New Defense Leaders and Tech Emerge
Shaping investments and advancing solutions to strengthen our military might.
Welcome to the latest edition of Defense Tech and Acquisition.
President nominates a new Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and CNO
U.S. must harness its advantage in AI, but must also bend metal
Army is accelerating lethal systems and cancelling those that don’t.
Navy’s lack of funding of manned and unmanned ships drives criticism.
Air Force debates E-2s vs E-7s, upgrades, and program restarts.
Space Force pursues new networks and Golden Dome strategies evolve.
The Paris Air Show profiled novel systems and new partnerships
Top Stories
Trump picks Marine to be next Joint Chiefs vice chairman
Mahoney is currently serving as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, a role he’s held since November 2023. For several months, he also performed the duties of commandant.
He previously served as deputy commander of U.S. Marine Forces Pacific; director of strategy and Plans at HQMC; deputy commander of U.S. Forces, Japan; commanding general of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing; and deputy commandant for programs and resources, HQMC, among other assignments.
Mahoney, a TOPGUN graduate, rose through the ranks of the Corps’ aviation community and has over 5,000 hours of flight time in the A-6, F-5, F-18 and F-35.
Pitting Defense Primes vs Newcomers Only Helps America’s Enemies
The U.S. is facing the most complex and technologically sophisticated pacing threat in modern memory. Confronting this challenge is not a simple false dichotomy between the industrial titans that have powered American defense for decades and the innovative trailblazers from Silicon Valley and Austin. We need both.
Any effort that privileges one group over the other, whether in rhetoric, regulation, or law ultimately undermines the shared goal of delivering capability at speed and scale.
There is a growing narrative in the defense acquisition space that supports a pivot away from established firms toward non-traditional contractors: venture-backed software startups, commercial cloud providers, and agile systems integrators.
However, in the enthusiasm to embrace the new, there is a risk that we overlook the indispensable capabilities of the defense primes, companies that have built and sustained the most sophisticated and lethal military in the world.
Instead of pitting one side against the other, our acquisition policy must reflect an all-of-industry approach.
Established defense prime contractors offer critical advantages to the US industrial base. These firms understand the regulatory environment, interoperability standards that ensure effective integration, and the rigorous certification processes needed. They have also invested heavily in physical infrastructure, personnel, and supply chains. It would take years and billions of dollars to duplicate such assets.
At the same time, non-traditional contractors — especially those emerging from Silicon Valley — are increasing their contribution to the defense ecosystem. Their value lies not only in their advanced tech, but in their approach. They are often unencumbered by legacy approaches, and they push the DoD to consider new paradigms in AI and COTS.
The real goal of acquisition reform should be to build a defense industrial base that is fast, flexible, scalable, and resilient.
That means streamlining acquisition processes for all vendors, not just for start-ups; reforming audit and reporting requirements uniformly; expanding access to Rapid Prototyping Funds for both traditional and non-traditional companies; and encouraging arrangements that blend hard-earned experience with new ideas.
This is not only about a fair, competitive process, it’s about lethality.
Defense Acquisition Reform Requires More Mid-Tier Companies
Bill Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS, said during an interview at the Paris Air Show June 17 that one of the pieces of acquisition reform that doesn’t get enough attention is “the importance of sustaining a viable and vibrant industry structure.” And the structure at present does not have enough middle-tier companies.
The current defense industry structure is barbell-shaped. You have a consolidated upper tier of strong primes, a handful of them, and then we have an active set of small businesses in between.
There’s only a modest number of mid-tier companies like DRS.
When distilled down to technology and product companies, the number of middle-tier companies grows even smaller. But these companies have an important role to play in the defense acquisition process, and more are needed.
With a vibrant mid-tier in certain sectors, particularly non-platform sectors, you’re going to get electronics, communications, you’re going to get better competition.
Mid-tier companies are also a little bit faster to act and more agile and able to move investments around to meet customer needs.
A string of new entrants have entered the mid-tier space, such as Anduril, Palantir and Kratos. It’s a good thing. It’s s going to give the DoD what it wants.
Why the Defense Sector Is a Strategic Imperative, Not a Passing Trend
From proxy wars to asymmetric campaigns, these conflicts are both highly regional and globally consequential. Each one touches supply chains, diplomatic alignments, and resource flows. They mark the end of an era where peace was assumed, and war was the exception. We are witnessing the return of geopolitical competition on a systemic level between major powers, ideologies, and civilizations.
This emerging paradigm demands a fundamental shift in how war is understood not only by generals and policymakers, but by societies and markets.
The immediate response to the crisis, marked by short-term procurement surges and emergency allocations, is no longer sufficient.
What’s required is a long-term strategy: multi-year supply agreements, secure and exclusive production lines, and sustained investment in innovation and readiness.
War is no longer about the next campaign; it’s about the next decade.
Ukraine’s innovative use of UASs, ranging from off-the-shelf commercial drones to advanced loitering munitions, has demonstrated how asymmetric technologies can effectively target armor, disrupt logistics, and impose significant costs on conventional forces.
The evolving character of war where speed, agility, and low-cost innovation increasingly rival traditional firepower. Yet many of the systems currently being deployed were conceived and funded more than a decade ago.
This reveals a critical reality: defense innovation operates on long timelines. Programs initiated today, from sixth-generation aircraft to AI-enabled ISR networks, may take 8 to 15 years to reach full operational capability.
Investments in dual-use technologies, resilient manufacturing ecosystems, and a highly skilled defense-tech workforce are no longer optional; they are foundational to national and allied security. Both private capital and public institutions must commit to sustained innovation cycles that endure beyond headlines, budget years, and election cycles.
Trade-Offs: Force Size vs. Modernization vs. Readiness
If you had an additional dollar to spend on improving force capability in the DoD, where would you place your money? There are three buckets where you could place your additional dollar: force size, modernization, or readiness.
It would be an interesting exercise to divide the entire defense budget into these three elements and add support functions to produce the entire budget.
How do you make the decision of where to place this additional dollar to improve force capability, which can be defined as the ability of your force structure to deter and win wars? These three elements all interact with each other.
If one of these elements is especially weak or vulnerable, it could destroy the ability of the other two elements to be effective.
The size of your forces is the easiest element to define and measure. It is also the element that is easiest to cut when you reduce the size of the defense budget.
Each generation of new weapons tends to offer advantages over the weapons they replace. Thus, how often we modernize weapons is an important indicator of the capability of the weapons. Since adversaries are always modernizing their weapons, we need to keep up with their capabilities.
Readiness is the most complex and interesting of the three elements of force capability. Do we have the people, equipment, and spare parts to operate? In recent years, readiness has received the highest priority among the three force capability elements.
The Army will probably face the biggest force size cuts, and its readiness and modernization will suffer in competition with the other services.
The Navy is the service with the greatest ability to project force around the world, however the high cost of the new Navy surface ships and subs will cause the force size to suffer in the future.
The Marine Corps will likely remain small and will probably get priority over the Army as an elite ground force.
Because of the high cost of Air Force weapons, we have a small number of planes that have become more important to protect. Modernization has led us to having the best planes in the world, but we will be challenged by China in the future.
How does modernization apply to cybersecurity? This involves the level of our technology and how fast it is proceeding to identify and prevent cyberattacks.
Defense Tech
How the United States Can Win the Global Tech Race
The Administration should seize the opportunity to offer an ambitious vision to promote the broader diffusion of U.S. technology.
The world not only wants the U.S.’ AI chips, but also its AI applications, data centers, cloud services, satellites, and advanced technology offerings generally.
There is an opportunity to forge a new model of technology statecraft to help the U.S. win the race to shape strategic digital infrastructure and technology diffusion across the globe.
Washington must finally learn from its failure in the transition to 4G and 5G. Huawei now operates in more than 170 countries worldwide and is the top global provider of telecommunications equipment.
In the coming years, foreign capitals and corporate boards will make potentially generational decisions about whether to meet this demand by partnering with the U.S. and its allies or China.
The U.S. occupies a commanding position in AI, with leadership or leverage over every part of the stack, ranging from chip design, tooling, and fabrication to model training and testing. U.S. companies hold at least a 70% share of the global cloud market.
Starlink has launched more satellites than all competitors combined since 2020.
Three of the top four companies deploying subsea fiberoptic cables—the internet’s backbone—are from the U.S. or its close allies.
Washington can start with reforms in three broad areas.
Unleash the U.S.’ strategic investment tools.
Washington should turbocharge its commercial diplomacy for technology.
U.S. should embrace a newly ambitious vision for technology partnerships.
Washington can also do more to align with technology-leading allies on joint investments in strategic emerging markets.
As the world rushes into an accelerating competition to deploy strategic technologies and digital infrastructure across the globe, the U.S. has almost everything it needs to prevail. What Washington lacks, however, is a vision to harness these strengths in a new model of technology statecraft to help the U.S. win.
OpenAI For Government launches with $200M win from CDAO
OpenAI has won a Pentagon contract worth up to $200M to “develop prototype frontier AI” for the DoD, for both back-office business functions and frontline warfighting operations.
According to the DoD announcement, just under $2M is already obligated and the full project has an estimated completion date of July 2026.
That’s a stark contrast to many of the Pentagon’s other big-ticket IT contracts which spread the award out over multiple years — in some cases, even a decade.
It’s also significant that the award specifies the CDAO will be the contracting activity for DoD. CDAO has key billets left empty after the Biden-Trump transition, and there have been rumors it might be cut or consolidated with other Pentagon innovation efforts. Managing this major contract hardly guarantees CDAO’s survival, but it helps.
Clearly anticipating further contracts, the former nonprofit, whose ChatGPT model launched the current tidal wave of generative AI two and a half years ago, used the occasion to officially launch what it calls OpenAI For Government.
OpenAI For Government will coordinate the new CDAO contract, future work with federal, state, and local agencies, and an array of preexisting projects.
How the Arsenal of Democracy Can Get Back on its Feet with Some Help from the Past
“The success of a modern fighting force is directly and immediately dependent on the ability of the Nation’s resources to satisfy promptly its requirement in munitions.” Plan for Industrial Mobilization Submitted by the War Department in 1931
Eighty years later, the DoD has not lived up to that maxim.
Washington is awash with recommendations to bolster, strengthen, or otherwise revitalize the defense industrial base.
A protracted war with China would create immense demands for munitions and other defense materiel, requiring production to be increased far beyond peacetime levels and surge capacity.
It is time for the DoD to move beyond strategies and near-term efforts to revitalize the industrial base and begin developing mobilization plans to fill operational-industrial gaps and guide long-term preparedness efforts.
Policymakers have called for the U.S. to reprise its WWII role and rapidly expand defense production to become the 21st-century “arsenal of democracy.”
The strategic, economic, and industrial conditions that led to the arsenal of democracy are long gone.
Yet we have insufficient munition stockpiles, a consolidated defense industrial base, and the renewed specter of multi-theater war amid rapid technological, geoeconomic, and political changes.
Planning and preparing for expanded defense production are inseparable from planning for major war.
Closing these operational-industrial gaps is critical because industrial plans (or lack thereof) become de facto strategic decisions once a conflict begins.
Industrial mobilization planning in peacetime remains critical for shortening the time required to surge and expand production capacity to wartime levels.
Even with planning and preparation, expanding production will take time and resources.
A nation should base its national military strategy around its competitive advantages.
Today’s consolidated defense industrial base still produces the world’s most advanced weapons systems, but most of these were designed for multinational and just-in-time supply chains. That world is gone.
Policymakers should consider the advantages the U.S. currently enjoys relative to China: a dynamic free market system, advanced technologies, and a global network of allies and partners.
Relying solely on the free market often results in industrial outcomes that hurt readiness. Firms seek to maximize efficiency and profit, which discourages the maintenance of excess capacity and can encourage cost-cutting measures such as consolidation and offshoring.
Thanks to free market innovation, the U.S. defense industrial base has long developed and produced superior military technologies. Today’s industrial troubles are less about the quality of U.S. weapons and more about the scale at which these cutting-edge systems can be produced.
Read Tyler’s CSBA report: Arsenal of Democracy: Myth or Model? Lessons for 21st-Century Industrial Mobilization Planning
World’s first solar-powered drone with Boeing 747-sized wingspan can fly for a month
French defense electronics major Thales has joined forces with US aerospace startup Skydweller Aero to deploy an autonomous, solar-powered aerial system capable of persistent flight measured in weeks to months.
The unmanned platform, known as MAPS (Medium-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite), integrates advanced radar and AI technologies with extreme endurance to deliver uninterrupted maritime domain awareness.
This drone has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 and can carry payloads of up to 881 pounds.
Its AI-driven data processing enables onboard target classification, dramatically reducing data loads sent to ground control and enabling efficient bandwidth use, which is critical for long-duration autonomous missions.
This AI-radar pairing with Skydweller’s zero-emission UAV creates a fully autonomous, persistent ISR platform capable of monitoring high-interest zones in the Mediterranean, Indo-Pacific, or Atlantic approaches.
General Atomics Rolls Out Sidekick Drone for MQ-9B Missions
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has introduced a new drone designed to back up MQ-9B operations, handling high-risk tasks like scouting, jamming, and precision strikes.
It can fly for up to seven hours and cover 500 nautical miles, allowing it to support long-range missions.
GA-ASI describes PELE as a small, attrition-tolerant drone designed to extend the reach of larger platforms. PELE brings even more versatility to growing MQ-9B fleets around the world.
PELE is part of GA-ASI’s broader push to deploy affordable, mission-flexible drones that can fly in swarms and confuse enemy defenses.
Its modular design allows for mid-air adjustments and supports a wide range of payloads, including electro-optical infrared sensors for full-motion video and other internal mission systems.
DARPA Calls on Industry to Assist Strengthening DOD Cybersecurity
DARPA announced a Resilient Software Systems Accelerator program to kick-start the widespread adoption of math-based software development practices to make military systems inherently more secure against cyberthreats.
With aging IT infrastructure, security standards and software tools and techniques known as "formal methods," that have been proven to significantly improve the resiliency, security and functionality of military systems used within the defense community.
Kathleen Fisher described formal methods as "mathematically based approaches" that allow the user to prove properties about software to obtain guarantees, adding that DARPA has been involved in developing tools related to formal methods for over a decade.
DARPA is announcing today that we are going to ... offer funding to do a red team assessment of a system. You guys do this cyber retrofit and then do another red team to assess the difference, [and then] document what you did in the retrofit in a best practices standard format.
As part of advancing formal methods within DOD, DARPA is also partnering with each military service on a capstone demo of formal methods application.
Tech Partnership Accelerating Digital Engineering with Simulation Tools
Software companies PTC and Ansys have teamed up to build two products that leverage simulation to speed up the digital design process for engineers.
Creo Simulation Live provides engineers with instantaneous static structural, thermal, modal and fluid flow design guidance that gives instant feedback through real-time simulation.
Creo Ansys Simulation is a high-fidelity tool that leverages Ansys’s advanced simulation capabilities for thermal, structural and modal analysis directly within PTC’s Creo software system.
The idea is to give engineers early insight into product behavior sooner than the traditional process. The technology allows an engineer, for the very first time, to get insight, directionally and notionally, into whether or not their design is getting better or not with time.
Hacking for Defense @ Stanford 2025 – Lessons Learned Presentations
Hacking for Defense, now in 70 universities, has teams of students working to understand and help solve national security problems.
At Stanford this quarter the 8 teams of 41 students collectively interviewed 1,106 beneficiaries, stakeholders, requirements writers, program managers, industry partners, etc. – while simultaneously building a series of minimal viable products and developing a path to deployment.
This year’s problems came from the Army, Navy, CENTCOM, Space Force/DIU, the FBI, IQT, and the NGA.
This year we had the teams add two new slides at the end of their presentation: 1) tell us which AI tools they used, and 2) their estimate of progress on the Technology Readiness Level and Investment Readiness Level.
Team Omnyra – improving visibility into AI-generated bioengineering threats.
Team HydraStrike – bringing swarm technology to the maritime domain.
Team HyperWatch – tracking hypersonic threats.
Team ChipForce – Securing U.S. dominance in critical minerals.
Team ArgusNet – instant geospatial data for search and rescue.
Team NeoLens – AI-powered troubleshooting for military mechanics.
Team Omnicomm – improving the quality, security and resiliency of communications for special operations units.
Team Strom – simplified mineral value chain.
Check out Steve’s post to see their exciting videos and presentations.
General Atomics Avenger Drone Executes Precision Missile Attack in Multirole Trial
General Atomics has facilitated a “first-of-its-kind” multirole demonstration of its MQ-20 Avenger UAS that involved a missile firing on live targets.
The test featured an MQ-20 equipped with government-provided autonomy software to determine the platform’s capabilities in patrol operations, autonomous decision-making, dynamic mid-air maneuvering alongside manned aircraft, and integration with C2 systems.
The drone’s simulated offensive was set to neutralize two aircraft and resulted in a successful airborne strike.
During the trial, the MQ-20 was also tested mid-flight to toggle from its government autonomy suite to the Hivemind machine learning autonomous piloting software provided by Shield AI.
The drone is designed with an internal compartment for 3,500 pounds of weapons and six external hardpoints.
Users can arm the platform with guided and unguided bombs and armor-penetrating missiles, depending on operational requirements.
SOCOM Needs Industry Help Upgrading Uncrewed Systems
SOCOM is turning to industry to help modernize its UAS to deter threats in increasingly congested airspace.
COL Ramsey Oliver, PEO SOF Warrior systems, said the command’s unconventional approach to countering asymmetric threats applies today more than ever, and it is laser-focused on modernizing its capabilities for the most dangerous threat environments.
SOCOM is focused on developing new capabilities for UAS — especially when it comes to software upgrades — along with reexamining its tactics, techniques and procedures to change how we operate with the use of drones.
The command is constantly looking for ways to provide lower-cost solutions in the UAS and counter-UAS space, but it will require a significant mindset shift on the operator side.
In addition to manufacturing drones at speed and scale, industry partners can play a significant role in developing software for these systems.
Both the drone hardware and software the command chooses moving forward will be reliant on a modular, open systems architecture that will allow multiple different, not just software configurations, but hardware configurations too.
There’s a software architecture that also has to exist out there, and that is one thing that we are looking for help with.
SOCOM is also looking into how to use autonomy more effectively in UAS, specifically in the decision-making and sensors-to-shooter process, but the command is still trying to understand and define the requirements for it.
US Needs to Start From Scratch to Rewrite FMS Process
“I think we need to start from scratch with a blank piece of paper on the FMS process. It’s one of the number one complaints from foreign partners in the region. They have real security needs. If we don’t fill them, China will fill them. China shows up with an Amazon catalog. They say, ‘Pick anything in there. I’ll give you financing, free shipping, Prime shipping and no end user agreement.” GEN Michael Kurilla, CENTCOM Commander
The current process generally involves four levers: the Pentagon, the State Department, Congress, and the defense industrial base.
The Pentagon’s own system can take up to a year just to negotiate a sale.
The State Dept is generally fairly quick to do their diplomatic due diligence.
Congress can slow things down if lawmakers decide they want to hold up a sale for whatever reason.
The biggest bottleneck is the defense industrial base, which is under-investing in its own production lines and unable to keep up with demand.
He urged lawmakers to allow the Pentagon to more often grant defense firms multi-year contracts, in order to ensure the companies are taking less of a risk by investing more into production lines over the long term.
We’ve had dozens of task forces to look at FMS, and I have not seen much change.
Israel Launched an Attack With 200 Fighters. Could the US?
Israel attacked Iran on June 13 using a reported 200 fighters, inflicting major damage on Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities, as well as decapitating its military leadership and destroying many of its air defense radars and missiles. It also covertly infiltrated attack drones into Iran ahead of the broader fighter attack, using them to carry out crippling strikes on Iranian air defense and ballistic missiles.
With mission capable rates for fighters around 60%, the U.S. Air Force could pull off a similar attack only with global sourcing and a willingness to accept a significant amount of risk.
The Air Force would only have 40 of its 52 operational fighter squadrons to draw from in a crisis, because 12 would have to be held back. Each of the remaining 40 would only be expected to field 12 fighters, for a total 480 deployable fighters.
With a 60% MC rate, only 288 would be ready to go. F-22s are only 40% MC. Legacy F-15Cs are only 33%. Pilots only flying half as much as they did in the 90s.
The DoD Knows its Cyber Force model is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It
At a congressional hearing in May, senior defense officials publicly acknowledged that CYBERCOM 2.0 — an initiative launched by CYBERCOM to overhaul how it builds and manages cyber forces — fell short of the Pentagon’s expectations.
More than two decades after declaring cyberspace a warfighting domain, the U.S. military relies on an inefficient and ineffective solution to generate the capabilities needed to defend it.
A U.S. Cyber Force would unify the responsibility for recruiting, training, and promoting cyber talent under one roof. It would foster a cyber-native culture, prioritize cultivating mastery within the cyber domain, and allow for a more flexible, mission-driven force structure.
The U.S. Cyber Force should focus on generating capabilities for three core missions.
It should be responsible for generating forces for national-level defensive cyber missions, such as defending against active and ongoing threats facing the DoD or supporting defense of critical national infrastructure.
It should organize, train, and equip for offensive cyber missions to project power in and through cyberspace, both as an independent capability and as an enabler of joint force missions and objectives.
It should generate capabilities to support cyber-related military intelligence — especially foundational intelligence relevant for the cyber domain.
Defense Production Act: Use and Challenges from FY18 to FY24
DoD found that industry partners did not always understand how to apply priority ratings throughout the supply chain. DOD is conducting outreach to ensure an understanding of these Title I responsibilities.
Pentagon Looks to Materials Innovation, AI to Bolster Manufacturing
The U.S. military currently relies too heavily on foreign sources for critical materials. The Pentagon needs to invest in the manufacturing processes of the future by boosting U.S. materials innovation and leveraging AI.
Efficient manufacturing is key to delivering critical capabilities to the warfighter at speed and scale, regardless of location.
The DoD’s goal is to minimize and eliminate reliance on foreign sources of critical materials by pushing for the advanced development and discovery of new materials or new uses for materials.
Critical materials such as rare earth elements are used in a variety of components found in defense systems — from batteries to lightweight metal. While the U.S. has an abundance of these elements in the ground, the majority of critical material refineries are in China, allowing the nation to have a near monopoly on their production and leaving the U.S. in a material crisis.
Reducing the length of the development cycle and the time it takes to deploy critical capabilities is where AI and autonomy can help improve traditional processes and circumvent supply chain issues.
Since data storage and analysis play an important role in AI and materials innovation, the department must also prioritize efficient data-sharing with allies.
Other Defense Tech News:
Pentagon CIO reviewing Microsoft 365 licenses as part of DOGE-related cuts
Pentagon AI office, Army award Ask Sage $10M for GenAI expansion
DoD Solicits Battle Management Prototypes for Guam Integrated Defense
Contracting
Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Updates
Per Executive Order, the FAR Council is iteratively streamlining the FAR to only statutory or otherwise necessary elements to create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible. Here are the latest updates (H/T Larry Asch).
Navigating the Evolving Jurisdiction of the COFC Over OTA Agreements
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) recently addressed the scope of its jurisdiction over OTA agreements, providing significant insights into the practical considerations and implications for government contractors engaging in OTAs and adding to the growing body of case law delineating the boundaries of COFC's authority in OTA-related disputes.
This examines the limitations of the COFC's jurisdiction, as well as the importance of understanding OTA and necessity for timely objections and comprehensive documentation in government contracting.
The closer the OTA is tied to an actual or imminent procurement, the more likely COFC will find jurisdiction. If a contractor is participating in only a pre-procurement prototype phase with no guarantee of award, it may be outside of the court's jurisdictional reach.
COFC's jurisdiction over OTA-related protests remains a nuanced and evolving area of law. As the use of OTAs continues to grow, contractors should remain vigilant and consult legal counsel to navigate the complexities of challenging OTA decisions.
DoD’s Latest Legislative Proposals include
Extend pilot program for five years for SOCOM to use intermediaries (SOFWERX) for accelerated tech development.
Increase annual amount From $100M to $400M of developmental activities conducted under rapid authorities for response to emerging tech or threats.
USD Comptroller responsible for defense business systems that impact financial statement auditability.
Renames the Office of the Chief of Space Operations to the Space Staff.
Army
Army Plans to Eliminate Programs Not Contributing to Lethality
“The Army Transformation Initiative will reexamine all requirements and eliminate unnecessary ones, prioritize initiatives that contribute to lethality, and empower leaders to take risks and learn from failure.” Daniel Driscoll, Army Secretary
The Army Transformation Initiative will make us into an Army that is lean, agile and relentlessly focused on empowering its soldiers.
We need to get rid of what we don't need, acquire what we do and chisel our organization down to a lean, lethal fighting machine.
The Army has become calcified and suffered from years of inefficiencies, slow-moving processes and wasteful spending. Program lobbyists and bureaucrats overtook the Army's ability to prioritize soldiers and warfighting.
GEN George said commercial technology is rapidly evolving — especially AI and autonomous systems — and it is impacting the character of war.
The Army will cancel obsolete and unneeded programs and procure MOSA designs that can be repeatedly updated. The Army also intends to consolidate its headquarters and implement effective, modern business systems.
Army, Lockheed Demonstrate Joint Integrated Fires
Lockheed Martin and the Army conducted a virtual demonstration of joint integrated fires using the CJADC2 system. It took place during Exercise Balikatan 25, the largest yearly joint exercise between the Philippines and the US, marking the system’s first deployment within INDOPACOM’s operational area.
The demo integrated systems that were not originally designed to operate together, combining sensors, effectors, and mission command systems to increase flexibility in targeting and engagement.
The demonstration enhances the capabilities of the HIMARS to engage both moving ground and maritime targets with greater precision.
Related Story: Army Demonstrates Anti-Ship Potential in the Philippines
Two Industry Teams to Begin Bending Metal for Bradley Replacement
American Rheinmetall Vehicles and General Dynamics Land Systems have passed through the critical design review stage of a competition to build the XM30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicles and have the green light to start bending metal.
The XM30 was recently called out in a memo issued by the Army secretary as a program the service is keen on accelerating, along with a modernized version of its Abrams tank it is calling the M1E3.
Both teams are designing a hybrid vehicle featuring a suite of lethal capabilities, to include a 50mm cannon, a remote turret, anti-tank guided missiles, machine guns employed through an advanced third-generation, forward-looking infrared sensor, an integrated protection suite, kitted armor and signature management capabilities, as well as intelligent fire control.
The total value of both contracts awarded at the start of the design phase was approximately $1.6B; the overall program is expected to be worth about $45B.
The companies will build prototypes by the end of FY26. Vehicle testing and evaluation will then begin. The Army will decide on a winner to move into production in mid-2027. The first production vehicles would be fielded in FY29.
Our Take: All officials involved in the program must watch the Pentagon Wars annually and write a one page paper on how they’re not going to repeat the mistakes.
In Line with Army Transformation Efforts, CIO Looks to Streamline Business Systems and Push Automation
“It's a big push right now from the secretary and the chief is, hey, do we need all of these systems, why do we have them? A lot of it is a process. Lot of it is, ‘we’ve had it for the last two decades, sir.’ Some of it is really old." Leonel Garciga, Army CIO
The goal of Army Transformation Initiative is to cut obsolete programs and systems that don’t contribute to success on the modern battlefield.
The model is going to change and I think that’s — I keep stressing this idea of our traditional model of full stack, bespoke capabilities, just going to tell you that’s pretty much dead.
Almost holistically, across the board, as we triage just functions that are happening across the enterprise, more and more, what we’re seeing is, hey, we can just do this here, let’s go get that done. Starting to think about what that model looks like, it’s really, really important.
Lots of cuts, dynamic workforce shaping, it’s a little different right now. How do we make up for some of those losses and still provide capability and take this opportunity to actually relook and rethink things that we’re doing in the Army right now to deliver capabilities?
These new initiatives could provide big opportunities for the defense industrial base to support the Army.
Other Army News:
Army promises to deliver analysis on sweeping changes in 10 days
Army seeks hefty boost in network funding in Pentagon procurement proposal
Army expanding Transformation in Contact initiative to Army Guard
Navy
Trump Nominates ADM Daryl Caudle to be CNO
ADM Daryl Caudle is currently serving as commander of Fleet Forces Command, Naval Forces Northern Command and Naval Forces Strategic Command. The admiral comes from the Navy’s submarine community. At the Pentagon, he served on the Joint Staff as vice director for strategy, plans, and policy, J-5, and assistant deputy director for information and cyberspace policy, J-5.
“The right way, in my opinion, to think about robotic autonomous systems, uncrewed, unmanned systems, is how we package them to solve our problems and where they are best-suited. They can be best-suited where the acceptable level of risk of loss of life is too high, the depth of water too shallow, the air domain too complicated, [or] the mission is just not worth a manned combatant.” ADM Caudle back in January.
Navy’s Preliminary Budget Undercuts Shipbuilding
“I must say I am deeply disappointed with the administration’s FY26 budget request for the Navy. In particular, I am disturbed about the shipbuilding account, which plummeted to $20.8B from last year’s $37B. This shortfall reflects efforts to game the budget in anticipation of congressional reconciliation funds, which were intended as supplemental — not a substitute.” Sen Roger Wicker
While the Navy is prioritizing the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry, its proposed budget for FY26 would trim shipbuilding costs in the apparent expectation of additional funding from congressional reconciliation funds.
In addition to a sharp decrease in requested funding, the FY26 budget has also left off allocated funding for the purchase of the usual two Virginia-class submarines and two Arleigh-Burke class destroyers requested by the Navy each year.
Funding for guided-missile frigates was also absent, while funding for the Columbia-class nuclear submarine program was cut by $4B.
See Our FY26 Defense Budget: Topline Taking Shape post for more details.
RADM Okano to be Navy SAE Mil Dep
RADM Elizabeth S. Okano for appointment to the grade of vice admiral, with assignment as principal military deputy ASN/RDA, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Okano is currently serving as Commander, NIWC.
Our Take: EXCELLENT choice!!
Oversaturated: Can the Navy Make Good on Unmanned Vessel Demand After Industry Surge?
Company after company has introduced unmanned platforms, but the Navy just has not given the indication that they are buying these at scale.
Since the start of 2025, at least six established defense primes or startups have unveiled new unmanned surface or undersea systems ostensibly marketed at the Defense Department. A seventh company, founded by veterans, was among the announcements as an entirely new entrant to the market.
Everyone is confident the Navy’s future includes unmanned vessels.
Textron Systems briefed reporters in January on its new family of unmanned surface vehicles, Tsunami. They were confident that the US Navy’s enthusiasm in unmanned systems was only growing.
With Congress poised to deliver the Navy ~$3B for UxS programs through its reconciliation, industry’s hopes to cash in are unlikely to dim anytime soon.
This one-time cash infusion is unlikely to be enough to sustain all the players.
That’s because the market for unmanned surface and subsurface vehicles has become flush with products more rapidly than the Navy has moved to invest.
And the Navy’s procurement of these vehicles, relatively sluggish compared to its one-off experimentation efforts, raises questions about when and if its budgets will catch up to its enthusiastic rhetoric.
Many USV startups overstate the lessons of the war in Ukraine, especially their transferability to other operational environments, such as the Indo-Pacific. The engineering needed to produce unmanned vessels capable of traversing the Indo-Pacific is “an order of magnitude more complex” than the constraints for small USVs operating in the Black Sea.
One of the Navy’s oldest and most advanced UUV prototypes (XLUUV) is now on the brink of failing to become a program of record at all despite years of work and millions of taxpayer dollars.
Bryan Clark notes despite the fact the Navy has spent billions on unmanned technologies in recent decades, only a fraction of it went towards procurement. The funding that ends up in the president’s budget request is the more important signal for industry when they decide how to invest in additional production capacity.
“We are focused on prototyping, experimenting, and integrating robotic and autonomous systems into the fleet through efforts such as Replicator and in close collaboration with the DIU and DCO. We are leveraging established partners and new entrants in this sector. OPNAV is institutionalizing the lessons learned across the Fleet and using them to speed the capability delivery cycle.” ADM Jim Kilby, Acting CNO
“Maritime autonomy and unmanned generally is overall getting really hot, and lots of parts of it are getting really saturated and even commoditized. The Navy has talked a big game about getting into unmanned but they haven’t really moved the budget lines around to have their actions follow their words.” Austin Gray, Blue Water Autonomy Co-Founder
Our Take: Despite the rhetoric, the Navy still has deep resistance to unmanned systems. The SECDEF, SECNAV, and new CNO must make bold, firm commitments. This includes sizable production funding, actions by operational commands to integrate unmanned systems into O-Plans, and restructuring PEO USC to be focused exclusively on unmanned systems. The funding doesn’t need to cover all new entrants, but rather fund the best of breed to produce at speed and scale, then rapidly iterate.
Steel and Silicon: Shipbuilding’s Defense Tech Moment
Can the American military maintain deterrence in East Asia without fixing its shipbuilding? The U.S. Navy’s fleet is rusting and shrinking, while China’s grows. “All of our programs are a mess,” said SECNAV John Phelan before the Senate. Without strong shipbuilding, the Pentagon may hesitate to commit a fleet it cannot regenerate.
Into this tense moment steps a new generation of political and industrial leaders. Tech and finance executives now leading in the Pentagon are laying siege to underperforming shipbuilding programs.
From industry, a new Silicon Valley-backed company seems to charge into the breach of maritime defense tech every day. But most of these companies offer software rather than steel.
Traditional shipbuilders seem skeptical of new entrants who promise to transform the industry. None of them has yet built a ship.
I am one of those new entrants, as co-founder of a shipbuilding and technology company making autonomous ships for the Navy.
Even with a factory of the future to assemble ships, lead times for most maritime industrial hardware run 6–18 months and depend on one to two suppliers for the engine or propeller you need.
Defense tech entrepreneurs, shipbuilders, and acquisition reformers have a lot to accomplish together. Yards are digitizing. The Pentagon is adapting. But neither will move with blistering speed.
Cracks in the Hull: The Root Causes of the Shipbuilding Crisis
Industrial Fragility
A greenfield yard built on untouched land would offer a fresh layout and start with high levels of automation — such a yard could offer higher productivity than a traditional, similarly manned and capitalized yard.
Acquisition Paralysis
NAVSEA’s ship programs are a mess. The Navy’s requirements process is a core problem industry cannot fix. The Navy is paying and promoting its people to make shipbuilding harder.
Cultural Conservatism
The Navy is conservative to the point of mission paralysis. It is still buying few new capabilities, even those proven in combat and easily produced.
Digitizing shipyards further will also take time. Shipyards are capitalized over decades-long cycles. Their workers are trained slowly, and many are old. Taking paper instructions to tablets — this will take time. Training more workers and making existing workers more productive — this is a generational challenge. It will take decades. Software won’t eat steel yet, but it is doing so, slowly.
Our Take: This is an outstanding piece that warrants reading the full story. We root for Austin and other disrupters in this space to transform the crippled industry.
Boeing Says They Can Build F/A-XX and F-47
Boeing’s defense chief rejected the Navy secretary’s contention that U.S. defense companies can’t handle building two sixth-generation fighter jets at once.
The Navy’s F/A-XX program is in limbo after the service cut funding for the program in initial 2026 budget documents, a move Navy Secretary John Phelan said was driven by industry’s tardiness on other programs.
The company is spending almost $5B to build up its air-dominance facilities, with the intent to execute both programs.
After Boeing beat Lockheed Martin for the contract to build the F-47, Lockheed officials started pitching a “supercharged” version of the F-35 that they said could deliver 80 percent of sixth-gen capability at half the cost.
Boeing is also very close to finalizing the design of two new VC-25 presidential jets, Parker said, a program that is years behind schedule. Boeing Defense chief said: Praised Elon’s help in moving the project forward. I would tell you that over the last four or five months, we've made more progress than we've made in the last four years. So the administration has been very, very helpful.
Navy to Boost Virginia-class sub Production with New $987M Contract.
General Dynamic’s Electric Boat unit secured a $987M contract mod to advance the Navy’s sub industrial base. It covers procurement of long-lead materials, shipyard infrastructure modernization, and expansion of key suppliers to remove bottlenecks and accelerate delivery timelines. 70% of the work will occur in Groton, CT with 30$ in New Port News and Quonset Point, RI.
Navy’s Task Force 66 Showcases Robotic Capabilities During BALTOPS 25
Task Force 66, the U.S. 6th Fleet’s dedicated all-domain task force focused on Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS), is actively participating in the Baltic Operations 2025 (BALTOPS 25) exercise, running from June 5 to 20.
“Task Force 66 operates through strong collaboration with Navy programs, NATO Allies, and partner nations, fostering the development and integration of cutting-edge robotic and autonomous systems. By leveraging our collective expertise and technology, we aim to demonstrate strength and bolster maritime security not just here in the Baltic Sea, but in other maritime environments, to include the shores near the U.S. and in the Pacific Ocean.” RADM Michael Mattis, Task Force 66 Commander
During BALTOPS 25, the task force employed unmanned surface vessels to simulate fast attack craft engagements with both USS Mount Whitney and USS Paul Ignatius.
These simulations helped improve tactics, techniques, and procedures for countering unmanned threats in coordination with NATO forces.
CTF 66 is also training to enhance MDA in the Baltic Sea to address grey zone activities.
In order to keep up with these changes, we must seek out creative solutions to rapidly field and develop new technology, with a focus on software and low-cost platforms, to inform our approach to future maritime security operations.
Navy Uses 3-D Printing to Manufacture Destroyer Parts
NAVSEA engineering directorate has streamlined a manufacturing process to allow for the 3-D printing of parts for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Recent NAVSEA guidance allows waterfront engineers to use additive manufacturing, better known as 3-D printing, to produce vessel parts and components classified as low-risk — meaning parts that are not vital to the safety and function of the ship.
The parts were manufactured for the guided missile destroyer Arleigh Burke — the lead ship of its class with Spanish allies.
While eductors are traditionally made of cast bronze and take nearly a year to produce, 3-D printing the parts shortened the manufacturing process by 80%.
NAVSEA’s move to expedite the process of parts manufacturing comes at a time when the Navy is suffering from a lagging shipbuilding industry and is being urged to modify manufacturing and repair processes overall.
Why the Marine Corps Should Adopt the M10 Booker
Lt Col John Dick and Lt Col Daniel Phillips
The Army cancelled the M10 Booker. As the leaders of the Marine Corps' 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, we believe the Army's loss could be the Marine Corps' gain.
As light reconnaissance battalion leaders, we see these gaps as urgent and tangible. Speed and stealth alone are not enough. Marines need a direct-fire platform that can survive and dominate in close combat. We propose integrating the M10 Booker into future Mobile Reconnaissance Battalion formations. Its 105mm cannon and tracked durability would transform our ability to fight for information and keep pace against adversaries with real armor.
The M10 is not a luxury — it’s an operational necessity, bridging the gap between maneuver and lethality to ensure Marines prevail when contact is made.
The Marine Corps is evolving under Force Design to prepare for high-end conflict in contested maritime environments. At the heart of this evolution is the transition from Light Armored Reconnaissance to Mobile Reconnaissance Battalions.
Much as the light armored vehicles revolutionized mobile reconnaissance during the Cold War, the M10 Booker can redefine it for the peer fight.
Air Force
Why Canceling The E-7 Would Be A Strategic Mistake
The Pentagon’s questioning of the Air Force plan to purchase 26 E-7 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in favor of using five Navy E-2s during a transition of the mission to space raises significant concerns about America’s ability to achieve and maintain air superiority.
Modern air combat takes a team, with the sensor and battle management expertise on board AEW&C aircraft a key part of that enterprise. They serve as the quarterbacks for the broader air superiority effort.
The AEW&C mission is currently executed by the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft which was fielded in the 1970s and is increasingly unsustainable.
A key rationale of those who support terminating the E-7 is the prospect of transitioning the airborne moving target indicator (AMTI) mission to space-based sensors, which may ultimately offer a more secure and persistent solution.
While that solution path holds much promise, the scale and scope of the technical challenges involved with engineering, testing, and fielding an operationally relevant space-based AMTI enterprise will take many years if not decades.
Even with a fully functioning space-based AMTI enterprise, there are limitations inherent with a space-based only solution.
The optimal plan involves a collaborative multi-domain approach.
While the E-2 is effective in its intended role for aircraft carrier strike group defense, it was not designed for large-scale, multi-theater air battle management.
Its smaller mission crew—three versus the E-7’s complement of eight air battle managers, and two additional electronic warfare officers—limits its capacity for complex operations.
Its radar, constrained by lower flight altitudes, offers less range and fidelity across the vast Indo-Pacific theater.
The E-2’s size hampers future upgrades, and its probe-and-drogue refueling system is incompatible with most Air Force tankers.
The proposed acquisition of just five E-2s is insufficient to backfill an E-3 inventory that recently numbered over 30 aircraft.
Combatant commanders require far more than five AEW&C aircraft dedicated to theater air battle management to fulfill the demands of the NDS.
Matching one E-7’s capability would require multiple E-2Ds per mission.
Canceling the E-7 now would be a costly and strategic blunder. History is clear: air battle management is essential to achieving air superiority.
Our Take: We 100% agree with this position. We need redundancy in the Indo-Pacific fight and space is likely to be as contested as the air domain. Non-stealthy aircraft will present an attractive PLA target but resources can be applied to break the PLA’s long-range kill chains - its not adequate justification for this action.
MQ-9B Airborne Early Warning Variant Could Fill Major Aerial Surveillance Gaps
The latest addition to General Atomics’ MQ-9B medium-altitude long-endurance drone family is set to be an airborne early warning and control configured variant.
GA and Saab announced at the Paris Air Show that they are partnering on the development of the AEW&C MQ-9B.
The AEW&C sensors for the new MQ-9B version will be provided by Saab.
GA-ASI claims that the new AEW&C sensors for the MQ-9B — the main antennas for which are carried in three large pods, one slung under each wing of the drone and one on the centerline — will be able to detect tactical aircraft, guided missiles, drones, and other threats.
Radar and other data gathered by the aircraft will be transmitted using both line-of-sight and satellite communications links.
This information can be exploited in the same way a crewed aircraft, although its radar operators and battle managers could be sitting halfway around the world.
While the sensors it carries won’t be as powerful as those aboard the E-2D, the MQ-9B AEW&C is very suitable for ACE scenarios and, as mentioned before, doesn’t expose any flight crew to threats.
For the MQ-9B AEW&C, the differences compared to the E-7 would be even greater, but the drone is cheaper to procure and could potentially be fielded in much greater numbers.
The endurance is also a huge advantage, too. MQ-9s can stay up for more than a day, providing continuous coverage.
One Hypersonic Missile’s Delay May Explain Comeback of Another
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is delayed and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.
HACM, the Air Force’s preferred hypersonic missile, is small enough to be carried by F-15 or other fighters and travel at five times the speed of sound.
HACM is propelled to hypersonic speed by a booster that separates from the main weapon; then ignites an air-breathing engine that powers it to its target.
Unlike the HACM, ARRW is a large weapon that will be carried solely on a B-52 bomber’s wing pylons.
The booster—borrowed from an Army Tactical Missile System rocket—propels the warhead to hypersonic speed, after which it glides to its target.
The Air Force prefers the HACM, though, because it is smaller, more maneuverable and longer-range because of its air-breathing engine. The weapon may also be carried by a broader range of fighters and bombers in the future.
F-35 Block 4 Will Be Most Aggressive Upgrade
Lockheed Martin recently completed work for Technology Refresh 3, a set of h/w and s/w upgrades that will facilitate Block 4 improvements, featuring an open system architecture, additional memory, advanced computing and additional graphics generation capability and displays.
The F-35 Block 4 upgrades, which consist of 75 new programs, fall under three main areas of consideration:
Sensors Improvements
Ability to carry more and different types of weapons.
Additional interoperability features that will allow airmen to communicate across the domains and be that central node in the battlespace.
Technology Refresh 3 will have a new integrated core processor with 25 times the computing power of the Technology Refresh 2 model, mainly due to the fact that the previous core processor was insufficient for advanced AI capabilities.
Related Article: Lockheed believes it has finished F-35 TR-3 upgrade, executive says
Availability, Use, and Operating and Support Costs of F-35 Aircraft
Congressional Budget Office
As F-35s have aged, their availability and use have decreased. The availability and use of F-35s have been lower, in some cases much lower, than those of other fighter aircraft of the same age.
The average availability rate of a 7-year-old F-35A has been about the same as that of a 36-year-old F-16C/D and a 17-year-old F-22.
The availability of the Navy’s F-35Cs has been closer to that of its earlier fighter aircraft at the same age.
Operating and support costs per aircraft and per flying hour have been more variable than those of the Air Force’s other fighter aircraft.
In recent years, costs of F-35As have been similar to those of F-15Es, below those of F-22s, and above those of F-16C/Ds.
Our Take: The O&S cost stabilization is an encouraging sign given the worries that those costs would be significantly higher than legacy aircraft. Concerted effort is needed to address the availability decline, which could be driven by different factors.
Updated Sniper Pod To Help F-35 Share Data With Other Aircraft
Lockheed Martin is developing an upgrade to the company’s Sniper targeting pod that will allow greater co-ordination between fifth-generation combat aircraft and other battlefield assets.
Known as the Hybrid Base Station (HBS), the upgrade will allow existing Sniper pods installed on 4th-gen aircraft to receive targeting data straight from the F-35.
That target information could then also be passed to ground-based fires, such as Lockheed’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
The Sniper pod uses electro-optical and infrared imaging to detect, automatically track, and laser designate targets for lethal munitions.
The fuselage-mounted pod is deployed with 27 countries aboard more than a dozen strike aircraft types.
Boeing In Talks To Restart C-17 Production
A decade after the last example rolled off the production line, Boeing says it’s in negotiations with Japan to build more C-17 Globemaster III airlifters.
Bringing the C-17 back into production, whatever the demand, will not be straightforward.
Though Boeing still provides C-17-related maintenance and other services in Southern California, the production facilities at Long Beach have been idle since the last Globemaster III left the plant in 2015.
In 2013, RAND conducted a detailed analysis of what it might cost to reboot C-17 production after a multi-year pause. The figure was close to $8B to support the production of up to 150 a/c.
Other Air Force News:
Boeing ‘very close’ to finalizing Air Force One design changes
Saab Taps Anduril To Build Rocket Motors For Ground-Launched Bomb
Space Force
Space Force is Contracting With SpaceX For New, Secretive MILNET SATCOM Network
The Space Force in contracting with SpaceX for a new government-owned, contractor-operated satellite communication constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO), called MILNET, that eventually will be integrated into the service’s grand plan for a “hybrid mesh network” combining commercial and DoD satellites.
MILNET, which has rarely been discussed publicly until now, comprises “480-plus” satellites that will be operated by SpaceX but overseen by a Delta 8 mission director who directs execution.
MILNET satellites will carry Enterprise Space Terminals (ESTs) as will other U.S. Space Force (USSF) satellites that can then connect into MILNET for resilient data transport.
The long-term intent is that all USSF satellites will have the option to integrate EST-compatible terminals and connect to MILNET for data transport.
“MILNET is onboarding to the Space Force through Space System Command right now, but specifically to Delta 8, and we are completely relooking at how we’re going to operate that constellation of capabilities for the Joint Force, which is going to be significant because we’ve never had a DoD hybrid mesh network at LEO.”
Col. Jeff Weisler, Delta 8 commander
Space Force Receives First Meadowlands Offensive Satellite Jammers
After recently accepting delivery of the new Meadowlands electronic warfare system, the Space Force is now conducting developmental and operational testing with guardians to prepare the platform for future deployment.
Meadowlands is a mobile, ground-based offensive counterspace system that uses radio signals to jam adversary satellite communications.
Meadowlands also adds a significant amount of automation and remote command-and-control capabilities, meaning that a single guardian can do tasks that would have previously required multiple people.
Pentagon Struggles to Build Unified Satellite Network
The military wants to turn its satellite communications into something that works like the internet — fluid, fast, and with seamless interoperability between networks but Pentagon officials see the envisioned military space internet is still a long way off.
The goal is creating what DoD calls Enterprise SATCOM — a virtualized, software-defined network that could automatically reroute communications between military, commercial and allied nations’ satellites if an adversary jams one satellite system.
But the reality today is an ecosystem full of manual processes, hardware silos and incompatible standards.
The commercial satellite industry remains fragmented, with each company developing proprietary technologies that don’t play well with others.
Each branch of the armed services uses different satellite terminals, requiring expensive hardware upgrades to work with different commercial services.
Starlink works well, but officials insist they don’t want to become overly dependent on any single vendor.
DoD’s plan for achieving satellite interoperability centers on something called the Enterprise Satellite Communications Management and Control (ESC-MC) system, a mission control center that would provide a “common operational picture” of all available satellite networks, automatically routing communications through the best available path.
Golden Dome
Trump Formally Nominates Guetlein as Golden Dome Czar
The White House this week formally tapped the Space Force’s No. 2 officer to oversee the sweeping Golden Dome missile defense project.
Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, the vice CSO, is nominated to take on the role of “direct reporting program manager” for Golden Dome.
Guetlein will be tasked with pulling together existing military systems—relying heavily on the military space enterprise that the four-star has helped build—and fielding new ones to track, warn of, and disable or destroy incoming missiles, similar to the Reagan-era “Star Wars” initiative that failed to come to fruition.
Guetlein, who has likened Golden Dome’s scope to the Manhattan Project that developed America’s first nuclear weapons, is no stranger to major acquisition initiatives.
The general led the Space Force’s acquisition branch, Space Systems Command, for two years following stints as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office and a program executive at the Missile Defense Agency.
Making Golden Dome Work: Innovation Lessons From the Cold War
President Trump’s Golden Dome announcement kicked off the most ambitious American defense project since President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.
Analyses by the CSBA pinpoint four prerequisites for successful military innovation and offer a scorecard for each
Operational Problem. Successful innovations are propelled by operational problems so vexing that they break the strong preference of existing bureaucracies to apply their standard solutions.
Today, the U.S. is vulnerable to direct attack by a panoply of aerospace threats, with no quick or easy fixes on the horizon.
Golden Dome scores high on the operational problem scale.
Senior Leader Support. Innovations succeed when senior leaders actively sponsor them and provide top cover to defeat bureaucratic antibodies.
Golden Dome achieves promising marks on this criterion. President Trump has made it a top priority and set a January 2029 deadline.
It will require his continued personal engagement when the Washington budget battle throws up the inevitable roadblocks.
Receptive Organization. While presidential support goes a long way, innovators and their sponsors must work constantly to avoid being thrown off course by the crosscurrents of organizational culture, including informal rules, swim lanes, and unspoken but consequential preferences and norms.
Here, Golden Dome faces major challenges. US aerospace defenses are spread across all five services and the federal civil sector.
Homeland air surveillance, for example, is largely reliant on the Federal Aviation Administration.
Political capital is needed for sustained engagement with the cabinet, Congress, and industry to pave the way for success; otherwise, bureaucratic inertia, competing priorities, and the sheer complexity of this massively interagency project may prove insurmountable.
Empowered Innovators. The president and secretary of defense cannot do the heavy lifting themselves. Innovation at Golden Dome scale requires total focus and a capacity for seven-day workweeks. And while innovation may be a team sport, only one innovator can be the boss.
One of these two critical factors is leadership tenure. Equally crucial is delegation of sufficient authority and autonomy.
This may be the most serious challenge for Golden Dome. To succeed, Gen Guetlein must have both tenure and a span of authority that transcends not just the Space Force, but the DoD.
To maximize the chances of success, the administration should do the following:
The president and Secretary Hegseth should affirm that Gen Guetlein will remain in charge until Golden Dome is deployed and judged effective.
With Congress’s consent, the president should reassign Gen Guetlein to a new position as director, Golden Dome. It is almost inconceivable that concurrent duty as vice CSO would permit anyone to fulfill either job effectively, let alone both.
The president should make clear to his cabinet that the director has full authority to act on his behalf in all matters relating to Golden Dome—from coordination with affected allies, to unconstrained communication with Congress touching on multiple departments’ equities, and the many more unknown unknowns that will inevitably emerge.
Why Does America Need Golden Dome?
Dr. Keith Payne
The goal of defending American citizens, infrastructure and nuclear forces may seem self-evidently sensible. That, however, is a naïve view given long-standing U.S. missile defense policy.
Moving progressively to protect citizens, infrastructure and nuclear forces will help preserve the credibility of U.S. deterrence strategies that must serve to keep the peace.
The more effectively the U.S. provides this protection, the more able it will be to deter war.
A basic necessity for deterrence is that U.S. nuclear forces and infrastructure are able to survive any nuclear first strike intended to destroy them; they must be able to pose an enduring threat of retaliation.
Golden Dome’s protection of U.S. nuclear forces and infrastructure may become increasingly key for the fundamental requirement that U.S. forces be survivable.
The need for Golden Dome’s homeland missile defense to strengthen deterrence and prepare for possible conflict is overwhelming.
In contrast, the aged arguments against homeland missile defense, now replayed yet again against Golden Dome, are demonstrably bogus or logically incoherent.
Why Weather Intelligence Needs to be a Priority for the Golden Dome
RADM(Ret) Tim Galludet
As with the employment of any DoD capability, effective operation of the Golden Dome will require the consideration of environmental conditions. Such weather intelligence has been a decisive factor throughout American military history.
To defend against aerial threats prior to their launch, such as a mobile ballistic missile launcher, cloud cover could prevent identification and targeting with optical or infrared sensors.
Similarly, for terminal phase interception, heavy precipitation would hamper the use of the same types of sensors.
GD will include non-kinetic capabilities such as electromagnetic warfare technology, which is significantly affected by the physical environment.
Fortunately, there is a solution to the problem of getting the Golden Dome the right type of weather information at the right time.
For the Golden Dome, incorporation of weather intelligence can be done seamlessly by integrating it within the command and control (C2) component of the system.
Such a module could leverage weather, ocean, and space weather data from the existing global network of federal, academic, and proprietary sources, just as the larger system receives threat information from its multi-domain sensor array.
Pentagon Reviewing Base Defense as Experts Warn of Pacific Threats
The recent Ukrainian drone strike on Russian bomber bases is raising alarm among U.S. officials, who worry that American military installations worldwide are increasingly vulnerable to attack.
Defense experts say the drone threat represents only part of a larger, looming problem: U.S. air bases in the Pacific are increasingly vulnerable to air attacks.
For the past year, defense experts have warned that the Air Force has underfunded investments in air base defense in the Pacific while China’s arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles, along with its drone capability, continues to grow.
To address the issue, the Air Force should explore fielding its own missile defense interceptors and invest heavily in rapid runway repair, blast-resistant shelters, and other passive measures to ensure it can launch fighter sorties even while under repeated bombardment.
Dispersing forces can decrease vulnerability to attack, but ACE locations won’t be invisible to China’s space-based targeting systems.
Republicans Crank, Strong Create House Golden Dome Caucus
Rep. Jeff Crank, R-CO, today announced the creation, in partnership with Rep. Dale Strong, R-AL, of a Golden Dome caucus in the House of Representatives to promote President Trump’s plan to build an air and missile defense shield over the U.S.
International
Pentagon to Review AUKUS Submarine Deal with Australia and Britain
The Pentagon is reviewing the AUKUS agreement on sharing nuclear-powered submarine tech with Australia and the U.K. — a decision immediately condemned by congressional Democrats and one that may cause angst among U.S. allies.
In April, ADM Samuel Paparo, defended the initiative’s value in testimony before the House and said the effort on nuclear submarines was meeting every milestone operationally.
Our Take: We surely hope this is just a normal review with no motivation to find a way to backtrack on the agreement. While the concern over submarine production is a real one, pulling back now will only play to China’s hand and make any future agreements that much harder.
‘If Russia Is Coming, Then We Will Bring The War To Russia’: Inside NATO’s Muscular New Deterrence Plans
European officials worry that NATO’s ambitious new targets for military capability may not be enough to deter Russia from “testing” how the alliance would respond to an attack on a member nation within the next three to five years.
That new doctrine builds on the regional defense plans NATO adopted at its 2023 summit, which centralized more authority under Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, to respond rapidly— in coordination with Eastern European members—in the event of a Russian assault.
NATO members have provisionally aligned on sweeping new capability targets and are expected to formally adopt national spending goals of 3.5% of gross domestic product on so-called “core” defense development.
“The new concept is that if Russia is coming, then we will bring the war to Russia. That's what we are talking about. We have no time then to discuss whether we can use one of the other weapons or whatever. We have no time. We need to act within the first minutes and hours.” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna
NATO On Hunt for Innovative Defense Tech
NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), is offering grants of up to $115,000 to participate in a six-month program designed to speed innovative technologies into the field.
Those selected will join Phase 1 of DIANA’s program and participate in a six-month accelerator starting in January 2026.
The 10 challenge areas DIANA is requesting proposals for are:
energy and power
advanced communications
contested electromagnetic environments
human resilience and biotechnologies
critical infrastructure and logistics
operations in extreme environments
maritime operations
resilient space operations
autonomy and unmanned systems
data-assisted decision-making.
Unmanned Leonardo Jet Trainers Could Take GCAP Drone Role
The search aperture for drone technology in the tri-national GCAP program remains wide open for Italy, with considerations including a potential conversion of M-345 or M-346 Leonardo trainer jets for the role.
Loyal Wingmen Face Off in Paris
General Atomics’ XFQ-42A and Anduril’s XFQ-44A collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) are on display in full-scale form for the first time at the 2025 Paris Air Show as the two companies are vying to win an Air Force contract.
Airbus Mulls Boosting Tanker Production On Very High Demand
Airbus is considering raising production of its A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft in response to “very high” demand from existing clients and potential new buyers.
Airbus currently produces between four and five A330 MRTT aircraft a year.
Europe faces critical capability shortfalls in air-to-air refueling.
Airbus had delivered 36 A330 MRTT aircraft to European customers by the end of April, with another six on order, compared to the U.S. operating a tanker fleet of more than 400 aircraft.
Airbus estimates there may be a market for an additional ten to 20 of the planes in Europe, with further demand in the rest of the world.
Anduril, Rheinmetall Partner to Produce Drones, Propulsion for Europe
Anduril and Rheinmetall have launched a strategic partnership to co-develop and produce autonomous aerial and propulsion systems for European defense forces.
The agreement covers the integration of Anduril’s European variants of the Barracuda and Fury autonomous air vehicles into Rheinmetall’s “Battlesuite” digital platform, and joint exploration into solid rocket motor production.
This approach contrasts with the traditional vendor lock-in model, which often creates a dependency on American defense manufacturers and would address potential concerns over US defense commitments amid the war between Ukraine and Russia.
MBDA Offers Cheap Drone Swarm As Door Opener For Pricey Missiles
MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, unveiled a cheap one-way drone at the Paris Air Show designed to saturate enemy air defenses en masse and clear the way for what the company calls high-value effectors such as cruise missiles.
The drone, for now named simply One-Way Effector, will be mass-produced and cost a fraction of the price of a cruise missile.
The company is partnering with an undisclosed drone maker and a French automotive company to be able to ramp up production to 1,000 drones per month.
The jet-engine powered drone will be able to deliver a 40-kg payload at a distance of 500 kilometers, traveling at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour.
E-7 Wedgetail Controls Two MQ-28 Ghost Bats In Loyal Wingman Test
MQ-28 Ghost Bat drones have demonstrated their ability to engage an aerial target while under the direction of the crew of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.
The RAAF plans to conduct more crewed-uncrewed teaming tests this year with the MQ-28, including with F/A-18F Super Hornets and F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, as its plans for the drone evolve.
The idea of using MQ-28s as uncrewed loyal wingmen to help protect high-value assets like E-7s has been part of the RAAF’s vision for using the drones from the very start of what is also known as the Airpower Teaming System (ATS) program.
It is a mission set that has been envisioned for other next-generation drones for some time, as well. In addition to providing an extra layer of defense for important, but often vulnerable support aircraft like the Wedgetail, this would also help free up crewed combat jets for other missions.
Related Article: Boeing, RAAF Demonstrate MQ-28 Teaming with E-7A Wedgetail
China's Military Conducts Patrols in South China Sea, Warns Philippines
Tensions have continued to run high between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Footage Shows Israeli Air Force Destroying Iranian F-14 Tomcat Jets
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have released footage showing precision drone strikes on two Iranian F-14 Tomcat fighter jets stationed at an airbase near Tehran.
The Persian Tomcats are the world’s last operational F-14s, after the main user, the U.S. Navy, retired the type in 2006.
Iran initially ordered 80 examples for the Imperial Iranian Air Force, with 79 being delivered beginning in February 1976.
This was before the Shah of Iran was deposed from power in 1979, giving birth to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the aircraft passing in the hands of the current Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF).
Massive Stealth Flying Wing Emerges At Secretive Chinese Base
In an exclusive development regarding China’s rapidly accelerating next-generation air combat programs, we have just gotten our first glimpse of a very large, low-observable, flying-wing, long-endurance unmanned aircraft.
The photo shows China’s secretive test base near Malan in Xinjiang province, which is known to be on the leading edge of the country’s unmanned aircraft development efforts.
The newly emerged aircraft itself appears impressive. It is a large flying wing that has a span of roughly 52 meters, or about 170 feet. The B-2 Spirit is 172 feet wide, for comparison, and the B-21 is a bit smaller.
The best explanation is that this is a very large, high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) stealthy drone — similar to the supposed U.S. RQ-180 — but this would be the biggest we have ever seen.
China is developing a number of flying-wing type designs of various sizes, including large HALE drones, but nothing at this scale to date.
Other International News:
Ukraine Has Tools to Counter Drones, but Funding Limits Production
Lockheed, KAI Add Drones, Rotorcraft, Space to Expanded Partnership
Japan’s new quantum breakthrough cuts qubit needs and boosts speed by 30x
Europeans rush drone-based radar jammers in effort to supplant US tech
World’s First Flying Humanoid Robot Uses AI and Jet Thrust to Hover in Test Flight
Congress
Hegseth, Caine Testify on DOD FY26 Budget
See videos at the link.
House Appropriators Want More Transparency for Big-Ticket Air Force Buys
The House Appropriations Committee wants the Air Force to be more open about how it manages its multibillion-dollar weapons acquisitions to ensure they are fully funded and ready for the next fight.
In a report accompanying the committee’s proposed 2026 defense budget, the committee recommended that Air Force Secretary Troy Meink significantly improve how the service identifies and prioritizes its new capabilities.
Committee members expressed concerns over how the Air Force reallocated roughly one-third of the $3.2B Congress provided to continue developing the high-priority Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile in FY25.
The committee said the Air Force has created confusion in the budget process by grouping the next-generation F-47 fighter and the Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone wingman program into a single pot of money.
Lawmakers also dinged the service for failing to modernize flight simulators for the B-52 Stratofortress bomber.
As a path forward, the committee is pushing the Air Force’s new Integrated Capabilities Command to redefine the service’s needs, develop feasible modernization plans, and execute realistic acquisitions to support troops, according to the report.
To maintain oversight, House appropriators would require Meink to brief both the HASC & SASC on the status and cost estimates of standing up the ICC and its subordinate offices, how it might impact current programs and whether the strategic basing process is required for their establishment.
The committee would also require ICC leadership to provide semi-annual briefings to both appropriations committees on how its offices are working to achieve strategic modernization, recapitalization, and resourcing.
Confirmation Hearing, SASC, Jun 26
Hung Cao, Under Secretary of Navy
Michael Dodd, ASD Critical Tech
Jules Hurst, ASA Manpower and Reserve Affairs
Brent Ingraham, ASA Acquisition, Logistics, and Tech
William Gillis, ASA Installations, Energy, and Environment
Podcasts, Books, and Videos
Future of Software-Defined Warfare w/Whitney McNamara and Stephen Rodriguez, Cogs of War
Beyond Venture Capital: How the Government is Investing in Innovation w/Rachel Melli, The Convergence
What the Army Learned from Arcane Thunder, Crossing the Valley
Upcoming Events and Webinars
CBRN Defense Conference, NDIA, Jun 23-25, Baltimore, MD
Maintain Our Strategic Advantage w/Dr. Kelly Hammett, Michell Inst., Jun 24
Advanced Manufacturing for Defense, IDGA, Jun 24-25, Los Angeles, CA
SmallSat and Space Access Summit, DSI, Jun 25-26, National Harbor, MD
Digital Engineering for Defense Summit, DSI, Jun 25-26, Washington DC
Tech 101: Resilient Materials, NDIA, Jun 25, Webinar
Capitol Hill Modeling and Sim Expo, NTSA, Jul 10, Washington DC
Reindustrialize, Jul 16-17, Detroit, MI
Ascend, Jul 22-24, Las Vegas, NV
Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Aug 5-7, Huntsville, AL
Fed Supernova, Aug 19-21, Austin, TX
2025 Space Warfighter Forum, NDIA, Aug 26-28, Colorado Springs, CO
Emerging Tech for Defense Conference, NDIA, Aug 27-29, Washington DC
See our Events Page for all the other events over the next year.
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