DoD Ready to Help. The Defense Department this fall will publish a Notice of Funding Availability seeking applications from companies in the supply chain for loans to modernize equipment and boost manufacturing in areas such as biotechnology, microelectronics, and advanced materials, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said last week. The loans will be managed by DoD’s Office of Strategic Capital, which stood up last year to “provide loans, loan guarantees, and technical assistance to companies working in areas that align with national security priorities,” she said at the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA Investment Summit. The funding call is the first of many planned to help commercialize and scale production in 31 critical technology categories, Hicks said.
New DARPA X-Plane. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) last week named the hybrid-electric uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) being developed under its Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) its official X-plane designation, the XRQ-73. The 1,250-pound Group 3 UAS is expected to fly in 2024, DARPA said. Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems segment is the prime contractor for SHEPARD and subcontractors include Scaled Composites, Cornerstone Research Group, Brayton Energy, PC Krause and Associates, and EaglePicher Technologies. “The SHEPARD program is maturing a specific propulsion architecture and power class as an exemplar of potential benefits for the Department of Defense,” Steve Komadina, SHEPARD program manager, said in a statement. The program is leveraging hybrid-electric architecture and some component technologies from the previous Air Force and intelligence community Great Horned Owl project.
Freedom Edge. The U.S., Japan and South Korea started the first Freedom Edge trilateral multi-domain exercise on June 27, set to last through June 29. This exercise plans to use ships and aircraft from all three countries to focus on cooperative ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction and defensive cyber training. Participating vessels include the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier, USS Halsey (DDG-97) and USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118) destroyers, Japan’s JS Ise (DDH-182) helicopter destroyer and JS Atago (DDG-177) destroyer, and South Korea’s ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong (DDG-993)and ROKS Kang-Gam-Chan (DDH-979) destroyers.
Trump On Ukraine. During the first presidential debate of the 2024 election, former President Trump claimed he would, if elected in November, have the war “settled” between Russia and Ukraine before his inauguration. “People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will get it settled and I’ll get it settled fast before I take office,” Trump said during the June 27 debate against President Biden. Trump also falsely claimed that the U.S. has spent more on aid for Ukraine than European countries’ total spending put together. According to the Kiel institute, European partners have committed a combined total of around $190 billion while the U.S.’ level is around $106 billion as of April 2024. “Every time that [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy comes to this country, he walks away with $60 billion dollars, he’s the greatest salesman ever,” Trump said.
M10 Booker Order. The Army on June 27 awarded General Dynamics Land Systems a $332.7 million contract modification for low-rate initial production of additional M10 Booker combat vehicles. Work on the latest production order is expected to be completed by October 2026. The Army has said its planning to begin the initial operational test and evaluation period for the new M10 Booker in late 2024 to early 2025, with an aim to achieve a First Unit Equipped milestone in late 2025.
Chollet. Derek Chollet, counselor to the State Department, will serve as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s new chief of staff. “He is one of the most distinguished, far-sighted and skillful national security practitioners of his generation, and I am grateful to him for taking on this key assignment at such an important moment,” Austin said in a June 24 statement. Chollet, who will replace Kelly Magsamen, was previously tapped to be the next under secretary of defense for policy last summer but his nomination has remained stalled in the Senate due to Republican objections. Before his current role as a top policy adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Cholley was an executive vice president at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. During the Obama administration, Chollet also spent time as a special assistant to the president and as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council staff.
T-AO 210. General Dynamics (GD) NASSCO conducted a keel authentication ceremony for the future USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210 John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler on June 21. A keel laying is the joining together of a ship’s modular components at the land level and marks the formal start of ship construction. This ship class, operated by Military Sealift Command, will provide oil, dry cargo and aviation capability to Navy ships at sea.
