

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 21:04:30 +0000

PAC-3 MSE Award. A Lockheed Martin spokesperson has confirmed to Defense Daily that the Army on March 6 awarded the company a deal covering the final year of its previously […]

Defense Watch: Parts Framework, Canadian CCA, PWSA Ideas, Startup Raises

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:06:15 +0000

Epic Fury Cost. The first 100 hours days of the U.S. military operation against Iran, dubbed Epic Fury, cost $3.7 billion, or $891.4 million per say, estimates the Center for […]

Defense Watch: Black Arrow and Blackbeard, Jordan KuMRFS, Epirus and DFT

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 21:00:28 +0000

If We Don’t Fund It, You Will. Top U.S. Air Force officials have said that they want to move quickly to space-based air moving target indication to replace the service’s […]

Defense Watch: F-47 Engine, Army News, Leidos Realigns, New SRM Facility

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:32:09 +0000

F-47 Engine. On Feb. 18, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Boeing facilities in St. Louis where the company’s Phantom Works is developing the F-47 sixth generation stealth fighter. The same […]

Defense Watch: F/A-XX Update, Help Needed, ChatGPT, Drone JV

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:37:11 +0000

F/A-XX Slow And Steady. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle last Tuesday told reporters that while it seems like the Navy and Defense Department have delayed the down-select for […]

Defense Watch: MQ-25 Taxiing, Harpoon Testing, Machina Raise, TNT Awards

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 22:00:18 +0000

CVN-79. HII announced its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division successfully completed builder’s sea trials of the second Ford-class aircraft carrier as the ship came back to port on Feb. 4. […]

Defense Watch: DIB Days, DoD Biz Portal, Indian V-Bats, Drone Charging

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 22:06:15 +0000

Weapons and Tactics. U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC) recently hosted this year’s Weapons and Tactics Conference (WEPTAC) at Nellis AFB, Nev., to test out airmen-developed concepts and systems […]

Defense Watch: L3 Dividend, GPS III on Tap, Autonomous Intercept

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 22:02:38 +0000

A Dividend Boost. While President Donald Trump rails against publicly traded defense contractors paying dividends and buying back their stock, L3Harris Technologies on Jan. 23 said its board approved a […]

Defense Watch: Kastner on EO, ICBM Target, Stock Highs

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:44:04 +0000

HII On EO. Following the White House’s new executive order calling on defense industry executives to prioritize increasing production capacity over paying out dividends and stock buybacks, HII CEO Chris […]

Defense Watch: LCS Drone Launch, PhantomStrike Award, Tungsten Mining

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 22:05:26 +0000

LCS LUCAS Launch. The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) on launched the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) in the Arabian Sea, marking the first […]

Defense Watch: Golden Dome, GD Summit, Space Names, DoD AI

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:46:31 +0000

Golden Dome Industry Talks. Space Force Gen. Mike Guetlein, head of the Golden Dome initiative, recently minimized concerns about too much secrecy on the Golden Dome architecture and what the […]

Defense Watch: AUKUS Moves Ahead, GD Prez, KC-46 Deliveries, xTech News

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 22:07:18 +0000

AUKUS Review. The Pentagon has completed its review of the trilateral AUKUS security agreement, top department spokesperson Sean Parnell has confirmed. While the review has yet to be released publicly, […]

Defense Watch: Ship Assessment, Golden Dome, C-sUAS Summit, NGA Contracts

Defense Daily Staff — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:57:53 +0000

Editor’s Note: In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, Defense Daily will not publish on November 27 and 28. Navy Battle Force. In the wake of the Secretary of the Navy’s […]

Defense Watch: Golden Dome, FMS Deals, Army Noms, C-UAS

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 21:57:54 +0000

Realistic Dome. Tom Karako, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project, on Nov. 19 argued Golden Dome is unlikely to be aimed at defending against […]

Defense Watch: Ukraine Aid, RTX Charge, New FMS Deals, Quantum AI Interest

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 22:08:48 +0000

$500 Million PURL. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden have announced they will buy $500 million of munitions and other military items from the U.S. through the […]

Defense Watch: Golden Dome, New Chinese Carrier, AUKUS News, Deloitte Invests

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 20:45:24 +0000

Golden Dome Advocacy. Michael Payne, the nominee to be director of DoD’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), told senators in advance policy questions before his hearing that […]

Defense Watch: Wilsbach In, Kratos News, Digital Cockpit, Domestic Icebreakers

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 20:26:42 +0000

Wilsbach Confirmed. A month after receiving his nomination, the Senate confirmed Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach as the next Air Force chief of staff last Thursday. Wilsbach, who headed Air Combat Command […]

Defense Watch: Boeing Machinists, Big GD Award, New USV

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 21:05:02 +0000

Boeing Union to Vote. The union representing about 3,200 Boeing defense employees in the St. Louis region has authorized its members to vote on Oct. 26 on the company’s revised […]

Defense Watch: Wedgetail, Energetics Partnering, Drone News

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:27:01 +0000

Wedgetail Deployment. The deployment term of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail to Poland last July to aid Ukraine has ended. The plane has provided “critical surveillance, communications […]

Defense Watch: AUSA Up, German SPY-6, Space Fund, Funding Rounds

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:56:21 +0000

AUSA 2025. The Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) will hold its annual conference in Washington D.C. from October 13 to 15. The annual event is the largest landpower trade […]

Defense Watch: DDGs, Shutdown Impacts, NGC2

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 20:31:27 +0000

DDG-126. The Navy christened the future USS Louis H. Wilson Jr. (DDG-126), during a Sept. 27 ceremony at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine. The ship is […]

Defense Watch: Sec War/Brass Meeting, China Space Plans, Army Acquisition Boss

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 20:14:00 +0000

Hegseth’s Meeting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will meet with senior military leaders early next week, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed, but the topic for the gathering remains undisclosed. The […]

Defense Watch: AFA Up, Army FUZE, Partnering in Taiwan

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 20:26:25 +0000

Air, Space & Cyber Conference. As the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force prepare for the week’s annual Air and Space Forces Association Air, Space & Cyber Conference, eyes […]

Defense Watch: Norwegian Deal, Fuchs JAGM, AV in Europe, HADES

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:46:58 +0000

Norwegian Deal. Naval supplier Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) last week acquired Norway’s Vestdavit, a supplier of davits and advanced handling systems used by international navies and offshore operators. Terms of […]

Defense Watch: Department of War, BlueForge Leadership Change, MIB Anniversary, Shift 5 Investment

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 20:35:48 +0000

Department of War. President Trump on Sept. 5 signed an executive order establishing the Pentagon’s “secondary” name as the “Department of War.” The directive is an initial step in moving […]

Defense Watch: BAE/Canada, Israel Pressure, AIM-9X FMS, New Navy Fleet Design, THAAD Seeker No. 1K

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:24:33 +0000

BAE/Canada. Canada has awarded BAE Systems’ Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) subsidiary an enterprise license contract to provide its Digital Virtual Trainer (DVT) capability for the Canadian Army, the company said […]

Defense Watch: LPD-18 Fire, Super Hornet Crash, Ursa Orders, Coast Guard PEOs

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:58:51 +0000

LPD-18 Fire. A fire aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD-18) while in Japan was finally declared extinguished around 4:00 a.m. Aug. 21. The U.S. […]

Defense Watch: New Icebreaker, DAF Cyber Ops, GEOINT Award, More AMPVs

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 20:40:23 +0000

E-130J TACAMO. The Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) and Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW-1) on Aug. 7 announced the official popular name for the Navy’s […]

Defense Watch: Icarus Production, Aussies Pick Japanese Frigate, Kratos Growth, Anduril in Taiwan

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 20:21:00 +0000

OPC Icarus. Austal USA on Aug. 6 marked the start of production on the future Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter Icarus at its Mobile, Ala., facility in a ceremony with […]

Defense Watch: UKR Aid Fund, Leidos Biometrics, CISA Nominee, F-35 Crash, LSE 2025

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 20:04:40 +0000

Ukraine Aid Fund. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairs of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, respectively, said on July 30 they plan to introduce the […]

Defense Watch: Defense Markup, Boeing Union Vote, PrSM Firing

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:27:47 +0000

Senate Approps Markup. The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet on July 31 to mark up its version of the fiscal year 2026 defense spending bill. The panel’s markup follows the […]

Defense Watch: Guetlein Confirmed, Comet Testing, New F-35 PEO

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 21:25:03 +0000

Guetlein Confirmed. The Senate voted to confirm Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein as the reporting program manager for the new Golden Dome missile defense initiative. The Senate approved his position […]

Defense Watch: IAM Contract Negotiations, Dutch V-Bats, B-2 Unit Costs, Starship Propulsion

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 20:20:50 +0000

IAM Contract Negotiations. Union workers at Boeing’s defense facilities in the St. Louis region, and its new MQ-25 unmanned aircraft production plant across the Mississippi River in Mascoutah, Ill., have […]

Defense Watch: NATO Nuclear Mission, GMTI, AV Raise, UKR Aid Pause

Defense Daily Staff — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 19:01:58 +0000

NATO Nuclear Mission. While Pantex said in May that it built the first production B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb almost a year early on the heels of the last B61-12 coming […]

Defense Watch: F-47 Choices, B-21 Production, Hyundai Ship Collab, FY ’27 Defense Topline

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 20:26:38 +0000

F-47 Strategic Planning Choices. U.S. Air Force leaders are to examine strategic choices on F-47 development by the end of January next year, as done in the first quarter of […]

Defense Watch: Joint Integrated Fires Exercise, Bomber Task Force Model,

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:48:26 +0000

Parsons Award. Parsons Corporation said on June 16 it has received a four-year, $169.5 million deal from the Army Corps of Engineers to design and build a new Ammonium Nitrate […]

Defense Watch: Coast Guard V-BAT, QUICKSINK, Cyber ROE

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 20:40:55 +0000

Readying for V-BAT. The Coast Guard is readying three of its National Security Cutters (NSCs) to begin testing and deployment of the V-BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS) this summer, a […]

Defense Watch: Golden Dome Summit Canx, APKWS, Private Ranges

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 20:31:14 +0000

Golden Dome Summit Axed. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on June 2 abruptly canceled an industry summit for the Golden Dome air and missile defense initiative. It was set to […]

Defense Watch: Deployable Combat Wings, CBO On Nuke Mods, EB Union Approves Contract, Coastal Sentinel

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 30 May 2025 20:02:23 +0000

Battle Management. The Department of the Air Force’s program executive office (PEO) for command, control, communications and battle management (C3BM) may hold another industry day this fall after one on […]

Defense Watch: Palantir Partnership, U.S./UAE, 95th Wing, Leidos/Saudi MoU

Defense Daily Staff — Fri, 23 May 2025 16:25:12 +0000

Palantir/Divergent. In a new partnership announced on May 20, Palantir will provide access to Divergent Technologies’ advanced manufacturing system on its Foundry and Warp Speed software platforms. “The partnership provides […]