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 Senate Armed Services Committee’s recent approval of its version of the FY ‘26 National Defense Authorization Act, which included adding a $32 billion topline increase. Both the Senate’s defense appropriations bill and NDAA are expected to be considered on the floor in September following Congress’ return from its upcoming recess.
Caudle Favors More Outsourcing. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 24, Chief of Naval Operations nominee Adm. Daryl Caudle said shipyard recruitment has to expand further beyond the local areas and that more outsourcing production is needed. “There’s more outsourcing opportunity that we need to do, even for our Virginia-class, the modular approach of how those ships are built with the floating decks, and how they can be just better outsourced to different vendors, like we’re doing in Austal shipbuilding is one example of that. I think there can be more room for some of those ventures as well.”
…And New Shipyard. He added that since capacity has to increase, they have to make bigger swings to improve capacity, including potentially starting a new government national shipyard in addition to the current four that handle nuclear-powered vessel maintenance and repair work. “It cannot be business as usual. So this has got to be a country-level effect.” He reiterated a quote that he compared to new shipyards: the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best time is today. “So whatever solution we have on going forward, if a new yard is what we need, if I start today, then in 10 years, it’ll be up firing up on all cylinders. I think that has to be on the table. And because I am worried that we just don’t have the capacity with just efficiency increases alone to deliver the 2.3 [submarines] that’s needed by our nation.” The Navy estimated industry has to deliver 2.3 attack submarines per year to meet its needs and make up for the planned three submarine sales to Australia in the 2030s as part of AUKUS.
Tentative Union Deal. The union representing about 3,200 Boeing defense workers in the St. Louis area last week reached an agreement with the company that would increase general wages 20 percent over the four-year term, allow for a 40 percent potential average wage growth when all pay enhancements are included, a $5,000 ratification bonus, strengthen medical benefits, increase the pension multiplier, make improvements for overtime, and address work-life balance. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 members will vote on Sunday, July 27 to ratify the contract, the same day the current contract expires. Boeing said the average annual wage would grow to $102,600 from $75,000. The union workers build and maintain Boeing’s F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, MQ-25 unmanned aircraft, missiles, and other defense technologies.
F-35 Sustainment. The House Armed Services Committee’s fiscal 2026 defense bill would require the secretary of defense to consult with the secretaries of the U.S. Air Force and Navy to ensure that, by the end of fiscal 2028, “sufficient wartime spares support equipment and depot level capabilities are available for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to sustain such fighter for at least 90 days in the most stressing operational plan; and to meet the fleet wide minimum readiness targets established by each such secretary.” HASC also would require the secretary of defense to ensure that Lockheed Martin, the F-35’s builder, “has validated all information necessary for the Department of Defense to successfully complete an audit.”
Another AUKUS Payment. The Australian Prime Minister on July 23 confirmed the country paid another $525 million to the U.S. to support improving the submarine industrial base as part of the AUKUS pact. In an Australian media interview, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said this was part of the “schedule of payments to be made. We have an agreement with the United States, as well as with the United Kingdom. It’s about increasing their capacity too – their industrial capacity. But as part of that as well, we have Australians on the ground learning those skills, so that when it comes to the SSN-AUKUS, the submarines being built here in Australia, we have those skills.” This follows a previous $500 million payment from Australia in February, all part of a planned total $3 billion to support U.S. submarine production as the U.S. plans to ultimately sell at least three Virginia-class attack submarines to Australia in the 2030s.
Australia/PrSM. The Australian Army on July 25 test launched a Lockheed Martin-built Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) for the first time. Australia said the PrSM used in the test was delivered a year ahead of schedule, allowing the test to be conducted two years ahead of schedule. “This successful launch is a significant milestone in the [Australian] government’s plan to deliver a twenty-five-fold increase to Army’s long-range strike capability,” Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister of defense industry, said in a statement. PrSM was developed by the U.S. Army to replace its legacy ATACMS missiles, also built by Lockheed Martin, with the base weapon capable of ranges up to 500 kilometers. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll attended the test in Australia. In August 2024, the U.S. and Australia announced plans to assess establishing a co-production arrangement for PrSM and Canberra is also considering the weapon as an option to fulfill its requirement for a long-range, land-based maritime strike capability.
UAS, F-35 Fire Support Demo. Performance Drone Works’ (PDW) C100 unmanned aircraft system was recently used to demonstrate an organic fire support mission with an F-35A fighter, the company said last week. A C100 equipped with a Leonardo STAG5 laser target designator successfully guided four inert GBU-12 Paveway II precision munitions fired from the F-35A at pre-determined targets located 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 meters from the drone. The C100 loitered for about 35 minutes and about three kilometers from the drone operator and “captured a detailed visual description, enabling rapid target acquisition,” PDW said. “It allows a single unit to deploy air support in the backpack,” Ryan Gury, co-founder and CEO of PDW, told Defense Daily.
Navy Threat Simulators. Textron’s Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. won a $554 million contract on July 24 to provide contractor-owned and operated Type III high subsonic and Type IV supersonic aircraft to Navy fleet customers. These aircraft are set to be used for a “wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities, training, and certification events” to support training aircraft squadron aircrew and shipboard operators on how to counter enemy advanced airborne threats, tactics, and electronic warfare. Work will be split between several locations but mostly Pt. Mugu, Calif. (44 percent) and Oceana, Va. (37 percent) and is expected to be finished by August 2030. While this contract was competed by Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., no other offers were received.
Voyager NGI. Voyager Technologies Inc. announced July 23 it finished the Second Stage Roll Control System (SSRCS) Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor (NGI). The CDR had the program’s readiness and design maturity assessed as ready to continue into the manufacturing and testing phases. The SSRCS regulates use of solid propellant for the required levels of precision operational duration. These propulsion systems are used in the missile defense interceptors, kill vehicles, post-booth control systems, reentry systems as well as other strategic, tactical and hypersonic missiles. Voyager said its technologies “provide the throttling characteristics required for a roll control system without the negative aspects of liquid systems. This includes eliminating the use of highly toxic liquids, such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, and enabling a long shelf-life without the risk of leaks, over-pressurization or corrosion.” Last year NGI prime contractor Lockheed Martin contracted with Voyager to provide the SSRCS thrust and control algorithms for precise control of NGIs during flight.
MC-130J Finlets. The U.S. Air Force’s 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla. is testing 3-D printed finlets developed by Vortex Control Technologies (VCT) in Washington state to reduce drag by 6 to 8 percent on MC-130J Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft. The finlets “are a possible cost-saving initiative that could lead to longer C-130 flight range and better fuel efficiency,” according to the 96th Test Wing. “The multi-year effort to bring finlet technology to the flightline is the result of a partnership with the Air Force Operational Energy Office, Air Force Special Operations Command, the Special Operations Forces/Personnel Recovery Program Office, the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit.” The top engineers at VCT have had experience at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, according to VCT’s website. The finlet tests on the MC-130J are to continue at Edwards AFB, Calif. “for multiple airdrop evaluations,” the 96th Test Wing said. “Although initial testing occurred on the MC-130Js, the goal is to extend finlets to the entire C-130J fleet.”
NGC2. Govini has said it will be the lead logistics software provider on Anduril’s team recently selected to deliver a prototype architecture for the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative. For the work, Govini said it will utilize its Ark predictive logistics platform. “Govini’s flagship platform, Ark, delivers predictive logistics capabilities through AI-enabled and data-driven applications and workflows to support mission command and decision-making,” the company said. The Army on July 18 awarded a $99.6 million deal to the Anduril-led team to continue NGC2 prototyping work, as the service looks to scale up experimentation to the division level.
Sentinel Bill. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a bill on July 23 that would redirect funding from the “troubled” Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to the Department of Education. Markey, in a statement, noted the fiscal year 2026 budget request for Sentinel is $4.1 billion, while the Minuteman III replacement effort has already faced a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach and timeline delays. “The United States should invest in education, not annihilation,” Markey said. “The Sentinel program is 81 percent overbudget—we are literally throwing taxpayer dollars down the deepest money pit ever created. When you are in a hole, stop digging.” Additional co-sponsors for the Investing in Children Before Missiles (ICBM) Act of 2025 include Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Greater Maritime Awareness. The Defense Innovation Unit is soliciting for commercially available solutions to make the ocean more transparent so that basically the Defense Department has more awareness of maritime activities. The Transparent Ocean project consists of four stages, the first to leverage existing infrastructure such as fiber optics and pipelines to enable the detection of objects, on, in, or above the ocean surface with various sensor types, second to obtain “discrete” solutions that can persistently monitor for up to three months at a time where infrastructure is unbailable, third to address gaps remaining from stages one and two, and finally to find attritable approaches to counter or mislead technologies that may emerge from the previous stages. DIU also wants a commercial edge network to transfer data from sensor to DoD platforms. Once the project begins, stage one solutions should be ready for demonstration and testing within three months.
Saronic Expands. Unmanned surface vessel developer and manufacturer Saronic last week opened a new 80,000-plus square foot operations facility in San Diego near Navy commands and installations on the West Coast. The facility is the startup’s first West Coast location. The company already has about 520,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space in Austin, Texas, and a 100 acre shipyard property in Louisiana. The San Diego facility will house mission operations, business development, and office support staff.
NRO Award. Hydrosat last week said it has received a contract from the National Reconnaissance Office for the agency to access its thermal infrared and electro-optical infrared data from the company’s first two satellite missions, VanZyl-1 and VanZyl-2. The imagery is useful for detecting industrial activity, tracking ships at night, identifying signs of new infrastructure construction, an access to sub-field-scale temperature insights, the company said. The award, initially valued at $900,000, was actually made on Nov. 22 and runs through Nov. 30, 2026. NRO also awarded Stage II Strategic Commercial Enhancement contracts to Turion Space, Muon Space, and Albedo Space with initial values of $900,000 each.
New CHS Chair. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) last week was appointed by House Republicans as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security following Rep. Mark Green’s (R-Tenn.) July 20 resignation from Congress. Garbarino is still listed on the committee’s website as chairing the cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee. Green in June announced his intention to resign to take a private sector job.
West Coast Repair. PSG brand Blackmer on July 21 announced the opening of a new Military West Coast Repair Center in San Diego, Calif. Blackmer provides pumps and compressors for U.S. Navy ships and military installations and this facility will service West Coast operations. This follows its other Military East Coast Repair Center in Virginia Beach, Va. “to form a robust, bi-coastal repair network purpose-built to meet the urgent and specialized needs of the U.S. Military,” the company said in a statement. Sean Roberts, Blackmer regional sales and West Coast Repair Center Manager, argued the new location will bring Blackmer-certified original equipment manufacturer repair capabilities “and expert knowledge closer to where it’s needed most, reducing lead times and downtime for our customers.”
AI for Logistics. Virtualitics last week said it has received a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract from the Air Force Global Strike Command to provide its artificial intelligence-based Integrated Readiness Optimization (IRO) platform to instruct how to best load pallets with parts and equipment for global deployment. The company’s solution for Readiness Spares Package mobilization is important for the Air Force’s agile combat employment strategy, Virtualitics said. The recent award is the third for the company from the Air Force in the last year, including a $46 million contract last fall to supply IRO applications to maintenance and sustainment units.
Spear AI Raise. Maritime intelligence startup Spear AI last Friday said it raised $2.3 million in a seed round to expand its product portfolio and scale its artificial intelligence-based Horizon data platform designed for use on edge sensors and platforms to analyze data. Horizon manages and labels acoustic data for AI development, Spear AI said. The company is also developing edge sensors for maritime data collection and processing. Scare the Bear Capital and Cortical Ventures invested the funds.
