Page 46 – Defense Daily

Blue Origin May Launch Future GPS Missions, As Space Force Says ULA and Blue Origin Have ‘Credible Plans’ for Certification of Rocket Launches From Both Coasts

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the only company certified for U.S. Space Force (USSF) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) missions launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. so far, but United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin–the two other providers awarded contracts for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3, Lane 2 have a “credible plan” for such certification of launches from both coasts by Oct. 1 next year, Space Force officials told reporters on Tuesday.

On Friday, Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) said that it had awarded up to $13.7 billion for 54 missions in NSSL Phase 3, Lane 2 through fiscal 2029–more than $5.9 billion for 28 missions by SpaceX, more than $5.3 billion for 19 missions by ULA, and nearly $2.4 billion for seven missions by Blue Origin (Defense Daily, Apr. 4).

ULA is a partnership of Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Boeing [BA].

ULA said last December that it was funding modifications at Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-3 to permit the launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket–modifications that include a new fixed launch platform. On March 26, Space Force said that it had certified Vulcan for NSSL (Defense Daily, March 26). Blue Origin said that it conducted the first NSSL certification flight for its New Glenn rocket in January at Cape Canaveral, but the company has not announced plans for West Coast launches.

To be eligible for the Phase 3, Lane 2 awards, bidders had to demonstrate to Space Force their ability to provide certified rockets for Space Force/NRO launches from both coasts or a plan to meet those requirements by next Oct. 1.

Space Force Mission Assignment Boards may switch launch providers, depending on companies meeting those requirements.

Last Friday, SSC said that the Mission Assignment Board assigned seven launches worth nearly $846 million to SpaceX under Phase 3, Lane 2– NROL-96, NROL-97, NROL-157, USSF-186, USSF-234, USSF-174 and USSF-15 for a Lockheed Martin GPS IIIF satellite.

SSC said that ULA got two missions worth about $428 million for USSF-50 to orbit the second Northrop Grumman [NOC] Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared GEO satellite and USSF-49/GPS IIIF-2.

Blue Origin “has its first opportunity for a mission in FY 26,” SSC said.

“The way the acquisition strategy [for Phase 3, Lane 2] was set up to allow three providers to compete for those missions, of the 54 [missions], we took first seven that were starting with some of the less complex missions, for example GPS, and set that aside for the third provider,” Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, SSC’s program executive officer for assured access to space, told reporters on Tuesday. “Those seven would start in the second order year [FY 2026].”

Of the remaining 47 missions, SSC set aside about 60 percent for the first provider–SpaceX, in this case–and 40 percent for the second–ULA, in this case.

“We would like to be able to increase the amount of competition and also increase the number of companies that can meet our requirements,” Panzenhagen said of NSSL. “You saw that go up from Phase 2 with the two providers and Phase 3 where we could award three providers, which we did. Phase 4 is still five years off so TBD what the acquisition strategy will be for Phase 4, but overall, especially when you combine Lane 2 with Lane 1 and bringing in the newer providers in Lane 1, the intent is to help grow our commercial industry that is more competitive and more capable when we look at the national security space launches.”

NSSL Lane 1 is for commercially addressable orbits and allows awards to emerging providers, while Lane 2 is for highest-reliability launches of national security payloads.

Lane 1 includes four tiers of mission assurance, ranging from the lowest level–Tier 0, such as replaceable, proliferated Space Development Agency satellites, to Tier 3, such as the future launch of the second BAE Systems‘ low Earth orbit Weather System Follow-On Microwave satellite.

Lane 1 awardees so far include SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab [RKLB] and Stoke Space Technologies.

Brandon Williams, NNSA Head Nominee, Vows To ‘Push Back’ For ‘Specialized’ Workforce

Facing possible steep cuts to the agency he has been nominated to lead, former Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), President Trump’s nominee to head the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), on Tuesday pledged to advocate for the “specialized” workforce handling the U.S. nuclear stockpile.

“If confirmed, I commit to you that I will stand up for the men and women of NNSA [National Nuclear Security Administration], that we are, that I will advocate for them,” Williams told a Senate panel. “We’re facing a moment in history where NNSA must perform.”

William’s comments on advocating for what he called the “specialized” workforce handling the U.S. nuclear stockpile come shortly after a

leaked administration memo that said only 56% of the DoE workforce should be considered essential, while 8,500 DoE staff, including 500 NNSA employees, could be deemed non-essential.

Since the memo was leaked Friday, many senators asked Williams at his confirmation hearing if he would stand up for NNSA’s workforce. While Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did not ask Williams any questions at the hearing, she sent him a letter Monday questioning his qualifications for the role, and asked him to respond by Apr. 14, whether he supports the mass firings at NNSA.

Warren and her staff told sister publication The Exchange Monitor that Williams had not responded to her letter yet.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), ranking member of the Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, said he wasn’t sure what costs would be cut since he “did a little calculation” and cutting 20% of NNSA’s workforce, or 500 employees, only took up two-tenths of a percent of the agency’s budget. “What’s to be gained by reducing the staff by 20% of this essential, essential agency in this moment of the rebuilding of our nuclear triad,” King said.

“The effect on morale in the workforce I think is something to be considered,” King added, referring to the 500 people that were referred to as “non-essential” during the “demands” on the workforce since the “founding of the agency.” “I hope you can address this early in your tenure.”

Navy May Look To Retire Cruisers Under Budgetary Pressure

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Navy may consider retiring early or winding down Ticonderoga

-class cruisers as the service faces budget pressure under a full-year continuing resolution (CR) and the continuing focus on improving shipbuilding and adding unmanned systems.

“There may be some opportunity to look at some of our platforms, and I’ll use cruisers as an example. To me, I’m a cruiser sailor. I love cruisers. We’ve had them for a long time but my ability to keep them at sea to do that mission is challenging, increasingly challenged because of [hull, mechanical and electrical, HM&E] hull cracking and tank cracking,” Adm. James Kilby, acting Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and vice CNO, told reporters here Monday at the annual 2025 Sea-Air-Space expo.

Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby moderating a panel at the Sea-Air-Space 2025 maritime exposition in National Harbor, Md. on April 7, 2025. — Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby moderated the “Ready Our Platforms” panel at the Sea-Air-Space 2025 maritime exposition at the Gaylord National Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland, April 7, 2025. The Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition is an annual maritime exposition that brings together defense industry leaders and top military decision-makers from around the world to share the latest advancements in the maritime domain. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Vanessa White/Released)

“So, to me, if I can’t keep that ship at sea, it’s of no use to the Combat Commander or the President or the Secretary of Defense. So, to me, we’ll have to really look at the efficacy of the force. We have to be able to do what we need to do,” he continued.

Kilby admitted while the classic discussion balancing cruisers focuses on their number of Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells, that is only a logical point “if that shop can be where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. So to me, our destroyers are doing the mission, and they’re doing well there.”

This comes amid near-term budget constraints from a year-long continuing resolution that allows the Pentagon to authorize some new-start programs, but does not keep up with inflation. The Secretary of Defense also plans to cut and reinvest up to eight percent of its fiscal year 2026 budget.

Given these budgetary pressures, Kilby said his focus areas include how the Navy needs to increase its capacity, “whether it be robotic and autonomous systems or shipbuilding,” as well as improving munitions industrial base and procurement improvements and manpower/recruitment.

Kilby noted Vice Adm. Brendan McLane. Commander of Naval Surface Forces, is working to increase overall surface ship on-time maintenance, which he boasted doubled from 2023 to 2024.

“We need to continue on that march to get to that availability, until we can build more platforms.”

In recent years the Navy’s budget requests have sought to retire some of the cruisers before the end of their expected service lives. Most recently, the FY 2025 request sought to retire USS Shiloh (CG-67) and Lake Erie (CG-70) early. The Biden White House at the time argued these ships are “currently in a condition that renders modernization and restoration to full operational capability cost-prohibitive” (Defense Daily, June 11, 2024).

Congress ultimately allowed the ships to be retired, but lawmakers on the Armed Services Committees have been broadly skeptical of early ship retirements amid concerns of losing capabilities like VLS cells while new ship construction is delayed.

Beyond weighing how many cruisers to retain, Kilby said one of the seven goals of Navy leadership is increasing the hybrid robotic and autonomous systems fleet.

“The challenge for us is to really robustly lay out a road map to get there as we’ve had some fits and starts there. So we must do better.”

The USS Lake Erie (CG-70) cruiser. (Photo: U.S. Navy) — The USS *Lake Erie* (CG-70) cruiser. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Kilby intimated the service is keeping to the 2027 focus from former CNO Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s NAVPLAN, which includes targets of being able to sustain an 80 percent combat surge ready posture for ships, submarines and aircraft; integrate proven robotic and autonomous systems for routine use, and all fleet headquarters have ready Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs) certified and proficient in necessary function, starting with the Pacific Fleet (Defense Daily, Sept. 18).

He confirmed the Navy’s focus is still initially fielding a certain level of unmanned capability by 2027 to improve Pacific region capabilities. Past 2027, the Navy is focused on integration of unmanned and manned platforms “in a meaningful way.”

He underscored the upcoming MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned tanker is the next big step that will later be expanded to other concepts.

“Beyond that, once we do that, I’m looking at sensors, I’m looking at electronic attack, possibly a loyal wingman concept. But I also have to have unmanned surface things helping me in that fight as well.”

Kilby also praised John Phelan, the new Secretary of the Navy.

I’m super encouraged by Secretary Phelan, our new secretary. He has been in the office just a short time, but he is a force to be reckoned with, and I’m excited to partner with him to get after shipbuilding in a manner we haven’t before.”

Kilby was unwilling to comment on what affects the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs may have on shipbuilding costs.

“Too early for me to understand and I’m way out of my comfort zone about what impact the tariffs might or might not have.”

Trump, Hegseth Announce Plan For $1 Trillion Defense Budget Request

President Trump said Monday his administration’s forthcoming defense budget proposal will have a topline of around $1 trillion, a record first for the Pentagon.

“We have great things happening with our military. We also essentially approved a budget, which is in the [vicinity], you’ll like to hear this, of a trillion dollars. $1 trillion and nobody’s seen anything like it. We have to build our military, and we’re very cost conscious, but the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong, because you’ve got a lot of bad forces out there now. So we’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military,” Trump said in remarks from the Oval Office while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Trump addresses the audience after the inaugural parade during the 60th Presidential Inauguration at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2025. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Danny Gonzalez)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed up Trump’s announcement, adding in a social media post that the trillion dollar budget request is “coming soon.”

“COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar [Department of Defense] budget. President [Trump] is rebuilding our military — and FAST. (PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness)” Hegseth wrote.

A budget proposal at that level would be the first defense spending request to cross the trillion dollar mark and would represent a significant boost to the current $892 billion topline for FY ‘25 set by the full-year continuing resolution.

The announcement also stands in stark contrast to a proposal Trump has previously floated that he wanted the U.S. to meet with the leaders for China and Russia and have all three nations agree to cut their military budgets “in half” (Defense Daily, Feb. 14).

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chair of the Armed Services Committee, has previously detailed an agenda to boost U.S. defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, likely pushing the Pentagon’s topline over the trillion-dollar mark (Defense Daily, May 29 2024).

Roman Schweizer, an analyst with TD Cowen, noted a $1 trillion defense budget request would likely mean “a $50 billion increase for 050 National Defense, which was projected at $951 billion for the FY ‘26 request” and said Trump’s comment likely doesn’t factor in the $150 billion for defense that the Senate included in its recently-passed budget resolution proposal (Defense Daily, April 2).

“The FY26 budget will need to be approved by Congress, and we do not believe the next appropriations cycle will be easy. We would expect significant cuts to non-defense programs in the budget proposal, and Democrats may this time use their leverage to fight for a spending deal,” Schweizer wrote.

NRO Launching Two More Proliferated Architecture Missions In April

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) this month will launch two more missions as part of its proliferated architecture, the agency’s director said Tuesday in a statement.

The two launches will be within days of each other and are the ninth and 10th of the architecture, and demonstrate the rapid launch cadence planned through 2029 for the proliferated space architecture, NRO Director Chris Scolese said in videotaped remarks the agency released on Tuesday morning. The agency released the video on its website and its social media channels.

The names of the two missions, the launch locations, and “no-earlier than launch dates” will be disclosed on Wednesday, the agency said. SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 launch vehicle will lift the missions to orbit.

In late March, NRO launched NROL-57, the eighth proliferated architecture mission, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Defense Daily, March 21). The NROL-57 mission was followed closely by NROL-69, also aboard a Falcon 9 and the fifth launch for the agency this year (Defense Daily, March 24).

Scolese also said that another NRO launch is planned this month for a “national security mission” separate from the proliferated architecture.

The agency in March had said the NROL-69 mission was its fifth launch this year, with about a dozen planned in 2025. The NROL-69 mission is not part of the proliferated architecture.

“This enhanced constellation is already shortening revisit times and increasing observational persistence, delivering enhanced coordination, and empowering faster data processing, fusion, and transmission speeds,” Scolese said in the video. “All with greater resilience and security. Most profoundly, we’re making it harder for our adversaries to hide, while reducing time to insights for our customers from minutes to seconds, strengthening national security with improved prospects for lethality, when it’s necessary.”

The U.S. currently “can see, hear, and sense better than any other nation on earth,” he said.

Millennium Space, L3Harris Complete Critical Design Review For FOO Fighter

Boeing’s [BA] Millennium Space Systems on Monday said it had completed the critical design review (CDR) for a missile defense fire control program managed by the Space Development Agency (SDA).

The successful CDR mean the SDA’s Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (FOO Fighter) program is transitioning to production.

L3Harris Technologies [LHX] is developing the electro-optical and infrared sensor payloads for Millennium’s eight satellites that will be launched into a prototype constellation to assess fire control capability for the global detection, warning, and tracking of advanced missile threats, including hypersonics.

L3Harris also said it completed the production readiness review that showcased its plans to produce its infrared sensor payloads quickly. The satellites will be launched into low Earth orbit.

“This work alongside SDA’s tracking layer for Tranche 0, Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 will progress on-orbit advanced space capabilities to detect, track and engage in order to protect the nation from missile attacks, at a fraction of the cost of legacy space architectures,” Ed Zoiss, president of L3Harris’ Space and Airborne Systems segment, said in a statement. “The path forward to fully enabling a space-based Golden Dome for America starts with proliferation and precision fire-control sensing.”

The CDR was completed 10 months after Millennium received authorization to proceed. The company won the $414 million FOO Fighter contract last April (

Defense Daily, April 30, 2024).

DIU Taps Firefly Aerospace For Responsive On-Orbit Mission

Firefly Aerospace on Monday said it has received a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to supply its Elytra spacecraft for a 2027 mission in low Earth orbit (LEO) for responsive on-orbit tasks, including space domain awareness.

The award follows a trade study contract Firefly received from DIU a year ago under the Sinequone project to rapidly launch Elytra to xGEO, which is beyond geosynchronous orbit (Defense Daily

, March 22, 2024). Firefly said the Elytra mission to LEO is the first step for future responsive missions in xGEO as part of the Sinequone effort.

Elytra will host different government payloads for the mission, which is set to launch as early as 2027. The payloads include optical visible and infrared cameras, a responsive navigation unit, and a universal electrical bus with a payload interface module.

DIU told Defense Daily that the award was for the second phase of the three phase Sinquone project. The Phase 2 effort “will demonstrate their orbit transfer vehicle in LEO to provide responsive maneuverability data in order to refine the third phase which is the delivery demo to orbit in cislunar space,” DIU said.

Firefly also said the mission will consist of the Elytra Dawn configuration and will include some common components with its launch vehicles and lunar landers, such as avionics, composite structures, and propulsion systems. The spacecraft’s main engine, Spectre, was used as the reaction control system for final descent of the company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander on the moon.

The first Elytra mission is slated for launch this year in support of the National Reconnaissance Office for a responsive on-orbit demonstration.

Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle was used by the Space Force and DIU in the fall of 2023 for the VICTUS NOX tactically responsive space (TacRS) mission, and is under contract to launch the service’s VICTUS HAZE mission by this fall (Defense Daily, Sept. 15, 2023, Oct. 17, 2024). The company will also launch the Space Force’s VICTUS SOL TacRS mission (Defense Daily, Feb. 14).

“Firefly has proven our ability to rapidly and reliably launch, land, and operate in space as we continue to execute bold missions from LEO to lunar orbit and beyond,” Jason Kim, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “This national security mission will further demonstrate our ability to perform responsive on-orbit task when and where our customers need them with our highly maneuverable Elytra orbital vehicle.”

Saildrone to Introduce Fourth Unmanned Variant, Mustin Named Company President

Saildrone may soon add a fourth unmanned variant to its stable of Explorer, Voyager, and Surveyor maritime awareness drones.

In addition, the company on Monday said that John Mustin, the former chief of the Navy Reserve, who retired last summer, had been named company president and will work closely with Founder and CEO Richard Jenkins.

The 250-person Alameda, Calif.-based company has supplied the U.S. Navy with Unmanned Surface Vessels for counter-drug and other operations–an unmanned surveillance use that may free up manned Navy ships, such as destroyers, for other missions (Defense Daily, Feb. 3).

On Monday, as the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference got underway, Saildrone said that is has demonstrated, under an Office of Naval Research (ONR) project, the integration of Thales Australia‘s BlueSentry thin-line towed array with the Saildrone Surveyor for “autonomous, long-endurance” undersea surveillance.

“Extensive sea trials conducted off the coast of California have demonstrated that this system can effectively detect and classify both underwater and surface threats and report this information to decision makers in real time,” Saildrone said. “During the ONR trial, the Saildrone Surveyor and BlueSentry system operated continuously for 26 days and maintained uptime greater than 96 percent.”

Through the use of SpaceX‘s Starlink and Iridium [IRDM] satellite communications, the Surveyor/Blue Sentry “is capable of persistent, secure data transmission, supporting real-time decision-making from remote locations worldwide,” according to Saildrone. “Saildrone and Thales Australia stand ready to deploy these systems at scale, creating a network of autonomous, self-sustaining surveillance assets to enhance national security. As threats evolve and the demand for persistent undersea awareness increases, the Saildrone-Thales system offers a scalable, low-cost alternative to traditional surveillance platforms.”

While a push to increase the Navy ship building rate to move to a fleet of 355 or more is on the minds of lawmakers, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in January that “uncrewed craft on the surface and [uncrewed] subs are gonna be a huge part of this next generation” (Defense Daily, Jan. 16).

Nammo, Northrop Grumman Get RTX Contracts As Alternative Sources For Mk 72 Rocket Motors

RTX [RTX] on Monday said it has awarded contracts to Norway’s Nammo and Northrop Grumman [NOC] to qualify the companies as suppliers of Mk 72 solid rocket motors, which help power the Navy’s Standard Missile (SM)-3 and SM-6.

L3Harris Technologies [LHX] currently supplies the Mk 72 to RTX’s Raytheon business, which makes the SM-3, used for ballistic missile defense, and SM-6, which has an extended range and is used for broader anti-air warfare operations, including terminal ballistic missile defense and taking out cruise missiles and large drones.

“These contracts are an important step toward increasing capacity and source options to meet global demand for critical defense systems, such as Standard Missile,” Barbara Borgonovi, president of Naval Power at Raytheon, said in a statement. “In addition to dual sourcing, we’re doubling down with support and oversight of our supply base and making strategic investments to address constraints and reduce risk so we can deliver more capabilities faster.”

The values of the two awards were not disclosed.

Nammo and Northrop Grumman will each conduct systems requirements review to refine and validate their designs. The review with Northrop Grumman is set for this month and is planned for August with Nammo, RTX said.

RTX said the first phase of the work includes the two potential suppliers demonstrating they can “execute the requirements and production ramp-up needed before moving forward with further development and qualification.”

Dual-sourcing the Mk 72 solid rocket motors (SRMs) is a response to increasing demand for Standard Missiles and other weapons.

In late 2023 and early 2024, the Navy awarded a bevy of contracts to legacy SRM suppliers and startup companies developing Mk 72s and Mk 104s, the first and second stages, respectively, for SM-3 and SM-6 missiles (Defense Daily, April 30, 2024). At that time, Northrop Grumman and X-Bow Systems received small Navy awards to develop Mk 72s.

In March 2020, RTX reached a five-year strategic agreement with Aerojet Rocketdyne—now part of L3Harris—to purchase rocket motors for Standard Missiles. L3Harris also makes the Mk 104.

Anduril Announces New Copperhead UUV, Includes Torpedo-Like Variant

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Anduril on Monday announced its new Copperhead family of unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) meant to be launched from a larger undersea drone and featuring a torpedo-like variant.

Unveiled during the annual 2025 Sea-Air-Space expo here, the company argued future naval victories will “require large fleets of autonomous subsea, surface, and air vehicles capable of bringing advanced awareness and overwhelming adversaries with mass maritime effects.”

Anduril said the new Copperhead UUVs fit this bill and can be carried and deployed by its Dive-LD and Dive-XL large UUVs. The Copperheads can reach speeds upward of 30 knots and feature payloads like active and passive sensors, magnetometers, side-scan sonar or chemical detection.

Copperhead comes in either the 100 or 500 models, differing in size, payload capacity and ranges.

Anduril pitched the Copperhead-M variant for either model as an alternative to torpedoes limited by legacy industrial practices.

“Despite the rapid advances in autonomous vehicles across air, surface, and subsea domains, torpedoes aren’t built at scale and production remains frozen in Cold War-era designs. Current systems are expensive, slow to produce, and tightly coupled to legacy platforms like nuclear submarines and warships,” the company said in a statement.

Anduril described the Copperhead-M as a “munition variant that arms autonomous vehicles with affordable and mass-producible torpedo-like capabilities.”

It argued commanders could use these autonomous vehicles for high-risk missions and engage maritime threats more precisely while protecting more valuable assets and personnel.

Anduril said its Dive-XL vehicle can carry dozens of Copperhead-100Ms or unspecified “multiple” Copperhead-500Ms, which makes a potential fleet of Dive XLs an affordable option to “control ocean areas with an unprecedented level of autonomous seapower.”

Combining the Dive and Copperhead vehicles allows operators to quickly respond to threats “at a fraction of the cost of legacy options.”