Parsons Award. Parsons Corporation said on June 16 it has received a four-year, $169.5 million deal from the Army Corps of Engineers to design and build a new Ammonium Nitrate Solution (ANSol) Tank Farm at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The project is intended to increase storage requirements at Holston for ANSol, which Parsons noted is a byproduct of the explosives manufacturing process. “Holston Army Ammunition Plant has a vital role in ensuring our nation’s warfighters have what they need when they need it to successfully carry out missions around the world. As the number of organic industrial base modernization projects grow, we remain ready to leverage our experience and innovative technology solutions to improve readiness and operations,” Jon Moretta, Parsons’ president of engineered systems, said in a statement.
Joint Integrated Fires. Lockheed Martin said in a virtual demonstration in early May as part of the Balikatan 2025 exercise it demonstrated with the Army a joint integrated fires capability that allowed for targeting data to be shared among several platforms in order to “redirect a simulated rocket in-flight to engage a surface target that was on the move.” “This is a big step toward giving the U.S. Army another capability to engage moving and maritime targets with HIMARS,” Lockheed Martin said in a June 17 statement. “Integrating offensive and defensive assets that weren’t originally designed to work together provides the warfighter greater agility on the modern battlefield. Securely integrating sensors, effectors and mission command systems allows users to choose the best effector for flexible employment against each target.”
Anywhere, Everywhere. When the U.S. Air Force ended its Continuous Bomber Presence on Guam for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2020, the service shifted to the Bomber Task Force (BTF) model “to be more dynamic and more able to send [aircraft] places for shorter periods of time to be able to convey our messaging,” said Air Force Maj. Mark “Fod” Edwards, a mission planner with the 2nd Operations Support Squadron and electronic warfare officer with the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. “The overall idea was to show we can deploy anywhere, everywhere between the 2nd Bomb Wing’s, 5th Bomb Wing’s, and Air Force Global Strike Command’s mission and set up shop and carry out our missions, to be a worldwide presence, and fly back without having to land.”
…Demand Signal. For BTFs, bomber squadrons receive notice several months ahead of time to let the squadrons know the length, location, and the U.S. Strategic Command/Combatant Command [COCOM] goals of the coming deployment. “The usual goal is strategic messaging, allied partnerships,” Edwards said. “That can be anything from training with local JTACs [Joint Terminal Attack Controllers] down range or conducting any missions we can.” Factors involved in deciding upon locations include the number of available refueling tankers. “There’s a high demand for it,” Edwards said of the BTF. “The MAJCOM [major command]/COCOM [combatant command] commanders love it when we show up. It’s no secret when B-1s or B-52s, especially, go somewhere.”
CVN-68 Inactivation. The Navy awarded HII a $60 million modification on June 17 for advance planning and long-lead-time material procurement to prepare and make ready for the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) aircraft carrier’s eventual inactivation and defueling. The work will occur at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding facility and is expected to be finished by March 2026. The aircraft carrier is expected to move to Virginia to eventually start its decommissioning process after it ends its current deployment to the Middle East.
LCS-38. The 19th and last Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, the future USS Pierre (LCS-28), successfully completed acceptance trials at Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala., facility this month. This is the last milestone before ship delivery. Following delivery, LCS-38 will be homeported in San Diego alongside its sister ships.
LCAC-113. The Navy accepted delivery of another Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), LCAC 113, from Textron Systems; New Orleans, shipyard on June 12. Delivery followed the vessel completing acceptance trials conducted by the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), which tested the craft’s readiness and capability to meet its requirements. “The successful delivery of LCAC 113 will provide the Navy and Marine Corps team with an advanced craft to increase our operational capability in amphibious warfare and maintain our operational readiness against global challenges.” Angela Bonner, acting program manager for Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs at Program Executive Office Ships, said in a statement. The SSCs are built with similar dimensions and clearances as the legacy LCACs they are replacing to remain compatible with the existing well deck-equipped Expeditionary Sea Base ships and the Expeditionary Transfer Dock ships. Textron is currently in serial production on the next LCACs 114-126.
Starship. A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded on a test stand at Starbase in Texas late Wednesday. SpaceX said the Starship vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a static fire test on June 18 when it experienced a “major anomaly.” Videos shared online showed a large explosion on the test stand. In an update, SpaceX said preliminary investigation showed there was a potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship’s nosecone area. SpaceX said all personnel are safe and there were no reported injuries. SpaceX is investigating the cause of the anomaly. SpaceX also said in the statement there is “no commonality between the COPVs used on Starship and SpaceX’s Falcon rockets,” used in the company’s launch business for commercial and government satellites. This was another setback on the Starship program, which has had three flight test failures this year. The Starship rocket, which is in development, has NASA contracts to take astronauts to the Moon, and is part of SpaceX’s plans to reach Mars.
Poseidon Mods. The first Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft has completed its Increment 3 Block 2 modifications, the Navy said this month. These modifications provide a “significant upgrade” to the aircraft’s airframe and avionics systems, including new airframe racks, radome, antennas, sensors, and wiring, the Navy said. It also includes a new combat systems suite with improved computer processing, higher security architecture, a wide band satellite communication system, ASW signals intelligence capability, and additional communications and acoustics systems to improve search, detection and targeting capabilities. Modification work began at a Boeing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility in Jacksonville, Fla., in March 2024. The Navy noted future P-8A modifications will be made via sequencing rapid capability insertion efforts built on this new baseline.
C-130J Wing Structure Testing. At the Paris Air Show, Lockheed Martin said that rigorous wing durability testing of the C-130J Super Hercules over several years has indicated that the wing structure will have “nearly 40 percent more lifespan compared to initial estimates and nearly twice the specification design life.” The testing “demonstrated a significant extension of the wing’s service life, from an estimated 90,000 Equivalent Flight Hours to an expected 122,500 Equivalent Flight Hours,” Lockheed Martin said. “The recent testing program, initiated and funded by the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force, pushed the wing to its limits by simulating the stresses and strains of real-world flying conditions. The U.S. Air Force provided a C-130 ESL [extended service life] center wing, two outer wings and a center fuselage for the Wing Durability Test.” The C-130J turboprop airlift is seeing competition on the world market from Embraer’s C-390 Millenium jet transport and the Airbus 400M Atlas.
Guetlein. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on June 18 said President Trump officially appointed Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to be assigned as direct reporting program manager for the Golden Dome for America initiative, moving from his role where he currently serves as vice chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force. This follows Trump’s May Oval Office announcement of some key Golden Dome features and that Guetlein would lead the effort.
B-52J Options. Defense analysts have expressed some concern over whether the U.S. Air Force will continue to fund the two major upgrades for the B-52H bomber–the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) to replace the plane’s eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-103 engines with more powerful Rolls-Royce F130s and the Radar Modernization Program (RMP) to replace the B-52H’s APQ-166 radar by Northrop Grumman with a new active electronically scanned array radar based on RTX‘s APG-79. The CERP and RMP-modified bombers are to be B-52Js. “If J is gonna get delayed, there are other options,” said James “Trey” Morriss, the 8th Air Force’s director of staff. Such options include an increased production rate for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber–a higher rate that could portend an Air Force buy of more than the planned number of 100. Morriss, a retired colonel, formerly led the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. As a captain, he was an electronic warfare officer on “Miami Clipper II”–one of seven 596th Bombardment Squadron B-52Gs flying the more than 36 hour “Secret Squirrel” mission from Barksdale on Jan. 16-17, 1991. The seven bombers launched 35 Boeing AGM-86C conventional air launched cruise missiles (CALCM) against eight Iraqi power generator/transmission and military communications relay sites in the prelude to Operation Desert Storm. The Air Force retired CALCM in 2019.
Unmanned AEW&C. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. last week said it is partnering with Sweden’s Saab to develop an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capability for the San Diego-based company’s MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft. The aircraft will be equipped with Saab’s AEW sensors to help customers defend against cruise missiles and drone swarms. The MQ-9B AEW is planned to fly in 2026. GA-ASI said the AEW&C capability will be installed on the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian models, the United Kingdom’s Protector version of the aircraft, and the new short takeoff and landing model currently in development.
…New Small UAS. GA-ASI also announced a new small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) offering for international customers, the propeller-driven, semi-autonomous Precision Exportable Launched Effect (PELE), which is optimized to be carried on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian to extend mission ranges. PELE can be ground launched, is nine-feet long, features an 11-foot wingspan, a 16-horspower engine, a maximum takeoff weight of 250 pounds, seven hours of endurance, a 500-mile range, an electro-optical sensor for full-motion video, and internal storage for mission payloads. GA-ASI said PELE is “attrition-tolerant.”
Drone vs. Drone. The Army in fiscal year 2026 will be spending more on counter-unmanned aircraft system capabilities, including on drones that can defeat other drones in the air, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said last week. Based on lessons being learned in the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, “I think a lot of what we’re learning too is that drone on drone is a good way to counter UAS,” he told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Countering drones is something the entire joint force will have to do, he said.
3D Printed Engine Part. RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business last week said it has successfully completed tests on a 3D printed turbine wheel for the company’s TJ150 150-pound thrust turbojet engine. The company said the turbine wheel is one of the first rotating parts to be additively manufactured. “Today we’re fielding and flying static engine parts,” Chris Hugill, head of P&W’s GATORWORKS, said in a statement. “Rotating engine components, especially for expendable class applications is the next step. Our testing confirms we’re on track with the engine performing at full operating speeds and temperatures and meeting expected life duration.”
ICE Pact Meeting. The Department of Homeland Security last week said its representatives met Canadian and Finnish counterparts in a two-day summit of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, known as the ICE Pact, to strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and supply chains. Another ICE Pact meeting will be hosted later this year by the U.S. government, it said. The recent meeting included government and private sector stakeholders to discuss advancing efforts in technical expertise and information exchange, workforce development, relations with allies and industry, and research and development. The ICE Pact was started by the Biden administration in 2024 as an effort to leverage the Arctic icebreaking shipbuilding capabilities of Finland and Canada to strengthen U.S. capabilities that have atrophied. Oddly, the DHS announcement said, “Plans developed during ICE Pact meetings will allow the U.S., Canada, and Finland to build American-made Arctic and polar icebreakers.” It’s been 25 years since a U.S. shipyard built a polar icebreaker and the next one isn’t due until 2030, if the schedule holds.
Commercial Tech Program. General Dynamics last week said its Information Technology business unit is making new investments in its emerging and commercial technology partnership programs. The emerging technology program is led by Geoffrey Williams, who GDIT recently hired after 10 years at IBM working on artificial intelligence, analytics, and emerging technologies for federal customers. This program is focused on AI, quantum, full-spectrum cyber, edge computing, and advanced wireless technologies. GDIT has promoted Mathew Soltis as vice president of technology solutions and alliance partnerships to lead the commercial partnership program.
