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Unmanned Systems

Pentagon to Pick Replicator Contenders in Next Three Weeks

Frank Wolfe

Tuesday, November 21st, 2023

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Pentagon to Pick Replicator Contenders in Next Three Weeks

An F-15E Strike Eagle from the 96th Test Wing’s 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. flies on July 25 with an XQ-58A Valkyrie flown by artificial intelligence agents (U.S. Air Force photo)

The Pentagon is to pick the Replicator contenders in the next three weeks, and DoD estimates a unit cost in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, as the U.S. seeks to field several thousand autonomous, attritable assets in the next two years to counter China, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said on Nov. 21. Replicator is not a program of record, but an initiative to make it easier for systems to cross the modernization "valley of death" and…

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]