Palantir/Divergent. In a new partnership announced on May 20, Palantir will provide access to Divergent Technologies’ advanced manufacturing system on its Foundry and Warp Speed software platforms. “The partnership provides Palantir’s defense and commercial customers with seamless access to Divergent’s digital manufacturing capabilities in production environments,” the companies said in a joint statement. “With access to the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) within Palantir’s software, customers will be able to rapidly identify emerging supply chain vulnerabilities and then directly address them through on-demand manufacturing of critical parts by Divergent.” The new DAPS capability was described as an “end-to-end engineering design and manufacturing system leveraging AI-driven design, industrial-rate additive manufacturing and universal robotic assembly to deliver structures that are faster to develop, higher performance and lower cost than their conventionally designed and manufactured alternatives.” Divergent CEO Lukas Czinger said providing access to DAPS on Palantir’s software platforms can help customers “identify and solve production shortages and new product developments on unmatched timelines.”
Bosnia FMS. The State Department said on May 20 it has approved a potential $100 million Foreign Military Sale with Bosnia and Herzegovina for AW119Kx helicopters. Along with the Leonardo aircraft, the deal would also include training for pilots and maintainers, in-country contractor field service representative support, technical assistance, ground support equipment and logistics support. “The proposed sale will improve the capability of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet current and future threats by supporting regional and NATO cooperation exercises, protecting Bosnia and Herzegovinian national security interests in the country’s mountainous and inaccessible terrain. The aircraft will also enable the AFBiH to better support disaster relief, search and rescue, and other humanitarian aid missions in the country, and will also serve for pilot training,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
U.S./UAE. The U.S. has signed a new letter of intent with the United Arab Emirates designating it is a “major defense partner.” The Pentagon said the agreement, signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, the UAE’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, “represents a shared commitment to develop a structured roadmap that will guide enhanced military-to-military cooperation, joint capability development, and long-term defense alignment between the two nations.” The partnership includes establishing a new strategic initiative between DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit and the UAE’s Tawazun Council to “deepen ties in defense innovation, facilitate joint research and development and expand industrial and investment partnerships across both defense ecosystems.” The UAE was also “formally welcomed into the U.S. National Guard State Partnership Program through a partnership with the Texas National Guard,” according to DoD. The new agreement follows President Trump’s visit to Abu Dhabi where he announced plans for $200 billion in commercial deals between the U.S. and UAE.
Robot Controller. AV’s Tomahawk GCS has received a $5.1 million contract to provide the Dismounted Common Controller (DCC) solution in support of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office’s Human-Machine Integrated Formations (HMIF) effort, the company said on May 19. AV’s Tomahawk will provide its Grip TA5 capability for the DCC program, which it said offers multi-platform compatibility and “provides operators command-and-control of multiple robotic assets in real-time, enhancing mission adaptability and response speed.” The Army is aiming to have its first HMIF platoons in place around fiscal year 2027, and officials have cited the need for a common controller for operating different robotic platforms as a key capability.
Howitzers. The Army on May 21 awarded BAE Systems a $423.4 million contract for production of self-propelled howitzer systems. Work on the deal, which is an undefinitized, cost-no-fee contract, is expected to be completed by the end of June 2028. A total of $214.5 million was obligated at the time of award, according to the Pentagon. BAE Systems builds the M109A7 self-propelled howitzer for the Army.
95th Wing. U.S. Air Force Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, says he’s “pleased…so far” with the stand up of the 95th Wing at Offutt AFB, Neb. Activated on Feb. 28, the wing assumes responsibility for the E-4B “Nightwatch” National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) aircraft from the now defunct 595th Command and Control Group. Col. David Leaumont, the former commander of the 595th C2G, heads the 95th Wing, which is to achieve full operational capability in 2027, the Air Force said. Last year, the service awarded SNC an up to $13.1 billion contract for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) to replace the “Nightwatch.” SAOC is “fairly nascent in its execution from the contract award last year but going very well,” Bussiere says.
GPS OCX. This year, the U.S. Space Force plans to field the Global Positioning System Next Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) by RTX’s Raytheon, and the Space Force has awarded Raytheon’s Aurora, Colo., site a nearly $380 million contract for “pre-operational acceptance support and post-operational acceptance interim contractor support” through March next year with an option for another year. Congress has criticized GPS OCX for being nearly a decade late, and system cost estimates have significantly increased from the $3.9 billion estimated in November 2012.
SOLIC. The late Charles Whitehouse–a decorated World War II U.S. Marine Corps pilot, CIA official, and ambassador to Laos and then Thailand from 1973-1978, became the first assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict (SOLIC) when then Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci called him out of retirement in 1988. Whitehouse’s son, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), mentioned his father’s service during a Senate floor speech on May 21. “Many years ago, my father set up Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict in the Defense Department,” Sen. Whitehouse said. “He was the first SOLIC, as they called it, and one of the things that people in special operations really didn’t like was being told that what they were doing was low-intensity: ‘Mr. Whitehouse, when it is you that is being shot at, it is not low-intensity. We gotta get rid of that name.'”
Air Force ASSET. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio may award a $95 million contract by October for the Assessment of Sensing-Autonomy Sensor Exploitation Technologies (ASSET) program. ASSET’s goal, according to AFRL, is to provide the Department of the Air Force “with comprehensive tools to model, analyze, assess, and predict mission-level effects based on sensor performance obtained empirically or through modeling, simulation, and analysis across multiple domains to include air, ground, space, and cyber” in order to “generate knowledge and understanding of multi-domain sensing autonomy mission sets that fuse information from any source, reason closed loop over the environment, and enable improved, timely, and executable battle space decisions for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, Strike, and Electronic Warfare.”
Leidos, Saudi MoU. Leidos last week said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia’s National Security Services Company to collaborate on modernizing security detection technology for the country’s airports and ports of entry. Leidos, which already supplies security detection equipment to customers in Saudi Arabia, said it will provide people and baggage scanners, explosive detection devices, systems to rapidly screen cargo and vehicles, and local training and services. The MoU was signed during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum while President Trump was visiting Saudia Arabia in May.
Coastal Domain Awareness. The Coast Guard is planning a modeling and simulation (M&S) program to improve its missions around maritime domain awareness in coastal areas. The service last week issued a Request for Information saying the simulation will begin by ingesting geospatial data—landmasses, bathymetry, boundaries of territorial waters, and environmental conditions—that define an area of responsibility. The M&S program then populates the area with specific Coast Guard assets and simulates civilian and malicious actors that operate on past observed behaviors. The service’s assets attempt to detect the bad actors and conduct interdictions and boardings. The program could influence operating concepts.
AM Partnership. The Defense Department’s Manufacturing Technology Office has provided $2.1 million for a partnership between Japan’s Nikon Advanced Manufacturing and the Pennsylvania-based National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining to advance the adoption of Constellium’s Aheadd CP1 Aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing (AM) in aerospace and defense applications. The project also includes ASTM International and 3Degrees, a consortium of metal AM experts from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, General Atomics, and Honeywell Aerospace Technologies.
