E-130J TACAMO. The Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) and Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW-1) on Aug. 7 announced the official popular name for the Navy’s new Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission aircraft is the E-130J Phoenix II. The previous placeholder name E-XX was officially designated as the E-130J in October 2024, while the popular name of Phoenix II has now been added. The announcement said the meaning of a Phoenix with rebirth was a nod to the C-130 fulfilling the TACAMO mission from 1963 to 1993 via the E-130Q. Now the E-130J is set to relieve the E-6B Mercury fleet for the TACAMO mission.
SMDC’s New DSAC. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) on Aug. 7 hosted a ribbon cutting to officially open its new 8,000-square-foot Digital Simulation and Analysis Center (DSAC) at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. The Army billed the new facility in the announcement as a “focal point for research, development and engineering advancement in directed energy strategic weapons technologies as well as other key components of the Army’s modernization efforts.” During the ceremony, SMDC commanding general Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey said DSAC will be a place “to do things differently, increase learning, move at a faster pace, and make our Army more lethal on the battlefield. This building may look normal, and that is okay, but the magic happens inside, with our great people and cutting-edge technology. This center will support the detailed work for the tech center’s hypersonic, directed energy, tactical space and high-altitude laboratories.” Gainey also said DSAC will help drive down Army costs via modeling and simulation while increasing capabilities.
Shipyard Drones. The Navy recently announced in June it started testing using a Skydio X10D drone at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) as part of a special project to see how these vehicles could help the yard conduct visual inspections and access parts of a crane without needing a mobile elevated work platform. “Unmanned aircraft systems have the potential to transform how we conduct inspections, maintenance and emergency response at the shipyard. Platforms like the Skydio X10 and X2D allow us to safely assess hard-to-reach or hazardous areas, such as crane structures, without disrupting operations or putting personnel at risk,” Vincent Acevedo, a technical specialist with Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, said in a statement. The drones capture high-resolution imagery, perform thermal scans, assess corrosion, and can support emergency response scenarios with radiological threats. The Navy said this drone project is led by the PHNSY & IMF 100TO.3 Innovation and Tech Insertion Division as part of a bigger plan to explore how drone technology can speed up maintenance, lower costs, and improve safety.
New Icebreaker. The Coast Guard on Aug. 10 commissioned the icebreaker Storis in Juneau, Alaska, the service’s first polar icebreaker in about 25 years. The Coast Guard last December acquired the commercial icebreaker from Edison Chouest Offshore for $125 million, and in June the 360-foot polar class-3 equivalent vessel set off on its maiden voyage to Alaska. The Storis will temporarily be homeported in Seattle before permanently operating from Juneau once shore infrastructure improvements are made.
…Also, in Alaska. The Coast Guard last week also commissioned the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) Earl Cunningham in Kodiak, Alaska, where the 154-foot Sentinel-class vessel will be homeported. The Bollinger Shipyard-build Cunningham is the service’s 59th FRC.
New DIU Challenge. The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), in partnership with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, has launched the $500,000 Blue Object Management Challenge seeking entries from companies developing data integration solutions, smart databases, and sensing to enable artificial intelligence-enabled awareness of U.S. warfighters and assets. Applications for the 12-week accelerator program are due by Sept. 5. Finalists will be announced the week of Sept. 22 and the program will conclude in early December.
Handsome GEOINT Award. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency this month said it has awarded Lockheed Martin a potential $652 million for development and sustainment for the integration, operation, maintenance, modernization and development of the GEOINT workflow. NGA said the seven-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity Erebus contract provides the primary capabilities to develop and deliver imagery analysis.
Bio-Materials Facility. BioMADE, a Defense Department Manufacturing Innovation Institute for biomanufacturing research and development, last week said it plans to establish a 15,000 square foot facility near Ames, Iowa, that will complement other facilities in the state to accelerate the development of agricultural products for defense and other purposes. The DoD is interested in bioindustrial capabilities for “lightweight composite materials, anti-corrosive lubricants, energetics and energetic precursors, fuels, high temperature-resistant foams and thermal protection systems, and more,” BioMADE said. The $40 million facility investment includes $20 million from BioMADE, up to $10 million in cost share contribution from Iowa State Univ., and $10 million from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
Border Security Tech. Benchmark Electronics, Inc. last week said it has completed delivery of 24 new Mobile Vehicle Surveillance Systems-Radar (MVSS-R) to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for border security operations. The MVSS-R program consisted of upgrading existing MVSS with the SR Hawk ground surveillance radar supplied by SRC Inc. The MVSS-R includes the radar, artificial intelligence-based video analytics, and electro-optical-infrared sensor systems. In addition to SRC, Benchmark integrated technology from PureTech Systems and Advanced EO Systems in the MVSS-R. Benchmark said it is working with CBP to enable autonomous surveillance operations with the MVSS-R.
Scan Wide. Finland’s ICEYE said that it has launched its new Scan Wide synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode to allow commercial and government clients to image 60,000 square kilometers with a single scene and to achieve multi-frame imaging of 120,000 square kilometers. “This large scene size is particularly useful for maritime applications such as dark vessel search and oil spill monitoring,” the company said. “With ICEYE’s rich product capabilities, customers can use Scan Wide to conduct large-area intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. For instance, Scan Wide can help analysts identify suspicious activity like illicit ship-to-ship transshipment or vessels that have disabled their Automatic Identification Systems to mask illegal activity. Once these threats are identified with Scan Wide, users can deploy ICEYE’s 25 cm and 50 cm modes like Dwell Precise and Spot Fine to better characterize the activity.” ICEYE said it has 54 SAR satellites on orbit.
DAF Cyber Operations. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) said it has chosen Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. as the site of a new Air National Guard (ANG) cyber operations squadron, which is to achieve full operational capability in the spring of 2030. “The 227th Air Support Operations Squadron will be inactivated at Atlantic City ANG Base, N.J., as part of the 2025 defense budget divestment of 50 percent of the ANG Tactical Air Control Party and Control and Reporting Center missions across the force,” the department said. “The 2025 defense budget also reassigned a portion of the manpower to other missions. New Jersey ANG will convert this reassigned manpower to support the new cyber squadron, which aligns with an increase focus on cyber capabilities in support of the National Defense Strategy.”
CVN-75. The Navy awarded HII a $276 million modification on Aug. 8 for further advance planning effort and long-lead-time material required for the accomplishment of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH). This segment of the planning work for CVN-75’s mid-life overhaul is expected to be finished by September 2026. HII originally won a contract worth up to $913 million for advance planning and long lead time material procurement for the RCOH of the carrier, which is set to be the eighth Nimitz-class carrier to undergo RCOH. Earlier this year the carrier had repairs at a naval base in Greece following a collision with a commercial vessel near Port Said, Egypt.
Saronic And ABS. Saronic Technologies on Friday announced a memorandum of understanding with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to work toward ABS certification of the company’s family of Autonomous Surface vessels (ASVs). They also plan to collaborate on classification of Saronic’s larger autonomous vessels. “Through this process, ABS will review and evaluate Saronic’s larger ASVs against rigorous safety, reliability, and performance standards. In addition, Saronic will support updates to ABS’ autonomy requirements for ASVs based on technological advancements,” the company said. The company boasted it will in turn help ABS explore requirements for unmanned and autonomous surface vessels.
DDG-77. The Navy awarded BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair facility a $64 million contract action on Aug. 7 for the maintenance, modernization and repair of USS O’Kane (DDG-77) fiscal year 2026 docking selected restricted availability (DSRA). The DoD announcement said this covers all labor, supervision, equipment, production, testing, facilities, and quality assurance needed to prepare for and complete the modernization, maintenance and repair work. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would raise the total value to $68 million. The work is expected to be finished by January 2027. The announcement noted the contract was solicited with open competition and three other offerors were not chosen. The Navy did not disclose the losing competitors.
USMC Helmet. The Marine Corps has awarded Galvion a five-year contract worth up to $131.4 million for the Integrated Helmet System (IHS), the company said on Aug. 12. Galvion said it’s been developing the IHS over multiple years under an Other Transaction Authority agreement with the Marine Corps, to include delivering over 1,000 systems in two configurations for evaluation efforts. “It features the latest version of Galvion’s best-in-class Apex lining system, which includes improvements incorporated as a direct result of Marine feedback, resulting in a better-fitting, balanced and more stable helmet platform for [Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle] and [Enhanced Clip-on Thermal Imager] mounting,” Galvion said in a statement. “Galvion’s E.D.G power management system integrates easily, offering scalable operational capability for Marines.”
JAGM/Hellfires. The Army on Aug. 13 awarded Lockheed Martin a $720.1 million order for Joint-Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) and Hellfire missiles. The latest deal brings the total value of the multiple year JAGM and Hellfire contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in late March 2023 up to $1.5 billion. That contract has a ceiling value of $4.5 billion. Work on the latest production order is expected to be completed by the end of September 2028, according to the Pentagon.
More AMPVs. The Army on Aug. 14 also awarded BAE Systems a $139.5 million order for more Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles (AMPVs). Work on that deal is expected to be completed by May 2028. The Army in August 2023 approved AMPV for full-rate production and then awarded BAE Systems a contract worth up to $1.6 billion. BAE Systems’ AMPV is the Army’s replacement for its legacy M113 armored personnel carriers.
UAS. MORSE Corp. said on Aug. 11 it has received a five-year, $48.1 million Other Transaction Authority agreement from the Army to develop a “novel long range autonomous aircraft” that can operate in GPS-denied Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environments. “This is a rare opportunity to see one of our UAS go from initial design to production, in such a short timeline. We are excited to help rapidly close a critical capability gap for the U.S. military,” Adam Ray, MORSE Corp.’s integrated systems portfolio lead, said in a statement. MORSE Corp. said the project is intended to “significantly enhance its contested logistics capabilities” and that it will also work on “advancements in GPS-denied navigation technologies and an array of mission planning and execution tools.”
