Wilsbach Confirmed. A month after receiving his nomination, the Senate confirmed Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach as the next Air Force chief of staff last Thursday. Wilsbach, who headed Air Combat Command and Pacific Air Forces in his last two positions, has said that manned fourth, fifth and sixth generation fighters still have a role, as artificial intelligence for battle command and control matures. Autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft, in contrast to older, maintenance-dependent drones, will be “‘flyable storage,” he has said. Wilsbach has flown F-16, F-15, and F-22 fighters, according to his Air Force biography.
Romania Decision Pushback. The Republican leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services have pushed back on the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue a rotational brigade of troops in Romania, which was announced by Bucharest. “Pulling back U.S. forces from NATO’s Eastern flank prematurely, and just weeks after Russian drones violated Romanian airspace, undermines deterrence and risks inviting further Russian aggression,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement. “We are seeking clarification from the Pentagon on how it plans to mitigate the impact of this decision on NATO’s deterrence and defense posture and whether they coordinated with Allies to minimize these consequences. We will also seek assurances that, as the President has previously stated, the two armored brigades in Poland remain in place, and that the United States continues to sustain a persistent rotational presence in Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania.” Wicker and Rogers said Congress was not consulted on the decision.
…Dems Oppose Too. The top Democrats on SASC and HASC also criticized the move to reduce U.S. troop presence in Romania, stating it’s “a direct contravention of the overwhelming bipartisan congressional perspective on Europe and undermines Congress’s crucial role in the oversight process.” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said that “Reducing U.S. forces in Europe at this moment would be a dangerous step backward in the ongoing effort to keep the pressure on Putin to end his unjust and brutal war against Ukraine. Doing so without consulting Congress or providing a clear plan puts U.S. national security at risk and robs NATO of extremely capable warfighters in the face of an angry and violent Russia…The President and Department of Defense should immediately reverse course on this reckless path for the safety and stability of the U.S., NATO, Ukraine, and the world.”
GEK800 Engine. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and GE Aerospace said last Friday that they have completed altitude testing and conducted durability and limits testing of their GEK800 engine “for the next generation of affordable unmanned aerial systems and CCA-type aircraft.” The tests began in late September. Weighing 800 pounds, the GEK800, in addition to collaborative combat aircraft and other drones, may also power missiles, according to Kratos and GE Aerospace. “Initially developed and ground tested by Kratos over the course of a decade, Kratos and GE Aerospace began working together in 2023 to complete additional development efforts and testing on the engine and have completed more than 50 engine starts in ground testing at Kratos and GE Aerospace testing facilities,” the companies said. “In a collaboration with GE Aerospace, Kratos Defense, and Purdue Zucrow Labs, an aggressive test timeline was met and successfully demonstrated a reliable, durable engine.” The Air Force Research Laboratory and Office of Naval Research aided the testing, the companies said.
…Kratos-KAI Collaboration. Kratos last week also said that it has formed a partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to develop Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) technology. “The collaboration builds on Kratos’ deep experience in affordable, high-performance tactical unmanned aerial systems—including the XQ-58A Valkyrie, Mako, and Tactical Firejet—and KAI’s aerospace technologies,” according to Kratos. “The strategic partnership will focus on joint research, system integration, and evolution of scalable MUM-T applications, including autonomous loyal wingmen, distributed sensing, and collaborative strike missions, all focused on affordable mass. Kratos and KAI will also evaluate opportunities for technology co-development, production, and export in alignment with U.S. and allied defense requirements.”
L3’s Digital Cockpit. L3Harris Technologies Chairman and CEO Chris Kubasik last week said the company is pursuing “execution excellence” on its programs through an internal management platform it calls the “digital cockpit,” which leverages Palantir Technologies Foundry data analytics infrastructure to enhance decision-making. “The program digital cockpit aggregates data from hundreds of sources across L3Harris’ complex enterprise providing program teams with real-time access to the most critical metrics,” he said Oct. 30 on the company’s third quarter earnings call. “By leveraging automation and artificial intelligence, the platform accelerates decision-making, strengthens program execution and drives favorable program performance.”
…Just Getting Started. Digital Cockpit was launched in March 2025 and is now moving beyond the pilot phase, “onboarding our first tranche of programs across all [operating] segments through the end of 2025,” Kubasik said. L3Harris a year ago entered a strategic partnership with Palantir to better take advantage of the software company’s AI-based platforms and strengthen its enterprise-wide insights (Defense Daily, Oct. 25, 2024). Our strategic partnership with Palantir continues to deliver value, and the program digital cockpit is a clear example of how we’re investing in tools that improve execution and outcomes for our customers,” he said.
Shield in Kansas. Shield AI will lease 16,000 square feet of hangar and office space at Newton City/County Airport in Kansas, the city commission said last week. The five-year ease agreement also includes three acres of undeveloped land on the east side of the airport. The lease is for $90,000 annually and contains two five-year term options with an annual 1.5 percent increase on the hangar rate. Shield AI in October introduced its latest product, X-BAT, a vertical takeoff-and-landing fighter jet the company says will be piloted by artificial intelligence for missions in contested environments. “We look to Newton airport to be the spot to help unlock and continue to keep the U.S. at the forefront of artificial intelligence and specifically artificial intelligence on aircraft,” Jacob Miller, a company official, said in a statement. The city said Shield will initially use the site for “testing during the manufacturing process.”
New Bell Chief. Textron last week named Danny Maldonado as the new president and CEO of its Bell segment, effective Jan. 4, 2026, succeeding Lisa Atherton who was recently named as the new president and CEO of Textron. Maldonado is currently Bell’s chief commercial officer, responsible for global commercial aircraft sales, aftermarket business, the Bell Training Academy and new product development. He has been with Textron since 1990 and has had leadership roles in sales, business development, customer support and finance.
APFIT On Track. The Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program is on track for the first award cycle in fiscal year 2026 thanks to funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Defense Department said last week. “Pending the final selection and approval process, we plan to announce awardees as soon as feasible,” DoD said. The under secretary of defense for research and engineering uses APFIT funds to award procurement contracts, typically between $10 million and $50 million, to small businesses and non-traditional defense companies with innovative technologies that are ready for production and to be used in operations. The awards typically come about two years before the military services would budget funds through a Program Objective Memorandum, which signifies a program of record. The APFIT 26-2 cycle is expected to open in early 2026 if congressional appropriations are available.
Domestic Icebreakers. The Coast Guard last week issued two Requests for Information (RFI), one for Homeland Security Cutter—Medium Icebreakers and the other for Homeland Security Cutter—Light Icebreakers. The announcements kick off the service’s effort to recapitalize what was known as the service’s Domestic Icebreakers Program and acquire new fleets to break ice in the Great Lakes and Northeast U.S. The RFI for the medium icebreakers seeks designs for boats no longer than 140-feet that can break freshwater ice at least 22-inches thick. The medium craft would recapitalize the existing 140-foot WTGB fleet. The light craft would be 70-feet or less long, capable of breaking freshwater ice a foot thick and would replace the existing 65-foot WYTL fleet. Potential awards are planned for as early as mid-2026.
Ammo JV. Germany’s Rheinmetall announced on Oct. 28 it has entered into a new joint venture with Bulgaria’s VMZ and that the two firms will invest $1.2 billion into developing and manufacturing artillery shells and energetic materials. The companies will operate a production facility in the Sopot region of Bulgaria, with Rheinmetall holding a 51 percent stake in the joint venture and VMZ the remaining 49 percent. Rheinmetall said the aim of the JV is to build around 100,000 artillery shells annually along with propellant charges for up to 150,000 shells, with production of the former to begin in 2027 and the latter in 2028. “We are grateful for the Bulgarian government’s confidence in our capabilities. With the new production facility, we are further expanding our leading role as a manufacturer of artillery ammunition to continue supporting the defense capabilities of the European Union and NATO,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in a statement.
…Bradley Repairs. American Rheinmetall, the German firm’s U.S.-based business, said on Oct. 30 it has been awarded a $31 million contract to work on developing forward-deployment maintenance capability for Bradley fighting vehicles, specifically those previously donated to Ukraine. “The initiative aims to bridge the gap between battlefield damage and full depot-level repair by enabling rapid, efficient restoration of combat effectiveness until new parts or dedicated repair teams arrive,” the company said in a statement. “Once developed, this program will validate a scalable approach to establishing remote damage assessment and repair sites capable of operating in hazardous or harsh environments. The outcome will reduce downtime, improve readiness, and strengthen resilience across heavy equipment and infrastructure.” The project to work on repair capabilities for Ukraine’s Bradleys, built by BAE Systems, is expected to be completed in March 2027.
Leidos Divestiture. Leidos last week said it has agreed to sell its Varec business unit to an undisclosed customer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company acquired Varec in 2006. Varec provides automated fuel management solutions for defense and commercial customers. The business unit has 100 employees. Leidos said the pending sale is part of its NorthStar 2030 strategy to focus on the key growth areas of energy infrastructure, space and maritime, digital modernization, and cyber, mission software, and managed health services.
Catalyx Raise. Startup Catalyx Space, which is developing infrastructure for orbital logistics, has raised $5.4 million in an oversubscribed seed round to commercialize its next-generation reentry architecture, strengthen its international presence, and expand global customer acquisition capabilities. San Francisco-based Catalyx is developing technology for logistics to and from space. Outlander VC led the funding round. Catalyx had an earlier $1.7 million seed round.
U.K. Award to Slingshot. Slingshot Aerospace last week said it won the United Kingdom Space Agency’s Provision of Optical Delivery Partner contract to add to the country’s satellite tracking capabilities. Slingshot, which is based near Fort Collins, Colo., will deploy 13 new optical sensor systems at five global sites to track and characterize satellites, orbital debris, and other objects such as asteroids and comets. The value of the award was not disclosed. Slingshot said the new sensors are purpose-built to meet UK Space Agency requirements. “This sensor network is critical to our mission of protecting U.K. and allied interests in space and on Earth, and ensuring space remains safe and sustainable,” Angus Stewart, head of the U.K.’s National Space Operations Center, said in a statement.
Army UAS. EagleNXT said on Oct. 30 it has sold three of its eBee VISION drones to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (1-4 IN), which it noted is the dedicated opposing force for training efforts at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. “The eBee VISION drones will be utilized by 1-4 IN to enhance these training scenarios, offering advanced unmanned aerial capabilities that will be observed by diverse military units from multiple countries, fostering interoperability and readiness in coalition environments,” EagleNXT said. The company described the eBee VISION as a lightweight UAS designed for “high-resolution imaging, real-time data transmission, and a flight time of up to 90 minutes.”
