Page 3 – Defense Daily

Sustainment Presents Hurdle for B-52 Modernization

BARKSDALE AFB, La.–Tail number 60-041 exited its parking spot, “Whiskey 2,” early afternoon on Tuesday for a planned five-hour flight to allow crew from the 93rd Bomb Squadron and 11th Bomb Squadron to polish their skills on the B-52H–this one the 41st such aircraft off the Boeing [BA] production line in 1960.

Shortly after take-off, co-pilots Lt. Col. James “Hoffa” Bresnahan, the commander of the 11th Bomb Squadron, and Lt. Col. Brandon “Steppen” Wolf, an instructor with the 93rd Bomb Squadron who also works as a commercial pilot for

FedEx Corp. [FDX], were answering a reporter’s questions on the cockpit’s old steam gauges and their contrast with the moving maps, modern displays, data feeds, and weapons re-targeting features provided to the aircrew by the Boeing Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) system, first fielded in 2014.

After a routine check of the air refueling system found that the hatch would not close, Wolf asked for further examination, and the crew found combustible hydraulic fluid–“hydro”–pooling on the floors.

Bresnahan and Wolf–graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy 2008 class–went through their check lists and decided to expend more fuel and stave off the loss of more hydraulic fluid by shutting some systems down before returning to Barksdale to land.

While base fire trucks came out onto the tarmac, the drogue-parachute assisted landing had come off without a hitch.

Hydraulic fluid is critical for operating flight controls, aircraft brakes, steering, and landing gear.

As the B-52H prepares to enter its seventh decade of service, the Air Force has said the 74 in the fleet are to be relevant in the years to come, especially given DoD’s stated focus on long-range strike options against China. 20 of the 74 planes are for training with the 93rd Bomb Squadron and its active duty counterpart, the 11th Bomb Squadron. Sustainment of the aging aircraft and adoption of new systems for it are challenges.

The B-52Hs, for example, are only now receiving the decades-old Link 16, and total fleet incorporation of the two main modernizations looks years away. Those efforts are the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) to replace the plane’s eight Pratt & Whitney [RTX] TF33-PW-103 engines, with Rolls-Royce F130s and the Radar Modernization Program (RMP) to replace the Northrop Grumman [NOC] APQ-166 with the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar based on RTX‘s [RTX] APG-79.

Unit costs for RMP have increased to 15 percent over the baseline–a status that represents a significant Nunn-McCurdy breach (Defense Daily, May 7).

Marine Corps Confirms Testing With Army Vessel That Will Be Basis Of New First Draft Of LSM

A Marine Corps unit that the Pentagon plans to ultimately deploy with the Landing Ship Medium (LSM) confirmed to reporters it has tested with an Army watercraft set to be the base design for the first revised LSM.

In the past two years while Lt. Col. Kevin Wheeler, logistics officer for the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), has been with the unit, “we’ve done extensive work with U.S. Army and Theater Sustainment Command. They employ Besson-class Logistics Support Vessels. They also employ Landing Craft Utility-2000 and all of our exercises that happen on the Big Island of Hawaii incorporate some level of watercraft transport with the U.S. Army, and that includes the logistics support vessel, the Besson-class and the Kuroda-class,” Wheeler told reporters during a media call on June 9.

In April, the Navy posted a pre-solicitation notice that it intends to issue Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC a sole-source contract for the first Landing Ship Medium (LSM) based on the non-developmental Israeli Logistics Support Vessel (ILSV) design. ILSV itself is based on the U.S. Army’s Frank S. Besson-class of logistics support vessels.

The Kuroda-class is a 42-foot-longer sub-variant of the Besson-class vessels.

This follows Navy acquisition officials last December confirming they pulled the previous LSM RFP due to industry bids being higher than expected and what the service was interested in (Defense Daily, Dec. 19, 2024).

The Government Accountability Office’s latest annual weapons systems assessment report noted industry’s offers on LSM were “hundreds of millions of dollars higher than budgeted” while Congress required the Navy to certify the vessel’s basic and functional design were complete before entering into a construction contract.

“The program determined that this legislation precluded it from negotiating about the cost drivers in the offers and from making the planned award, which combined design and construction,” the report said.

During the April Modern Day Marine conference in late April, Navy and Marine Corps officials added that requirements creep on the LSM pushed it into unaffordability, so they pushed this reset button. Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration, said they were now in a good place and “we are well postured to procure our first non-developmental item” (Defense Daily, April 30).

He said the services expect the first LSM to take four to five years to go from contract award to in the water and delivery, which will only serve as a Block 1 model. Follow-on vessels are expected to take lessons learned from using that, dubbed Block Next.

Concept design for the Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM), featured in an April Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. (Image: CBO) — Concept design for the Navy’s Medium Landing Ship (LSM), featured in an April 2024 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. (Image: CBO)

The Marine Corps hoped to ultimately field 35 LSM-type ships to transport the MLRs, but it settled on starting with 18 vessels, with the remaining potentially to be versions of the current Littoral Maneuver Bridging Solutions (LMBS) vessels. The LMBS includes the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship and a leased Offshore Support Vessel serving as a Stern Landing Vessel (LSM) to test LSM concepts.

Since restarting LSM, the Navy is using a provision in the FY 2025 defense authorization act that exempted it using full and open competition for the lead LSM if it chooses a commercial or non-developmental design, like the ILSV (Defense Daily, July 11, 2024).

Wheeler confirmed 3rd MLR trained with the Besson-class in January in Hawaii as they prepared for the recent Balikatan and KAMANDAG exercise in the Philippines.

He noted the regiment looks for every opportunity to train with and practice using those types of vessels and “we look forward to more opportunities to do that in the future.”

Col. John Lehane, commanding officer of 3rd MLR, said the regiment had a deliberate workup in Hawaii from December 2024 that continued into the new year to make sure they were combat credible before being deployed for the exercises in the Philippines.

“Shortly after the new year, we started a nearly 50-day exercise that culminated in a Marine Corps Combat Readiness evaluation…and there was a very substantive portion of that exercise to complement live force employment, to simulate things in the joint force that’d be really, really expensive to do all live. So that was a lot of aviation simulation. It was a lot of simulation of ships at sea. It was a simulation of an adversary kind of maneuvering against us in the Hawaiian archipelago. That was a great example of being able to do virtual and constructive [training] to complement a very robust set of live fire and maneuver exercises that went on across the Hawaiian archipelago as part of that exercise.”

DIU Seeks Funding for Active Response to Interference Against Commercial Satellite Operators

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is lining up funding for a project that will enable Department of Defense entities to actively respond to electromagnetic interference (EMI) incidents against commercial operators.

A contract vehicle is in place for a prototype that would leverage industry data to quickly report commercial satcom interference events to entities with Title 10 authorities, according to Space Force Lt. Col. Allen Varghese, deputy director of DIU’s Space Portfolio. Title 10 outlines the role of the U.S. Armed Forces.

“While commercial companies are focusing on resuming operations, can we get that data, get it to the operator and funnel it to Title 10 entities that can prosecute that data — characterize it, geolocate and do what they need to do to prevent that from happening again?” Varghese told a satcom industry audience Monday at MILSATCOM USA. “We’re working with multinational Joint Commercial Operations cell (JCO) to prototype that capability.”

DIU is closing on funding for the project with an unnamed vendor in collaboration with the JCO. At this stage, the project is intended to work with commercial partners to take existing data on interference events and “prototype getting that data back to the operations floor and funneling in to those that can do something about it,” Varghese explained.

With a growing reliance on commercial satcom across the DoD, mitigating commercial satcom interference is a key element to resiliency. The JCO operations floor is aware of interference incidents, but it often takes days for the information to reach them, Varghese told sister publication Via Satellite. Commercial operators and service providers actively monitor and collect data on interference, but their priority is to maintain service.

“There’s no incentive for them to do anything with that interference data — geolocating it, characterizing it,” he told Via Satellite. “So, we ask them: What would it look like if we paid for that data and then we give that to the operators on the ops floor so they can do something with that data?”

Commercial satellite operators have been subject to a growing number of threats, including cyberattacks and electromagnetic interference. Space Force has sought to mitigate those threats through both classified and unclassified information-sharing programs and through offices like the JCO and Commercial Integration Cell.

While the DIU project is not yet approved, it would help operations, Varghese noted. “If we know where an emitter is, we can characterize that emitter; we can prosecute against that emitter and use Title 10 capabilities.”

The project would be part of DIU’s core lines of effort, which include resilient communications, persistent sensing and fusion for space domain awareness, manufacturing and supply chain resiliency, responsive space and advanced power and propulsion.

In addressing the need for assured, low-latency, multi-path satcom, DIU is also working to reduce latency for data transmitted on-orbit and in contested environments. The effort includes a procurement project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to achieve optical communications interoperability among government and commercial constellations. It builds off DARPA’s Space-BACN and seeks to incentivize commercial providers to develop interoperable gateways and longer-range laser communications.

According to Varghese, the project will not be a full modem, but a software-defined, reprogrammable photonics-on-a-chip to switch between different vendors’ waveforms.

Given the contested RF domain and growing concerns about electromagnetic interference, Space Force leaders are keenly interested in long-range laser comms, especially space-to-ground optical communications as an alternative data route.

This story was first published by Via Satellite

Honeywell, Near Earth Conduct First Flight Test Of Autonomous AW139 Helicopter

Honeywell [HON] and Near Earth Autonomy

have completed the first flight test of their autonomous Leonardo AW139 helicopter offering for the Marine Corps’ Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) program, the firms announced Tuesday at the Paris Air Show.

The companies described the recent test as a “major milestone” in their work on the ALC effort, adding it demonstrated the “feasibility of uncrewed, autonomous aircraft capable of operating in contested environments without an onboard pilot or remote operator.”

Honeywell and Near Earth Autonomy conduct a flight test with their autonomous Leonardo AW139 helicopter offering for the Marine Corps’ Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) program. Photo: Honeywell.

“Not only is this successful demonstration a major step in creating brand new possibilities for the [Marine Corps], but it also creates a potential pathway for use by other helicopter operators as well,” Bob Buddecke, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies’ president for electronic solutions, said a statement. “Together with Near Earth Autonomy and Leonardo, we’re showing how existing aircraft can be adapted with trusted avionics to support the next generation of defense logistics. Uncrewed aircraft will be vital in keeping service men and women as safe as possible in contested environments, and we are one step closer to realizing that vision.”

The Marine Corps in July 2024 selected Near Earth Autonomy and its team with Honeywell and Leonardo Helicopters, for the ALC development effort, with an aim to have an unmanned cargo-carrying prototype that’s ready to transition into fielding within five years (Defense Daily, Oct. 28 2024).

The Near Earth-led ALC team is dividing the work into having Leonardo implement a fast-loading, security and unloading system for Joint Modular Intermodal Containers on its AW139 helicopter, Honeywell providing the helicopter’s autopilot that it will augment for autonomous take-off and landing and Near Earth demonstrating a full integrated logistics system with onboard autonomy to guide the aircraft and modify flight trajectory to avoid hazards.

Airbus U.S. has also been selected for the ALC program and is developing an unmanned version of the UH-72 Lakota aircraft, dubbed the MQ-72C, along with L3Harris Technologies [LHX] as the lead systems integrator and Shield AI as the autonomy software provider (Defense Daily, May 20).

The Marine Corps has also tapped Sikorsky [LMT] to demonstrate its optionally-piloted UH-60 Black Hawk, which utilizes its Matrix autonomy software, plans to conduct flight tests this year to inform the ALC development effort.

Honeywell said the autonomous AW139 test flight took place in Phoenix, Arizona in May and included having the aircraft controlled directly by Near Earth’s onboard autonomy software without pilot input for the first time, “showcasing precise flight control and autonomous decision-making.”

“This flight showcases Near Earth Autonomy’s leadership in developing trusted autonomy for real-world operations,” Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth, said in a statement. “By directly controlling the AW139’s flight modes with our autonomy system, we’ve shown that scalable autonomous logistics using existing platforms is not just possible — it’s happening now. This capability is essential for reducing risk to military personnel and ensuring resilient supply chains in the field.”

Honeywell and Near Earth said future testing in support of the ALC development effort will look to expand on their platform’s autonomy capabilities to include “automated obstacle avoidance and integration into military logistics workflows, resulting in a safer, uncrewed delivery system to help boost operational readiness and improve responsiveness in theatre.”

General Atomics Simulates Live Shootdown Using MQ-20 UAS Equipped With AI Pilot

An MQ-20 Avenger unmanned combat aerial vehicle equipped with artificial intelligence-based flight software successfully simulated an autonomous shootdown of live aircraft earlier this month, General Atomics (GA) and Shield AI said on Tuesday.

General Atomics said the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) demonstrated midair station keeping, autonomous decision-making, manned-unmanned teaming, live aircraft intercept of two aircraft, and a simulated missile shot against representative Group 5 UAS.

The testing in a live-virtual-constructive environment on June 11 included multiple live and virtual aircraft. The event occurred at GA’s flight facility in El Mirage, Calif.

The MQ-20 Avenger was equipped with a government reference autonomy architecture and Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomous pilot software.

The test also showcased the rapid transition of the government software to Hivemind in flight, with both performing similar profiles without affecting the aircraft or mission, GA said.

The company also said that using the shared reference architecture allows the government to choose autonomy pilot software from more vendors.

“This demonstrates how standardized reference architectures are streamlining hardware and software integration, even from different vendors,” GA’s Aeronautical Systems, Inc.’s (ASI) division said. GA-ASI makes the Avenger.

In addition to the MQ-20, Shield AI said its Hivemind software also commanded a digital twin of the UAS, “executing coordinated tasks across physical and virtual aircraft in a blended mission scenario.” The software also connected with command and control systems and edge systems, the company said.

The recent exercise with the second flight test of the MQ-20 equipped with Hivemind and the government’s reference architecture. The first was in February at the Air Force’s Orange Flag exercise (Defense Daily, March 4).

Hivemind has been integrated on a number of aircraft—including an Air Force F-16—to showcase scalability of the software across platforms.

GA-ASI uses the jet-powered MQ-20 as a testbed for autonomous collaborative platforms. The company and Anduril Industries are each developing autonomous air vehicles for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

Anduril Working With Riverside Research To Strengthen Cybersecurity Of Lattice

Anduril Industries and the non-profit research and development company Riverside Research

are collaborating to apply tools developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to close any cybersecurity gaps in the startup defense company’s open systems software platform that enables the integration and operation of autonomous systems.

The companies said that Riverside’s parser technology, which leverages DARPA’s formal mathematical methods, systems for warfighters and other users. In addition to Anduril’s Lattice software platform, Riverside’s expertise will be applied to subcomponents that are common across the defense company’s products.

“Making software-defined systems impervious to cyberattacks is critical to ensuring that warfighters can count on those systems to complete their missions,” Gokul Subramanian, Anduril’s head of engineering, said in a statement. “By combining DARPA’s advances in formal methods, Riverside Research’s proven secure parser technology, and Anduril’s software-defined, hardware-enabled capabilities, we are pioneering efforts within the defense industrial base to permanently eliminate cyber vulnerabilities at the tactical edge. Together, we hope to spur widespread adoption of formal methods across all systems withing the Department of Defense.”

Raft Acquires N3bula Systems To Strengthen AI-Based Military Data Networks

Data engineering and software development company Raft on Tuesday said it has acquired N3bula Systems, adding expertise in systems architecture, infrastructure management, and cloud solutions to provide the Defense Department capabilities in creating artificial intelligence-based operational networks that link disparate elements across the battlespace.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. N3bula is based in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has more than 20 employees.

Raft, which is based in Northern Virginia, said the merger of the companies enables it to provide solutions at the tactical edge.

“N3bula Systems’ infrastructure expertise combined with Raft’s agentic AI creates unified command and control operating at machine speed across every domain,” Bhaarat Sharma, Raft’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “This technological combination enables the seamless sensor-to-shooter integration that military leaders have identified as essential for maintaining operational advantage against near-peer threats at global scale.”

Raft is the prime contractor for the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) Communication Broker for Cloud Based Command and Control (CBC2), which it won in 2023. The Comms Broker for ABMS CBC2 provides the “connective tissue that links sensors, shooters, and decision-makers across domains,” a company spokesperson told Defense Daily. “N3bula brings the infrastructure expertise behind some of the most critical C2 and fires integration efforts in the DoD.”

Raft has more than 350 employees.

BWXT Selects New Chief Nuclear Officer

Kevin McCoy has been appointed as BWX Technologies’ [BWXT] newest chief nuclear officer, the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear fuel company announced Monday.

McCoy, formerly the company’s Government Operations president since 2022, will be responsible for supporting the Department of Defense and Navy in accelerating Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production.

As McCoy steps into his new role, Joseph Miller will take over as president of Government Operations and leave his role of president of BWXT Advanced Technologies that he had since 2021. Katherine (Kate) Haggerty Kelly will succeed Miller as president of BWXT Advanced Technologies.

These management changes come among others at the company, including the newest chief human resources officer Gonzalo Cajade.

Mach Industries Closes $100 Million Round To Scale Production Operations

Mach Industries on Tuesday said it has closed a $100 million Series B round that will be used to scale production of its strike and other platforms, and small turbine engines.

The funding round was led by Khosla Ventures

and Bedrock, which led Mach’s $79 million Series A round and participated in the startup’s seed round.

At its Forge Huntington manufacturing facility in California, Mach is developing and building its Viper vertical takeoff cruise missile. The company is also developing Glide, a transonic glider to deliver munitions, and Stratos, a high-altitude platform balloon that would carry sensors, communications payloads, and effectors.

The company is taking a vertically integrated and distributed approach to manufacturing.

Mach Propulsion is the company’s relatively new division focused on producing microturbines to power cruise missiles, and Group 4 and lighter unmanned aircraft systems to meet its own needs and those of other companies (Defense Daily, March 20).

“Global security depends on America’s ability to create asymmetric unmanned capability,” Ethan Thornton, founder and CEO of Mach Industries, said in a statement. “That means scaling production, building new facilities and fielding systems that deter conflict.”

Mach has 140 employees. Sequoia Capital and existing investors also participated in the Series B round.

Satellite Developer Portal Space Opens First Manufacturing Facility

Satellite developer Portal Space Systems on Tuesday said it has opened a 50,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, the startup’s first as it prepares to begin production of its highly maneuverable Supernova spacecraft.

The facility in Bothell, Wash., near Seattle is three miles from its existing 8,000 square-foot design and testing hub where it is developing Supernova and its subsystems. Portal Space has 35 employees.

Portal Space expects its manufacturing center to begin operations in late 2026 and producing one spacecraft a month by 2027 to meet customer demand. The facility, which will include manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing, research and development, and advanced engineering, will bring more than 100 new jobs over two to three years, the company said.

“With growing demand from both our commercial and defense partners, this new facility marks the next strategic step in Portal’s evolution,” Jeff Thornburg, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “By expanding our footprint in Bothell, we’re doubling down on local talent, proximity to core operations, and a growing aerospace ecosystem supported by state leadership.”

Portal’s first mission to orbit is planned for early 2026 aboard Momentus Inc.’s Vigoride orbital service vehicle. That mission will be used to validate key subsystems for Supernova (Defense Daily, May 30).

In April, Portal announced a $17.5 million seed round to support the full-scale demonstration of the transorbital Supernova (Defense Daily, April 3). Previously, the company raised $5.5 million in a pre-seed round.