F-47 Strategic Planning Choices. U.S. Air Force leaders are to examine strategic choices on F-47 development by the end of January next year, as done in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 for the then-named Next Generation Air Dominance manned fighter. The service requests $3.5 billion in fiscal 2026 for F-47. “2030+ AD [Air Dominance] working groups methodically assessed candidate concepts using USAF directives and guidance that informed the F-47 Analysis of Alternatives,” the Air Force says in its fiscal 2026 research and development request. “Ongoing studies refine system concepts and operational/system architectures incorporating family of systems and spectral dominance platforms that may be required to inform and support strategic choices. In addition, technical risk reduction studies utilizing preliminary data from AD concept development have informed strategic USAF experimentation and prototyping efforts. Finally, technical overviews were presented to the Air Force – Scientific Advisory Board and other senior leaders.”
2026 FYDP. Some concern has surfaced in defense industry quarters that the Trump administration will not submit a future years defense plan (FYDP) for the near term beyond FY 2026. Mandated by Title 10’s Section 221–a provision enacted in 1989–such annual FYDPs have been customary in Pentagon budget submissions since 1962 and indicate how the military services and DoD plan to execute modernization programs. Lawmakers, military officials, and defense companies often criticize funding swings as detrimental to such programs.
Battle Management? With U.S. Air Force fiscal 2026 plans to fund space-based radar ground moving target indication (GMTI) at nearly $1.2 billion to replace the Joint STARS and service plans to cancel the E-7 Wedgetail buy in favor of space-borne air moving target indication (AMTI), questions are arising on possible in-theater battle management gaps that such space GMTI and AMTI systems may bring.
B-21 Production Surge. The way to surge production of the B-21 stealth bomber and other aircraft comes down to having the “factories, it’s the floor space, it’s tooling,” Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems segment, said last week. “Once you get that running and in your supply chain, I think you have a lot of ability to look at how you can scale, ramp production, surge, if you will,” he said during a panel discussion on the industrial base hosted by the Center for a New American Security. A key inhibitor for the defense industry is that acquiring “spare factory space” is not an allowable cost, and for a company to do so “ties up a bunch of cash,” he said. Adopting advanced manufacturing techniques is also beneficial and would somewhat reduce tooling needs, he added. Northrop Grumman is producing B-21s for the Air Force.
New Aircraft Tease. Shield AI little by little this summer will be disclosing features of a new multirole aircraft it has been developing, the company says. Armor Harris, senior vice president for aircraft at the startup, posted on LinkedIn last Thursday that the new aircraft is “revolutionary” and a company spokesperson told Defense Daily it’s a “next-gen aircraft.” Sheild AI is best known for its Hivemind artificial intelligence software that enables autonomous flight, and its V-BAT unmanned aircraft system, which is being used by Ukrainian forces.
Swarm Plans. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) on June 25 said its demonstrated mission planning software for swarms and configurations of unmanned air, surface and underwater systems – the Optimized Cross Domain Swarm Sensing (OCDSS) software program. The Navy said OCDSS helps plan missions by using groups of unmanned aircraft, running thousands of computer simulations to predict how different drones will work together. This allows planners to then choose the best number and types of vehicles for particular jobs. NAWCAD argued the virtual testing environment reduces the cost and time from real-world testing in defense acquisition programs and was demonstrated at the ANTX Coastal Trident exercise in August 2024.
EPF-15 Delivered. The Navy on June 24 accepted delivery of the USNS Point Loma (EPF-15), the second of the Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) Flight II configuration, built by Austal USA. EPF-15 will be owned and operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. This followed the ship completing acceptance trials in May. The Flight II variants add Role 2 enhanced medical mission afloat capabilities including two operating rooms and support for up to 147 patients.
Hyundai Collabs. South Korea’s HD Hyundai announced another investment in U.S. shipbuilding, a strategic shipbuilding collaboration with Edison Chouest Offshore’s (ECO) Tampa Ship. Under the agreement, Hyundai plans to help Tampa Ship build medium-sized Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) dual-fuel containerships, with deliveries planned for 2028. Hyundai said it would provide “critical support” toward vessel design, procurement of specialized equipment, transfer of advanced shipbuilding technology and participate in fabrication of some shipblocks and invest in technical infrastructure. ECO operates five shipyards in the U.S. This follows Hyundai’s previous cooperative agreements with defense-related shipbuilders HII and Fairbanks Morse Defense.
Space and Ground Systems. Northrop Grumman said that it is adding to the 1 million square feet the company has in Colorado by opening a 100,000 square foot Highfield Integration Facility in Colorado to focus on improving data delivery to ground forces. “Fixed and mobile ground system technology solutions enable warfighter missions at the tactical edge, where forces operate in challenging environments, often facing limited connectivity while still relying on the right information at the right time to make the right decisions rapidly, with resiliency in any mission,” the company said. “These capabilities support space surveillance, missile warning and defense, satellite operations and data processing in operational environments, anywhere at any time.”
Cybersecurity Reminder. Acting Defense Department Chief Information Officer Katie Arrington last week issued a statement to the defense industrial base on “Steps to Improve Cybersecurity and Resilience for the DoD’s DIB Partners.” She posted the statement on LinkedIn two days after the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. Her message included links to cybersecurity resources provided by DoD and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and asked businesses of all sizes to “adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protection of their most critical assets.”
Funding Raises. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions last week said it plans to offer for sale $500 million of shares of its common stock to enable investments in scaling and performing on “mission critical National Security priorities,” acquisitions, and corporate purposes. The underwriters of the offering will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $75 million shares. Obviant, a startup with a tracking tool for tracking Defense Department acquisition, contracting, and budgeting data, raised $7.1 million in a seed round to scale its artificial intelligence-powered platform. The round was led by Shield Capital with participation from Motivate Venture Capital, A*, New Vista Capital, Aloft Venture Capital, and Underdog Labs.
RTX Work for Japan. RTX’s Raytheon segment last week said it received a $250 million direct commercial sale contract from Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for licensed production of ESSM Block 2 missile kits, parts, and components. The Block 2 is a guided, ship-launched, medium-range missile for defense against anti-ship cruise missiles, low velocity air threats such as helicopters, and high-speed maneuverable surface threats.
Another Dutch Investment. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has invested in Arceon, the San Diego-based company’s third investment this year in Dutch company. Arceon makes ceramic composites for nozzles, nozzle extensions, leading edges, nose caps, and airframes that GA-ASI last week said “are tailored to meet the increasing and rigorous demands of the space and defense sectors.” Previously, GA-ASI invested in Emergent Swarm Solutions and Saluqi Motors. The three investments grew out of a company-sponsored event last year in the Netherlands to foster innovation in that country’s industrial ecosystem.
Satellite Expansion. Umbra, a manufacturer of synthetic aperture radar satellites for Earth sensing, has opened a new 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Southern California, quadrupling the size of its current production facilities. The company said the expansion positions it to increase and scale satellite production and demonstrates its confidence in demand from national security customers. Umbra is also doubling its office space in Northern Virginia to support research and development and strengthen its government efforts.
…Speaking of Geospatial. Former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Director of Digital Innovation Mark Munsell has been hired as the project lead of GeoFutures, an initiative of the Greater St. Louis, Inc. economic development agency. The highly regarded former NGA official, and St. Louis native, will help drive the area’s growth in the geospatial-intelligence sector. St. Louis is the home of the Washington, D.C.-area agency’s West operations. Later this year, NGA West officials are expected to move into a new office facility in St. Louis.
FY ‘27 Topline? A senior defense official told reporters on June 26 the Pentagon does not have a projected topline yet for fiscal year 2027. “We have not yet discussed what [the budget topline] will look like for FY ‘27. But unless the president’s tone changes, I imagine we’ll stick with a trillion dollars for national defense spending,” the official said. The Pentagon’s budget rollout for FY ‘26 has not included providing long-term budget projections or five-year spending plans for programs. The Trump administration has requested a $1 trillion national defense topline for FY ‘26, to include $961.6 billion for the Pentagon, while that figure includes $113 billion in anticipated reconciliation funds that have not yet been finalized by Congress.
Tactical Vehicles. The Dutch Ministry of Defense on June 24 signed a contract with Rheinmetall’s Netherlands-based business to supply Ukraine with 20 Ermine lightweight tactical vehicles. Rheinmetall noted that deliveries of the hybrid-electric vehicles will begin in 2026 and will include booth manned and unmanned versions, with aim to bolster Ukrainian forces’ “capability for casualty evacuation near the frontline.” “We are grateful for the trust in our capacities. Ermine is an innovative and capable solution for the modern battlefield,” Coen van Leeuwen, CEO of Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V., said in a statement.
