Golden Dome Advocacy. Michael Payne, the nominee to be director of DoD’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), told senators in advance policy questions before his hearing that “for too long, our military has been asked to defend our nation with systems that are
outdated, over-budget, and delayed” and that “under President Trump and [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth’s leadership, we have been given a clear vision and priorities.” Payne said that “resource needs warrant a year-by-year re-evaluation and, in some cases, such as Golden Dome, larger infusions are necessary to modernize U.S. capabilities with speed and purpose.”
…Munitions and DIB. CAPE has been around since 2009 under the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act, initially sponsored by the late Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.). Senators have criticized CAPE from straying from its independent cost and program analysis role into one of “advocacy,” most notably in rebuffing the Marine Corps’ recommendation to accelerate the buy of amphibious ships. In addition to more funds for Golden Dome, Payne, in his written responses to senators, said that “munitions production and the defense industrial base [DIB] are areas that need targeted funding to achieve strategic goals.”
Military Intel Budget. The Pentagon on November 3 revealed that the military intelligence program (MIP) budget for fiscal year 2025 was $27.8 billion, including supplemental funding. The disclosure to provide just the topline figure and no other details aligns with guidance in prior years. “The department determined that releasing this top line figure does not jeopardize any classified activities within the MIP. No other MIP budget figures or program details will be released, as they remain classified for national security reasons,” the Pentagon wrote. The FY ‘25 topline represents a 7 percent decline from the FY ‘24 topline of $29.8 billion.
Leonardo/Rheinmetall Vehicles. Leonardo and Rheinmetall said on Nov. 5 their new joint venture has received the first production order to deliver combat vehicles to the Italian Army. The contract covers 21 vehicles, including five of Rheinmetall’s Lynx KF-41 platform outfitted with the Lance turret followed by 16 “newly configured vehicles equipped with the same chassis and Leonardo’s Hitfist 30mm turret.” “The agreement also includes upgrading the whole fleet to the latter configuration, as well as including an additional 30 optional vehicles, and training and simulation systems to better train crews,” the companies. Deliveries are expected to begin at the end of 2025.
Golden’s Decision. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, announced on Nov. 5 he will not seek reelection in 2026. “I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning. Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son,” Golden wrote in an op-ed for Bangor Daily News. Golden, 43, has represented Maine’s 2nd district since 2019. As a moderate and former co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, Golden has broken with his party on several major defense-related votes. He was one of five Democrats on the Armed Services Committee to support the panel’s defense markup for the reconciliation bill, voted with Republicans to pass the House’s $831.5 billion fiscal year 2026 defense appropriations bill and was the sole House Democrat to vote in favor of the Nov. 21 continuing resolution ahead of the government shutdown.
3rd Chinese Carrier. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on Nov. 5 commissioned its third conventionally-powered aircraft carrier the CS Fujian (18). The 80,000-ton carrier was previously launched in 2022 launched at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard and has spent the last three years conducting sea trials and various training missions along the Chinese coast. This is China’s largest domestically-produced carrier. Fujian is the Chinese Navy’s first catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery flattop carrier and first indigenously designed carrier. The previous carriers used ski-jumps, known as short take-off but arrested recovery. The carrier also includes an electromagnetic catapult, similar to the American Ford-class Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System.
Autonomous Romulus. HII and Shield AI on Nov. 3 announced they successfully completed the first major test of an integrated autonomy solution aboard HII’s Romulus unmanned surface vessel (USV). The three-day integration test occurred in Virginia Beach, Va., in late October, when the partners combined Shield AI’s Hivemind Enterprise software development kit (SDK) with HII’s Odyssey autonomy suite on a Romulus 20 USV. They noted this also was the first maritime deployment of Hivemind. The latest announcement came during the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, Australia. The milestone came less than six weeks after the companies announced their partnership, showing how fast they are moving. HII’s Romulus is a modular high-performance USV built on commercial standards in a hull form meant to be able to be produced fast. It is designed to sail faster than 25 knots, has a range of 2,500 nautical miles and carry up to four 40-foot containers. Shield AI started Hivemind in aerial operations and is now expanding to maritime operations via the HII partnership.
Albatross Award. PhysicsAI last week said has received a prime contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under the Albatross program, which approaches the challenge of longer and farther flight of autonomous unmanned aircraft by using onboard sensing to take advantage of dynamic wind conditions to reduce the need for onboard power demand. PhysicsAI said it will “design, train and test advanced artificial intelligence agents that can perceive dynamic wind conditions, optimize mission planning and execute bird-like soaring maneuvers through a variety of environments.” Pointing to birds like eagles and condors that are “the ultimate soaring pilots,” PhysicsAI said it is “building AI inspired by animal intelligence” rather than human intelligence.
AUKUS Batteries. The Australian government last week announced a strategic contract setting up an industry partnership that will potentially see Australian battery technology used in the SSN-AUKUS submarine design. The Australian-based PMB Defense is partnering with the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems in contracts worth over $34 million to enable potential integration of its advanced nickel zinc battery system into future nuclear-powered attack submarines, the government said on Nov. 4. PMB also plans to supply battery technology for other U.K. Royal Navy submarines. The Australian government said the contracts between the companies have already led to PMB adding 20 staff to its South Australia workforce, with more expected as production scales up. PMB already produces the main storage batteries in the diesel-electric Collins-class submarines. The U.K. and Australian Roval Navies will both share the same nuclear-powered SSN-AUKUS submarine design, but be produced separately in both countries.
AUKUS Review. Austin Dahmer, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Nov. 4 that President Donald Trump’s statements at the White House during with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visit confirmed he supports advancing AUKUS, regardless of DoD’s ongoing review. While he did not answer a question from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on whether the review was coordinated with international partners and other administration officials, Dahmer said it was natural for the administration to review a “signature initiative of the Biden Administration” to ensure it accorded with Trump’s “America First Peace Through Strength agenda.” He also reiterated other administration talking points that both the United Kingdom and Australian governments themselves reviewed AUKUS when administration and party changes took place following elections. Dahmer said Trump was clear that they are advancing AUKUS and “working to ensure its success,” but he also wanted to stress the importance of the nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet to defend the homeland and deter rivals. Dahmer currently serves as the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, which oversees a larger set of duties than the role hi is nominated for.
Compass Call Training. BAE Systems said that it has worked with Textron Systems Corp. to develop a Compass Call Mission Crew Simulator (CCMCS) and that the U.S. Air Force has approved it for training. “The simulator provides realistic training and mission rehearsal for crews of the EA-37B, the U.S. Department of Defense’s only long-range, stand-off, electromagnetic warfare jamming platform,” BAE said. CCMCS provides “a high-fidelity, simulated tactical environment that replicates complex and dynamic scenarios they can encounter during real-world operations,” according to the company.
International GEOINT Award. BlackSky Technology last week said it won a multi-year $30 million-plus contract to integrate its Gen-3 electro-optical satellite-based tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services into an international defense customer’s secure environment. The Northern Virginia-based company’s Gen-3 satellites enable a high revisit rate for Earth remote sensing operations. The high-resolution Gen-3 satellites enable artificial intelligence applications to be applied to the imagery to improve detection, identification, and classification of objects of interest, BlackSky said.
…And Another. Planet Labs last week also said it received an eight-figure contract renewal with a “longstanding international defense and intelligence customer” to provide high-resolution electro-optical satellite imagery. San Francisco-based Planet said the customer will have access to its Pelican and SkySat constellations for “timely monitoring and intelligence gathering in key areas of interest.”
Deloitte Drone Investment. The audit and advisory firm Deloitte last week said it is investing in Kihomac to allow the veteran-owned company to expand its manufacturing in Utah to mass produce drones in support of U.S. government and business customers. The value of the investment was not disclosed but Kihomac is investing $18 million to build and equip a new 60,000-square foot manufacturing facility. The company currently has nearly 300,000 square feet of facilities in Utah, Georgia, Oklahoma and Maryland, has 350 employees, a number expected to grow to more than 400 by year-end. “Deloitte is investing directly in Kihomac to help build American production capacity for technologies that are critical to our national security and economic competitiveness,” Oniel Cross, a Deloitte government services leader, said in statement. Kihomac is projecting $70 million in sales this year.
ScanEagle Additions. Boeing’s Insitu unit has added proliferated low Earth orbit satellite communication datalinks and laser-targeting capabilities to its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system. “These enhancements position ScanEagle as the premier choice for reliable over-the-horizon beyond line of sight intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting missions, further solidifying its reputation as the most proven small UAS in operation today,” the company said. Insitu said ScanEagle has more than 1.3 million flight hours in contested and combat conditions.
An FMS Deal. Government award announcements have been few and far between during the ongoing federal shutdown but in late October the Defense Security Cooperation Agency posted on its website a potential $353 million Foreign Military Sale to Singapore of Ebbing Air National Guard Base Facilities Construction Services and related equipment. The Oct. 31 announcement said that Singapore has requested to buy construction services and related logistics and program support at the base.
Editor’s Note: In observance of Veteran’s Day, Defense Daily will not publish on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
