Defense Daily

Defense Watch: Joint Integrated Fires Exercise, Bomber Task Force Model,

Parsons Award. Parsons Corporation said on June 16 it has received a four-year, $169.5 million deal from the Army Corps of Engineers to design and build a new Ammonium Nitrate Solution (ANSol) Tank Farm at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The project is intended to increase storage requirements at Holston for ANSol, which Parsons noted is a byproduct of the explosives manufacturing process. “Holston Army Ammunition Plant has a vital role in ensuring our nation’s warfighters have what they need when they need it to successfully carry out missions around the world. As the number of organic industrial base modernization projects grow, we remain ready to leverage our experience and innovative technology solutions to improve readiness and operations,” Jon Moretta, Parsons’ president of engineered systems, said in a statement.

Joint Integrated Fires. Lockheed Martin said in a virtual demonstration in early May as part of the Balikatan 2025 exercise it demonstrated with the Army a joint integrated fires capability that allowed for targeting data to be shared among several platforms in order to “redirect a simulated rocket in-flight to engage a surface target that was on the move.” “This is a big step toward giving the U.S. Army another capability to engage moving and maritime targets with HIMARS,” Lockheed Martin said in a June 17 statement. “Integrating offensive and defensive assets that weren’t originally designed to work together provides the warfighter greater agility on the modern battlefield. Securely integrating sensors, effectors and mission command systems allows users to choose the best effector for flexible employment against each target.”

Anywhere, Everywhere. When the U.S. Air Force ended its Continuous Bomber Presence on Guam for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2020, the service shifted to the Bomber Task Force (BTF) model “to be more dynamic and more able to send [aircraft] places for shorter periods of time to be able to convey our messaging,” said Air Force Maj. Mark “Fod” Edwards, a mission planner with the 2nd Operations Support Squadron and electronic warfare officer with the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. “The overall idea was to show we can deploy anywhere, everywhere between the 2nd Bomb Wing’s, 5th Bomb Wing’s, and Air Force Global Strike Command’s mission and set up shop and carry out our missions, to be a worldwide presence, and fly back without having to land.”

…Demand Signal. For BTFs, bomber squadrons receive notice several months ahead of time to let the squadrons know the length, location, and the U.S. Strategic Command/Combatant Command [COCOM] goals of the coming deployment. “The usual goal is strategic messaging, allied partnerships,” Edwards said. “That can be anything from training with local JTACs [Joint Terminal Attack Controllers] down range or conducting any missions we can.” Factors involved in deciding upon locations include the number of available refueling tankers. “There’s a high demand for it,” Edwards said of the BTF. “The MAJCOM [major command]/COCOM [combatant command] commanders love it when we show up. It’s no secret when B-1s or B-52s, especially, go somewhere.”

CVN-68 Inactivation. The Navy awarded HII a $60 million modification on June 17 for advance planning and long-lead-time material procurement to prepare and make ready for the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) aircraft carrier’s eventual inactivation and defueling. The work will occur at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding facility and is expected to be finished by March 2026. The aircraft carrier is expected to move to Virginia to eventually start its decommissioning process after it ends its current deployment to the Middle East. 

LCS-38. The 19th and  last Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship, the future USS Pierre (LCS-28), successfully completed acceptance trials at Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala., facility this month. This is the last milestone before ship delivery. Following delivery, LCS-38 will be homeported in San Diego alongside its sister ships.

LCAC-113. The Navy accepted delivery of another Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), LCAC 113, from Textron Systems; New Orleans, shipyard on June 12.  Delivery followed the vessel completing acceptance trials conducted by the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), which tested the craft’s readiness and capability to meet its requirements. “The successful delivery of LCAC 113 will provide the Navy and Marine Corps team with an advanced craft to increase our operational capability in amphibious warfare and maintain our operational readiness against global challenges.” Angela Bonner, acting program manager for Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs at Program Executive Office Ships, said in a statement. The SSCs are built with similar dimensions and clearances as the legacy LCACs they are replacing to remain compatible with the existing well deck-equipped Expeditionary Sea Base ships and the Expeditionary Transfer Dock ships. Textron is currently in serial production on the next LCACs 114-126.

Starship. A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded on a test stand at Starbase in Texas late Wednesday. SpaceX said the Starship vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a static fire test on June 18 when it experienced a “major anomaly.” Videos shared online showed a large explosion on the test stand. In an update, SpaceX said preliminary investigation showed there was a potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship’s nosecone area. SpaceX said all personnel are safe and there were no reported injuries. SpaceX is investigating the cause of the anomaly. SpaceX also said in the statement there is “no commonality between the COPVs used on Starship and SpaceX’s Falcon rockets,” used in the company’s launch business for commercial and government satellites. This was another setback on the Starship program, which has had three flight test failures this year. The Starship rocket, which is in development, has NASA contracts to take astronauts to the Moon, and is part of SpaceX’s plans to reach Mars.

Poseidon Mods. The first Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft has completed its Increment 3 Block 2 modifications, the Navy said this month. These modifications provide a “significant upgrade” to the aircraft’s airframe and avionics systems, including new airframe racks, radome, antennas, sensors, and wiring, the Navy said. It also includes a new combat systems suite with improved computer processing, higher security architecture, a wide band satellite communication system, ASW signals intelligence capability, and additional communications and acoustics systems to improve search, detection and targeting capabilities. Modification work began at a Boeing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility in Jacksonville, Fla., in March 2024. The Navy noted future P-8A modifications will be made via sequencing rapid capability insertion efforts built on this new baseline. 

C-130J Wing Structure Testing. At the Paris Air Show, Lockheed Martin said that rigorous wing durability testing of the C-130J Super Hercules over several years has indicated that the wing structure will have “nearly 40 percent more lifespan compared to initial estimates and nearly twice the specification design life.” The testing “demonstrated a significant extension of the wing’s service life, from an estimated 90,000 Equivalent Flight Hours to an expected 122,500 Equivalent Flight Hours,” Lockheed Martin said. “The recent testing program, initiated and funded by the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force, pushed the wing to its limits by simulating the stresses and strains of real-world flying conditions. The U.S. Air Force provided a C-130 ESL [extended service life] center wing, two outer wings and a center fuselage for the Wing Durability Test.” The C-130J turboprop airlift is seeing competition on the world market from Embraer’s C-390 Millenium jet transport and the Airbus 400M Atlas.

Guetlein. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on June 18 said President Trump officially appointed Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to be assigned as direct reporting program manager for the Golden Dome for America initiative, moving from his role where he currently serves as vice chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force. This follows Trump’s May Oval Office announcement of some key Golden Dome features and that Guetlein would lead the effort.

B-52J Options. Defense analysts have expressed some concern over whether the U.S. Air Force will continue to fund the two major upgrades for the B-52H bomber–the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) to replace the plane’s eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-103 engines with more powerful Rolls-Royce F130s and the Radar Modernization Program (RMP) to replace the B-52H’s APQ-166 radar by Northrop Grumman with a new active electronically scanned array radar based on RTX‘s APG-79. The CERP and RMP-modified bombers are to be B-52Js. “If J is gonna get delayed, there are other options,” said James “Trey” Morriss, the 8th Air Force’s director of staff. Such options include an increased production rate for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber–a higher rate that could portend an Air Force buy of more than the planned number of 100. Morriss, a retired colonel, formerly led the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. As a captain, he was an electronic warfare officer on “Miami Clipper II”–one of seven 596th Bombardment Squadron B-52Gs flying the more than 36 hour “Secret Squirrel” mission from Barksdale on Jan. 16-17, 1991. The seven bombers launched 35 Boeing AGM-86C conventional air launched cruise missiles (CALCM) against eight Iraqi power generator/transmission and military communications relay sites in the prelude to Operation Desert Storm. The Air Force retired CALCM in 2019.

Unmanned AEW&C. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. last week said it is partnering with Sweden’s Saab to develop an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capability for the San Diego-based company’s MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft. The aircraft will be equipped with Saab’s AEW sensors to help customers defend against cruise missiles and drone swarms. The MQ-9B AEW is planned to fly in 2026. GA-ASI said the AEW&C capability will be installed on the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian models, the United Kingdom’s Protector version of the aircraft, and the new short takeoff and landing model currently in development.

…New Small UAS. GA-ASI also announced a new small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) offering for international customers, the propeller-driven, semi-autonomous Precision Exportable Launched Effect (PELE), which is optimized to be carried on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian to extend mission ranges. PELE can be ground launched, is nine-feet long, features an 11-foot wingspan, a 16-horspower engine, a maximum takeoff weight of 250 pounds, seven hours of endurance, a 500-mile range, an electro-optical sensor for full-motion video, and internal storage for mission payloads. GA-ASI said PELE is “attrition-tolerant.”

Drone vs. Drone. The Army in fiscal year 2026 will be spending more on counter-unmanned aircraft system capabilities, including on drones that can defeat other drones in the air, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said last week. Based on lessons being learned in the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, “I think a lot of what we’re learning too is that drone on drone is a good way to counter UAS,” he told the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Countering drones is something the entire joint force will have to do, he said.

3D Printed Engine Part. RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business last week said it has successfully completed tests on a 3D printed turbine wheel for the company’s TJ150 150-pound thrust turbojet engine. The company said the turbine wheel is one of the first rotating parts to be additively manufactured. “Today we’re fielding and flying static engine parts,” Chris Hugill, head of P&W’s GATORWORKS, said in a statement. “Rotating engine components, especially for expendable class applications is the next step. Our testing confirms we’re on track with the engine performing at full operating speeds and temperatures and meeting expected life duration.”

ICE Pact Meeting. The Department of Homeland Security last week said its representatives met Canadian and Finnish counterparts in a two-day summit of the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, known as the ICE Pact, to strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and supply chains. Another ICE Pact meeting will be hosted later this year by the U.S. government, it said. The recent meeting included government and private sector stakeholders to discuss advancing efforts in technical expertise and information exchange, workforce development, relations with allies and industry, and research and development. The ICE Pact was started by the Biden administration in 2024 as an effort to leverage the Arctic icebreaking shipbuilding capabilities of Finland and Canada to strengthen U.S. capabilities that have atrophied. Oddly, the DHS announcement said, “Plans developed during ICE Pact meetings will allow the U.S., Canada, and Finland to build American-made Arctic and polar icebreakers.” It’s been 25 years since a U.S. shipyard built a polar icebreaker and the next one isn’t due until 2030, if the schedule holds.

Commercial Tech Program. General Dynamics last week said its Information Technology business unit is making new investments in its emerging and commercial technology partnership programs. The emerging technology program is led by Geoffrey Williams, who GDIT recently hired after 10 years at IBM working on artificial intelligence, analytics, and emerging technologies for federal customers. This program is focused on AI, quantum, full-spectrum cyber, edge computing, and advanced wireless technologies. GDIT has promoted Mathew Soltis as vice president of technology solutions and alliance partnerships to lead the commercial partnership program.

DDN Staff Email: [email protected] |

GD Nabs $621 Million Order For SGT Stout Stryker-Mounted SHORAD Platforms

The Army on Monday awarded General Dynamics Land Systems [GD] a $621 million order for Stryker-mounted short-range air defense platforms.

Work on the new deal for the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M- SHORAD) Inc. 1 platforms, formally known as the SGT Stout, is expected to be completed by the end of September 2028.

GD Land Systems’ the Stryker-mounted “SGT Stout” platform is designed to take down unmanned aircraft systems, rotary-wing and fixed-wing threats, as well as cruise missiles.

Leonardo DRS supplies the mission equipment package for SGT Stout, which includes the Moog [MOG.A] Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) turret, the XM914 30mm cannon and M240 machine gun, Stinger and Hellfire missiles and Rada USA’s Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar.

The new order to GD Land Systems covers SGT Stout systems, parts, services and support, according to the Pentagon.

Army officials told reporters last June the service’s planned total buy of SGT Stout platforms could potentially grow from 312 up to 361 systems, and that fielding of the system to the first four air defense battalions is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2026 (Defense Daily, June 21 2024). 

GD in March unveiled a version of its Pandur 6X6 combat vehicle outfitted with the same SHORAD equipment package that’s on the SGT Stout, stating it sees that as a solution to meet the Army’s potential M-SHORAD Inc. 4 requirement for a lighter platform to protect dismounted maneuver forces (Defense Daily, March 21).

Matthew Beinart Reporter: Cyber Security/IT/Military Defense Daily Ph: 240-477-2677 Email: [email protected] | Twitter: mbeinart22

AFRL Wants To Gauge State of Propulsion Innovation

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Aerospace Systems Directorate at Edwards AFB, Calif., wants to gauge the breadth of innovation for future missile propulsion under AFRL’s Rocket Lab Hermes project, which may award contracts up to $250 million over the next two decades.

“AFRL/RQRM [solid motors branch] seeks to design, develop, and demonstrate propulsion technologies for advanced missiles and similar vehicles,” AFRL said in a business notice. “The breadth of technology area includes strategic and tactical missiles, from component development to lifecycle management with a focus on facilitating technology transition to applications and users with strong emphasis on verification and validation on a system level.”

Companies expressing interest in Rocket Lab Hermes include Ursa Major Technologies, STOKE Space Technologies, Inc., SPARC Research, UES, Inc., Orbital Construction Pioneers, Inc., TGV Rockets, Inc., Supernova Industries Corp., and Velontra. TGV Rockets, Orbital Construction, and Supernova are focused on liquid propulsion and rocket engine development, while Velontra is taking on air-breathing turbine engine development.

One area of interest for Rocket Lab Hermes is the “development and demonstration of advanced components and manufacturing processes for solid rocket motors (SRMs), including inert components (the motor case, internal insulation, nozzle, thrust vector control and thrust vector actuators, etc.), energetic components (safe/arm, igniters, flight termination systems, destruct charges, etc.) and automated assembly operation.”

Two other Rocket Lab Hermes interest areas are liquid rocket engine and air-breathing turbine engine development. The liquid rocket engine effort “seeks to improve the utility of space launch system propulsion technology for resiliency and rapid launch applications,” while the air-breathing turbine engine development “seeks to design, develop, demonstrate and transition advanced turbine propulsion, power and thermal technologies that provide a disruptive improvement in affordable mission capability,” AFRL said.

“This approach extends to a range of legacy, emerging, and future military propulsion, power and thermal technology needs in multiple applications,” according to the business notice. “Technology objectives aim to reduce development, production, and maintenance costs; increase fuel efficiency; increase propulsive capability; and integrate propulsion, power, and thermal
management.”

The state of the propulsion industrial base is a stated concern for some DoD officials, and relative newcomers, including Anduril Industries, Ursa Space Technologies, and X-Bow Systems, are trying to make headway.

Texas’ Firehawk Aerospace said this month that it received a two-year, $4.9 million contract from the Air Force Test Center in support of AFRL initiatives to accelerate development of hybrid rocket engines, including solid and liquid rocket motor components, and manufacturing processes for strategic and tactical missiles (Defense Daily, June 6).

“Our transformative approach to propellant production will bring scalable, adaptable, and high-performance systems to AFRL that will shape the future of defense,” Michael Stark, Firehawk’s president, said in a statement. Firehawk said that it has done “58 hot fire tests for both hybrid and solid rocket motors, as well as one hybrid flight test.” The company uses additive manufacturing for rocket propellants.

Frank Wolfe Email: [email protected] |

NATO Members Set To Agree On New 5% Of GDP Defense Spending Target

NATO members this week are set to agree on a new target goal to spend five percent of their gross domestic product on defense, the alliance’s leader confirmed Monday, along with plans for a “fivefold” increase in air defense investments.

The new five percent defense spending goal, a boost from the current two percent mark set in 2014, is split between investing 3.5 percent of GDP on “core defense” priorities such as weapons and 1.5 percent on “defense-related” items, to include infrastructure and cyber security.

“The threats we face today demand that we do far, far more to ensure we can effectively deter and defend,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a press conference Monday ahead of the alliance’s summit this week in The Hague, Netherlands.

“Allies have agreed [on] an ambitious new set of capability targets – the specific, practical requirements that ensures that we can implement our defense plans,” Rutte added. “Having done this high-stakes homework, it is now clear what kind of investment it will take to effectively deliver what we need. And it is critical that each ally carries their fair share of the burden.”

While only 22 of the 32 member nations met the two percent burden sharing requirement last year, Rutte said that all NATO allies will meet that target this year. 

President Trump has previously said he wants to see NATO nations increase their defense spending to five percent of GDP (Defense Daily, Jan. 23).

Rutte described the new target goal as a “quantum leap” for NATO, with the member nations also expected to agree on a new defense investment plan.

While the defense spending agenda is classified, Rutte said it includes plans for a “fivefold increase” in spending on air defense capabilities, investing in “thousands more” tanks and armored vehicles and millions of rounds of artillery ammunition, “because it is by having these stockpiles that we can deter aggression from any threat.”

NATO plans for annual reports on member nations’ spending levels, with Rutte adding that in 2029 the alliance will “take stock” of the international security environment to review whether another increase is needed in the collective spending requirement. 

Rutte on Monday also addressed comments from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that Madrid has reached an agreement with NATO that will exempt it from the 5 percent goal while committing to meeting all required defense investments with plans to spend 2.1 percent of GDP on defense.

“The fact is that Spain thinks they can achieve those targets [with] a percentage of 2.1 percent. NATO is absolutely convinced Spain will have to spend 3.5 percent together. So each country will now regularly report on what they are doing in terms of spending and reaching the targets. So we will see, and anyway, there will be a review in ’29,” Rutte said. “What all allies will do is that, of course, they have the sovereign right and also the flexibility to determine their path for delivering on the NATO commitments. That means how much they will spend annually.”

Matthew Beinart Reporter: Cyber Security/IT/Military Defense Daily Ph: 240-477-2677 Email: [email protected] | Twitter: mbeinart22

New Frontier Aerospace Hot Fires 3D-Printed Rocket Engine

New Frontier Aerospace (NFA) on Monday said it has completed a series of successful hot fire tests of its additively manufactured Mjolnir liquid rocket engine the startup is developing for reusable rockets, hypersonic vehicles, and orbital transfer spacecraft.

The liquid natural gas engine will power NFA’s Pathfinder hypersonic vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft system that is slated for its first hovering flight-test in early 2026, the Kent, Wash.-based company said. Mjolnir will also be used to power the company’s Bifrost orbital transfer spacecraft that is set to launch by 2027, it said.

NFA also said the rocket engine is currently available to customers for their missions.

The Defense Innovation Unit’s National Security Innovation Capital provided seed funding for the development of Mjolnir and NASA funded the engine testing.

“Mjolnir’s compact design, unmatched efficiency, and clean fuel make it a game-changer for hypersonic flight and space propulsion,” Bill Bruner, NFA’s CEO, said in a statement.

Cal Biesecker Reporter: Business/Homeland Security Defense Daily Ph: 434-242-7750 Email: [email protected] | Twitter: calvinb21

BAE Signs CRADA With Army DEVCOM To Further Develop M109-52 Howitzer Prototype

BAE Systems has signed an agreement with the Army to work on furthering development of its M109-52 self-propelled howitzer prototype, the company has said.

The new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM-AC) follows BAE Systems’  recent demonstration of the M109-52 to inform the service’s search for a future howitzer platform.

“We are working with DEVCOM-AC to continue modernizing the U.S. Army’s long-range precision fires needs,” Dan Furber, artillery product line director for BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems business, said in a statement. “We’re bringing together battle-proven systems with mature technologies to secure a significant leap forward in capability at a much lower cost – that’s the power in partnership.”

The new M109-52 is a version of the current M109A7 howitzer modified with the Rheinmetall L52 155mm, 52-caliber cannon, with BAE Systems previously noting its successfully test fired current 155mm projectiles from the system out to ranges of 60 kilometers.

“The M109-52 prototype delivers a low-risk technical solution and lower-cost approach that provides necessary core warfighting capabilities more rapidly,” BAE Systems said in a statement.

The CRADA update arrives as the Army has yet to detail next steps in its Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization effort after conducting a recent ‘road show’ of performance demonstrations to assess five vendors’ mobile tactical cannon solutions.

BAE Systems previously confirmed that along with showcasing its Archer 155mm wheeled howitzer system for the performance demo “road show,” the company would also hold a separate live fire characterization of the tracked M109-52 self-propelled howitzer (Defense Daily, Oct. 16).

“The CRADA builds upon previous work and testing performed independently by both BAE Systems and DEVCOM-AC to create a faster development pathway for new artillery capabilities and lethality upgrades to the M109A7 Paladin,” BAE Systems said in a statement last week.

Jim Miller, BAE Systems’ vice president of business development for combat mission systems, previously told Defense Daily that both demonstrations were “successful,” as the company looks to present two options to inform the Army’s artillery modernization plan (Defense Daily, Dec. 3 2024).

“That went really, really well. We had great turnout from the Army, great support from the Army [and] great feedback from the Army,” Miller said previously of the M109-52 demo. “It was everything we wanted it to be, so I would say it was a success.”

“We kind of proved out that the fire control update we put on the system just works perfectly,” Miller added.

The Army has also assessed GD Land Systems’ [GD] Piranha wheeled howitzer, Hanwha’s K9 tracked howitzer, Elbit America’s Sigma wheeled platform and Rheinmetall’s RCH 155 wheeled howitzer to inform its search for a potential new artillery solution.

The new howitzer modernization initiative follows the Army’s announcement last year that it had ended development of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA), which had focused on integrating an Army-developed 58-caliber, 30-foot gun tube on BAE Systems’ M109A7 self-propelled howitzer chassis with an aim to develop a system capable of hitting targets out to 70 kilometers at a rate of six to 10 rounds per minute (Defense Daily, March 12 2024).

Matthew Beinart Reporter: Cyber Security/IT/Military Defense Daily Ph: 240-477-2677 Email: [email protected] | Twitter: mbeinart22

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Streamline AUKUS Defense Industrial Base Collaboration

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill aimed at streamlining defense industrial base collaboration with Australia and the U.K. for the AUKUS submarine technology sharing agreement.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee, and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) introduced the AUKUS Improvement Act last week to exempt U.S. State Department-vetted entities approved as AUKUS Authorized Users from being required to obtain Third Party transfer approvals under Foreign Military Sales and also exempt Australia and the U.K. from needing congressional notification for overseas manufacturing.

Kaine and Ricketts are both Senate Foreign Relations Committee members.

Under the AUKUS agreement, the three countries are working together to help Australia build up the capability to operate, maintain and ultimately build its own nuclear-powered attack submarines. The U.S. plans to sell Australia three Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs) in the 2030s before they expect to start building their own SSN-AUKUS boats in the 2040s, two used boats and one new construction vessel. If work on the Australian boats ends up running late, they have the option to buy up to two more U.S. SSNs.

The SSN-AUKUS submarine design will be shared between the U.K. and Australia but built separately, with the U.K. planning to deliver the first boats by the late 2030s.

Kaine’s office noted this bill’s language is based on provisions he tried to get into the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization act.

Beyond Kaine and Ricketts, other bill supporters include Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

The lead contractors to build Virginia-class submarines are General Dynamics’ [GD] Electric Boat in Connecticut and HII’s [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

This follows confirmations this month from the Defense Department that it is reviewing AUKUS to ensure it is “aligned with the President’s America First agenda,” a Pentagon spokesperson said on June 11.

During his March confirmation hearing, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby balanced support for AUKUS with concerns that U.S. submarine production rates need to fulfill American needs first.

“So if we can produce the attack submarines in sufficient number and sufficient speed, then great.  But if we can’t, that becomes a very difficult problem because we don’t want our servicemen and women to be in a weaker position and more vulnerable, and, God forbid, worse because they are not in the right place in the right time,” Colby said.

“So my perspective, and what I have told the Australians and also the Brits, is, if confirmed,… I think it should be the policy of the United States Government to do everything we can to make this work,” he added.

Beyond submarines, Pillar II of AUKUS is about helping all three countries collaborate on other advanced defense technology including unmanned systems.

Rich Abott Reporter: Navy/Missile Defense Defense Daily Ph: 703-522-5915 Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ReaderRabott

SRC Sees Delivery Moving Forward Of Counter-Drone Equipment To Qatar

The first international sale of a fixed-site counter-drone system used by the U.S. Army is moving forward, SRC Inc. said on Monday.

The $1 billion foreign military sale (FMS) is for the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) used to detect, track, identify, and defeat drones. SRC said it will provide detection and electronic warfare technologies.

The FMS of FS-LIDS was approved by the State Department in November 2022 and finalized in May 2025 by President Trump (Defense Daily, Nov. 29, 2022).

FS-LIDS was developed by RTX [RTX] in partnership with SRC. The system includes RTX’s KuRFS radar and Coyote kinetic interceptor, SRC’s electronic warfare technology, camera systems, and radar system, and Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control system.

DDN Staff Email: [email protected] |