Scout Space has won a new contract from the U.S. Space Force to deliver a new GEO Geostationary Orbit (GEO) space awareness domain (SDA) sensor. The contract, worth $3.8 million, is a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) Sequential Phase II contract by the USSF Space Systems Command (SSC) Space Safari Office, with $1.9 million coming from both SpaceWERX and Scout Space’s private match. Scout Space made the announcement May. 7.
The TACFI program will enable Scout to expand its delivery of advanced SDA data and observation systems, helping defense, civil, and private sector stakeholders maintain operational safety in orbit. The company said the funding aligns with its plans to deploy a distributed constellation of optical sensors and provide full GEO coverage and advancing global SDA networks.
With this funding, Scout will build the first GEO flight unit for its Owl product line, a long-range, independently taskable optical payload system in support of SSC’s Space Safari Office. Designed to deliver object detection and orbit determination, the gimbaled optical Owl sensor strengthens SDA capabilities through advanced tracking and monitoring features, further positioning Scout as a leader in space security technologies.
“The U.S. Space Force’s recognition of Scout’s potential is a testament to the growing importance of space domain awareness in today’s rapidly evolving space environment. This contract not only accelerates our ongoing innovations but also marks a significant step in our mission to improve the safety and security of space for both commercial and government stakeholders,” Philip Hover-Smoot, CEO of Scout Space, said in a statement.
The Missile Defense Agency on May 21 published a presolicitation notice previewing a new decade-long next-generation missile defense contract vehicle worth up to $151 billion total.
MDA expects to issue a draft solicitation for this upcoming Multiple Award Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract in late May or early June 2025.
“As a long-planned strategy, SHIELD will allow MDA and other DoD entities to rapidly issue orders under one enterprise flexible vehicle. The proposed contract vehicle anticipates a period of performance of 10 years, which will consist of a base ordering period and one or more optional ordering periods,” the notice said.
The agency also described SHIELD as essentially aimed at addressing the directives of the White House’s Golden Dome initiative, which seeks to detect, track and intercept threats from ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles as well as other aerial attacks on U.S. territory.
“The MDA requires an advanced, multi-domain defense system capable of detecting, tracking, intercepting, and neutralizing threats to the United States homeland, its deployed forces, allies, and friends across all phases of flight by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks,” the notice said.
MDA further intends the contract to help ensure a “continuous, layered protection against air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threats originating from any vector – land, sea, air, space, or cyberspace.”
The notice described the contract vehicle as aiming to provide rapid delivery of “innovative capabilities” to warfighters with more speed and agility while leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabled applications when relevant as well as maximizing the use of digital engineering, open systems architecture, model-based systems engineering and agile processes in acquisition, development, fielding and sustainment of the various missile defense capabilities.
MDA said it anticipates work areas under the IDIQ contract to cover applications across MDA’s purview, including science and technology, research and development, prototyping, demonstration and testing of prototypes, disruptive technologies, experimentation, architecture development, modeling and simulation, systems engineering, weapon design and development, integration and assembly, production and folding, test and evaluation, hardware and software modifications, and cybersecurity.
This is only the latest solicitation related to Golden Dome missile defense improvements.
Previously, MDA announced a new Multiple Authority Announcement (MAA) contract vehicle to let the Defense Department pursue non-traditional acquisitions under both traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contract and non-FAR work. This included pursuing technologies related to the Golden Dome order, like space-based interceptors (Defense Daily, March 31).
More recently, MDA issued the MDA Advanced Capability Concepts solicitation, seeking white papers on innovative concepts and technological innovations to enhance the missile defense system elements (Defense Daily, May 14).
Then, on May 20, the White House announced some basic figures of the Golden Dome initiative, including aggressive claims it will cost $175 billion and be completed within three years (Defense Daily, May 20).
However, a May 5 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report estimated the costs of space-based interceptors (SBI) section alone for Golden Dome could cost between $161 billion to $831 billion, depending on cost savings in space launch advances and how much the system will ultimately defend against long-range ballistic missiles.
President Trump’s original executive order directing the development of the Golden Dome architecture and system called for it to defend against all sorts of air and missile attacks, including long range ballistic missiles from peer or near-peer adversaries. For decades, the U.S. domestic missile defense system has been focused on defending against a small North Korean force.
The non-partisan think tank Federation of American Scientists’ (FAS) Nuclear Information Project, led by Hans Kristensen, estimates that as of 2025 Russia has 5,449 total warheads. While that number includes retired warheads awaiting dismantlement, FAS estimates about 1,710 Russian warheads are deployed on ballistic missiles and bomber bases.
Likewise, they estimate China has about 600 nuclear warheads, with the vast majority not actively deployed.
Russia’s 2022 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) declaration said it was deploying 1,549 strategic nuclear warheads on 540 strategic delivery systems, meaning ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers. However, Russia suspended its participation and reporting for New START in February 2023 after facing repercussions for its invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. intelligence community also estimates Russia has an arsenal of about 1,000 to 2,000 non-strategic shorter-range nuclear warheads not covered by the treaty.
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.
The Defense Innovation Unit last week issued a solicitation seeking commercial artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions for converging data inputs at the Navy’s Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs).
The Situational Awareness by Intelligent Learning Systems (SAILS) project is aimed at helping the Navy unify the vast amounts of data coming from different inputs—space-based, shipboard, airborne, intelligence reports, and others—and improve operational management.
The SAILS project will “improve situational awareness for operators, and optimize decision support tools by offering track confidence scoring and real-time recommendations to assist commanders in allocating geographically dispersed resources (eg. satellites, aircraft, vessels, etc.),” DIU said.
The AI/ML applications should address watch floor workflow automation, track confidence scores, sensor and resource optimization, natural language-based model tuning to allow end users to interact with the tool, and modularity and open architecture to integrate into existing and future Defense Department systems and interfaces.
Interested vendors must be experienced in working on classified networks. Reponses are due by June 6.
U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (USSF/SSC) is forecasting an up to $895 million to $905 million award by next February for a 10-year Maneuverable Geosynchronous Orbit (M-GEO) Satellite-Based Services contract.
In an FY 2025-2026 USSF Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Forecast to Industry, SSC said that the contract would provide “satellite services facilitated by on-orbit supportable spacecraft and the construction, launch, control, and operation of purpose-built M-GEO satellites” and that “the effort comprises the equipment and capabilities
for all domains and use cases, to include both user-to-user and reach-back capabilities, such as terrestrial backhaul for end-to-end connectivity from provider and government-controlled gateways.”
The Space Force’s first Space Warfighting Framework, released last month, highlights the importance of satellite maneuver to complicate adversary surveillance and targeting. Space Force said that it is pursuing “dynamic space operations” to include satellite maneuver among orbits, in-space refueling, on-orbit satellite repair/upgrades, and rapid launch/deployment of cheaper satellites.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, the Department of the Air Force’s acting space acquisition chief, said that Space Force is examining the incorporation of commercial features for the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) (Defense Daily, May 14).
Five of six Space Force GSSAP satellites by Northrop Grumman [NOC] are still in operation. Four launched between 2014 and 2016, and two in January, 2022.
Under the new commercial approach, Space Force operators would be “accomplishing the same GSSAP mission” and “using the same GSSAP system with the same ground systems and data they do now, but these would be using faster, cheaper commercial build times and less expensive parts in order to bring that together faster,” Purdy said.
After Space Force’s Space Systems Command received responses to a Request for Information last fall about the unclassified commercial geosynchronous space situational awareness need, Purdy signed an Acquisition Decision Memorandum to reflect the level of interest–what Purdy said has “been an ability that the international market’s been clamoring to provide” (Defense Daily, March 11).
GSSAP satellites maneuver to conduct rendezvous and proximity operations to monitor and inspect other satellites.
The Space Force fiscal 2025-2026 COMSATCOM forecast also includes a possible follow-on contract of $215 million to $225 million by September for commercial Ku-band services for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and a follow-on award by December of $140 million to $150 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) for “rapid purchase of Ku-bandwidth for airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and command & control missions in the USINDOPACOM Area of Responsibility” with “host nation agreements/frequency clearances as needed to enable access to services.”
In March 2020, Peraton received a nearly $219 million contract for the AFRICOM services, while SES Space and Defense–the U.S. arm of Luxembourg’s SES S.A.–holds the current contract for INDOPACOM.
The companies said they plan to look into both civil and military uses, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations as well as enabling low-emission, rapid-response logistics to support a range of U.K.-focused civil and military use cases, like cargo.
The current Archer Midnight eVTOL is billed as designed to conduct quick back-to-back 20-50 minute flights with a rapid “minimal charge time” between flights for a pilot and up to four passengers and carry-on luggage. The aircraft is powered by six independent proprietary battery packs and designed to reach speeds up to 150 mph.
Under this scheme, Anduril will be the lead systems integrator as it incorporates the software-defined mission autonomy, communications and command and control systems geared to U.K. operational need. Archer will then act as the platform provider, adapting the eVTOL for dual use applications and continuing existing work with Anduril on a planned hybrid aircraft.
AtkinsRéalis will provide its expertise in incorporating novel aviation technologies for the U.K. airspace, after it was appointed the first approved assessor of commercial drones by the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority.
The team added that Skyport Drone Service will also use their operational experience after delivering several beyond line of sight campaigns for major U.K. clients like the National Health Service and Royal Mail. Skyport participated in the 2024 Royal Navy Heavy Lift Challenge that showed off the efficacy of dual-use aircraft.
“The U.K. has clear ambitions both for innovation and growth, as well as to continue its leadership in advanced air mobility. This partnership brings together Archer’s leading eVTOL technology, Skyports’ infrastructure expertise and AtkinsRéalis’ safety systems in order to support future flight projects, accelerating VTOL and BVLOS developments. It also unlocks opportunities in defence and civil domains, including rapid, low-emission urban transport and surveillance capabilities for defence applications. Introducing Archer to the U.K., alongside experienced local partners, marks a step forward in delivering integrated air mobility,” Rich Drake, Managing Director of Anduril UK, said in a statement.
Anduril also argued that the team is “well-positioned to support the U.K.’s ambition to become a global leader in aviation technologies” by combining the latest advancements in eVTOL development, software-defined systems integration, regulatory experience and operational delivery.
Anduril boasted its software-focused approach to developing products allows them to deploy new systems quickly, citing the experience fielding several dual-use military capabilities like the Ghost autonomous uncrewed air system to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
In 2024, Anduril and Archer said they were in a separate exclusive partnership to jointly develop a next generation hybrid-propulsion VTOL aircraft for defense applications, seeking to ultimately get a program of record with the U.S. Defense Department. In August 2024 Archer delivered a Midnight eVTOL to the U.S. Air Force for flight testing an evaluation with its AFWERX innovation until (Defense Daily, Dec. 12, 2024).
“This team marks the next phase of our partnership with Anduril. There’s an incredible amount of opportunity here in the U.K. and worldwide to deploy dual-use advanced aircraft and we look forward to making it a reality,” Verity Richardson, Archer’s Head of Business Development for the U.K., said in a statement.
Skyports Drone Services’ director, Alex Brown, said this partnership is a “natural step” for them as the U.K. government advances enabling permanent BVLOS drone operations.
“Our first project on cargo services will lay the groundwork for other applications with significant value, such as surveillance and search and rescue.”
For his part, AtkinsRéalis’ Global Head of Aerospace and Defence David Clark said it will support the team to safely integrate automated uncrewed aircraft into U.K. skies with its experience with novel aircraft designs and emerging regulatory frameworks.
This teaming announcement comes after AtkinsRéalis and Skyports note they are members of the U.K. Advanced Mobility Ecosystem Consortium that has demonstrated the feasibility of an eVTOL ecosystem in the U.K. The consortium is developing technology, infrastructure, major aspects of passenger travel, vehicle operation, airspace navigation, ground charging and local stakeholder engagements.
A new blueprint that restructures the Coast Guard’s organization also puts a focus on technology advancement, directing the service to develop an integrated sensor and command and control network that brings together its maritime surveillance nodes and applies artificial intelligence to improve domain awareness.
The Coastal Sentinel system would create a “next generation maritime surveillance capability” to replace existing obsolete systems, the service says in Force Design 2028 that was released on Wednesday (Defense Daily, May 21).
“This is needed to deliver unprecedented identification and warning of threats along our border and maritime approaches to enable the Coast Guard and others to control, secure, and defend our borders,” the document says.
The Coast Guard’s existing sensor platforms include its ships and aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems that operate from its high-endurance cutters, its Rescue 21 communications network that uses direction finding for search and rescue operations, the Nationwide Automatic Identification System to be aware of vessels approaching U.S. waterways, ports, and infrastructure, and unmanned surface vessels operated by Saildrone that provide maritime domain awareness-as-a-service in certain areas (Defense Daily, Jan. 30, 2024).
The technology section of FD2028 says the Coast Guard will lead in adopting “advanced technology, human-machine teaming, and data to conduct operations, support, and enterprise functions.”
The Coast Guard historically funds a relatively meager research and development budget, and typically adopts mature systems and technologies that are proven and in use elsewhere. The service’s acquisition budget also has usually fallen short of its recapitalization needs, although President Trump and Republicans in Congress are advancing a reconciliation bill that would add about $22 billion over the next four to five years for asset purchases and infrastructure repairs (Defense Daily, April 30).
FD2028 also calls for the creation of a “Rapid Response Prototype Team” to quickly provide front-line operators advanced capabilities through streamlined processes, rather than first investing in major acquisition programs. This effort seems akin to what some of the innovation units are doing throughout the Defense Department.
The Coast Guard does do prototyping efforts, which has led to its current use of air and sea drones.
To bolster its acquisition efforts, FD2028 directs the establishment of five program executive offices (PEOs), including one for Revolutionary Robotics and Autonomous Systems, a new business line. The other PEOs would be Surface, Air, C5I, and Shore.
The Coast Guard currently has an acquisition directorate led by a flag officer with program managers as direct reports. The PEOs will all be new.
The force design blueprint says the PEO’s will “fully integrate capabilities” and “Sharpen readiness by transforming from the current stove-piped and disparate acquisition and sustainment across disconnected capability programs into a far more effective force.”
CULPEPER, Va. – L3Harris Technologies’ [LHX] Aerojet Rocketdyne division started clearing trees for new roads and facilities in recent months as it breaks ground to expand its Orange County, Virginia facility to produce small and medium solid rocket motors (SRMs) for the Javelin anti-armor missiles.
This expansion is primarily funded from a 2023 $215.6 million Defense Production Act (DPA) cooperative agreement to expand and modernize its facilities both here and in Huntsville, Ala. The DPA funds were part of the $40.1 billion Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 7691) agreed to by the former Biden administration and Congress.
Illustration of one of several future L3Harris Technologies Solid Rocket Motor production facilities currently under construction set to build Javelin rocket motors at its Orange County, Va., campus. (Image: L3Harris Technologies)
The government funding is oriented around replenishing its stock of thousands of Javelin missiles sent to Ukraine starting in 2022 for its defensive war against Russia’s invasion.
This follows a February groundbreaking at the company’s Camden, Ark., facilities to centralize production and improve throughput of missile propulsion systems for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) built by Lockheed Martin [LMT] for the Army (Defense Daily, Feb. 20).
The Virginia construction consists of five new solid rocket motor facilities to boost production and throughout for small and medium SRMs. Company officials here told reporters Wednesday this process will ultimately lead to them shifting Javelin SRM production from Camden to Orange County, following a period of overlap as the Virginia site ramps up.
Scott Alexander, president of L3Harris’s missiles solutions division, told reporters during a site visit that they expect construction to finish by the third or firth quarter of 2026 and start production by early 2027.
L3Harris emphasized the new spaces will add to their existing 256,000 square feet of manufacturing space with a new 12,000 square foot solid rocket motor case and assembly facility, control room, facilities to support mixing and grinding operations and upgrade to motor testing capabilities.
Notably, the company said the new consolidated cast and assembly building will centralize production to the extent that it will reduce the distance the motors travel during manufacturing by 90 percent.
Lockheed Martin and RTX [RTX] build the Javelin missiles under a joint venture. Last year, Lockheed Martin said production has increased from 2,100 to 2,400 missiles while they are working to increase rates up to 4,000 missiles annually by 2026. (Defense Daily, Aug. 29, 2024).
L3 Harris’ Aerojet Rocketdyne is working to increase production on its end to help match that rate.
“Those buildings specifically…they’re really also leveraging a lot of the automation, the robotics. How do we improve the overall experience here, and especially with building these new – we’re able to leverage a lot of that more future factory approach, and that’s going to lend ourselves directly to increasing the overall output of Javelin,” Julie Wikete, Aerojet’s Orange site director, added.
She emphasized the company is targeting to reach a 20 percent capacity increase for Javelin SRM production, which is aided by that 90 percent reduction in travel time between the buildings.
The travel reduction consolidation is achieved by “as much as we can limit to where we’re not taking cases across the site multiple times, we are reducing the overall time to build, which just immediately translates to faster out the door,” Wikete said.
Alexander noted the automation in the new facilities add “statistical reliability in what you’re building, and how you’re building, you take a lot of the human factor out of that. But also, it is more efficient and so ultimately that is going to affect the cost per round in terms of being economical.”
Wikete said they officially broke ground in March, after the government gave them the final go ahead. While construction work is just starting, she noted company teams have been working on building designs for years, “looking at what to implement, starting to trial some of these automation efforts, the robotics. What can we do so that we’re not just waiting until there’s physical brick and mortar to be able to start trying out some of those processes.”
Alexander added that beyond this new construction L3Harris has made “significant internal company investment” for SRMs, tied to tier three and four suppliers.
“We’ve invested in our tier three, four suppliers of over $25 million so far, and we’re continuing to look, we have a list of key suppliers that we continue to look across the range of our programs to invest because, ultimately, they have to provide the products necessary at the rate necessary for us to produce the rocket motors that we need.”
Although he would not identify specific suppliers, Alexander noted in one example they had to add a second supplier when one could only produce 12 cases per month due to its geography.
“We literally had to bring on another supplier and qualify another supplier so that we have dual suppliers. And that’s good for the system that we have dual suppliers, but also it allows us to get a capacity to the numbers of cases that we needed specific for this system.”
Alexander also did not state specific internal investment numbers related to supplementing the DPA funds to expand the SRM work, but said their internal investment has generally doubled what Aerojet was doing previously.
The company told Defense Daily L3Harris has nearly doubled capital investment in Aerojet Rocketdyne from 2023 to the 2025 plan.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Orange County site has been active for over 30 years and currently has over 350 employees on site. Beyond the upcoming Javelin work, the site provides SRMs for the Standard Missile, Nulka rocket-propelled ship decoy system, and launch abort system on the Orion spacecraft.
Wikete did not identify the specific numbers of employees they plan to add for the Javelin-related facilities, but said they are looking at how the Camden Javelin SRM facility operated and evaluating what makes sense at the Orange County site, especially in light of adding in the latest level of automation and robotic systems.
Despite any changes in workforce when they move the Javelin ARM production from Camden, Ark., to Orange County, Va., Wikete emphasized that “right now, we’re always hiring” and they are growing in non-Javelin areas too.
“We are open and taking applicants and looking for talent here on site, so the job prospects are great for here in Orange County, and we’ll continue to evaluate that. As the programs come online, more and more jobs will be opened up.”
DoD said that it has accepted a gifted 747-8 airliner from Qatar for conversion to an Air Force One presidential transport, and Boeing [BA] has provided to the U.S. Air Force an updated Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) that suggests the company could deliver its two VC-25Bs earlier than the previous dates of May 2027 and July 2027.
“Boeing provided an accelerated delivery estimate that could deliver VC-25B aircraft earlier if adjustments are made to requirements,” the Air Force said on Thursday. “The Air Force is coordinating with the White House and Boeing to further define the requirements and acceleration options while ensuring we provide a safe, secure, and reliable aircraft for the president.”
In January, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said that Elon Musk, then a top Trump adviser, had offered Boeing advice on ways to accelerate the fielding of the VC-25Bs.
Last August, the Air Force said that it expected Boeing to deliver the updated IMS by this spring to look at an acceleration of the planes before their projected deliveries of May 2027 and July 2027 (Defense Daily, Aug. 26, 2024).
The two VC-25Bs are to replace the two, 1990s-era VC-25As as Air Force One. Air Force practice is to have one plane in reserve at Joint Base Andrews, Md., in case needed.
Guidelines call for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to certify the plane before the Air Force receives the first one.
One of the main challenges for the VC-25B is the integration of wiring bundles, which will be double the number of those on the VC-25A. The latter has 238 miles of wiring.
The 250-foot-long VC-25B–18 feet longer than the VC-25A–is to have 5,500 square feet of space–1,000 more than the VC-25A; a digital cockpit; 32,200 more pounds of thrust than the VC-25A; and larger generators for new communications, navigation, and weapons systems, which may include decoy flares and lasers to disable or destroy threat missiles.
The Air Force has said that Boeing has been working with the service to head off any issues with potential fire hazard non-rechargeable lithium batteries on aircraft components, including ARC-210 radios, BIG SAFARI communications systems, and cryptography units.
During his first term, President Trump said that he had threatened to cancel the contract with Boeing as president-elect because “the price was too high.” Trump and the Boeing CEO at the time informally agreed on the $3.9 billion, firm fixed price contract for the two VC-25Bs in February 2018, the Air Force said.
Boeing is now on the hook for significant cost overruns on the Air Force One program.
Seven aircraft have served as Air Force One, beginning with the Douglas C-54 Skymaster, which carried then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
The Justice Department on Thursday said it has reached a $62 million settlement with L3Harris Technologies [LHX] to resolve allegations that one of the company’s business units knowingly submitted false pricing on dozens of prime and subcontracts with the Defense Department.
The alleged wrongdoing by the Utah-based Communications West business relates to price proposals for Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receivers, Video-Oriented Transceivers for Exchange Information, and Soldier Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance receivers used on unmanned aircraft systems.
The settlement covers activity between January 2006 and February 2014, which is when Communications West as part of the former L3Technologies. Harris Corp. later acquired L3 to create L3Harris Technologies.
“L3Harris is pleased to have been able to amicably resolve the matter referenced in the DoJ’s announcement,” the company said in a statement. “This matter, which dates back to 2006-2014, has been resolved without any admission of fault or liability. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the integrity of the government procurement process and accurate cost and pricing data.”
