Saturday, November 1, 2025
Key Issues HII earnings Romania troop cuts Mortar-carrying ISV
A draft fiscal year 2026 spending bill released today by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee would bolster funding for the Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation aircraft program by nearly a billion dollars while further reducing funding for the troubled Constellation-class frigate.
The Marine Corps is interested in developing a large, unmanned aircraft to autonomously deliver heavy cargo, according to a June 4 request for information seeking industry sources capable of rapidly prototyping, testing and fielding such a system.
House lawmakers are not happy with the lack of line-item budget information provided by the Pentagon to date, especially when it comes to Navy shipbuilding accounts, where vessel procurement plans and funding levels face increased uncertainty, according to the ranking member on the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.
Defense giant RTX plans to increase its AIM-9X Block II production to 2,500 missiles per year, the company announced today after receiving a $1.1 billion Navy contract modification earlier this week.
The Navy has selected a contractor to dismantle the retired aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN-65), awarding a $536 million, first-of-its kind contract to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services.
The Navy is weighing the merits of establishing new shipyards as it works to accelerate warship production and maintenance, Navy Secretary John Phelan said today at the Special Competitive Studies Project AI Expo in Washington.
Lockheed Martin has received a contract modification worth as much as $1 billion for continued work on Conventional Prompt Strike, the developing hypersonic missile system expected to arm the Navy's Zumwalt-class destroyers and later its Virginia-class submarines.
The Marine Corps is seeking industry input on vehicle-mounted, counter-drone systems to defend its legacy family of Light Armored Vehicles from small, unmanned aircraft systems, according to a recent request for information.
Rear Adm. Kevin Smith has been relieved from his post as the Navy's program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants following "a complaint substantiated by an Office of the Naval Inspector General investigation," the service announced today.
Contractors Birdon and C&C Marine and Repair are set to begin production of two prototype vessels designed to carry gear and personnel and perform beach landings under a contract with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory linked to the service's Landing Ship Medium and interim bridging solution efforts.
The Marine Corps must own the technical data rights for the platforms it operates, the service's top officer said yesterday, describing a situation in which a forward-based F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was sidelined while the contractor delivered a replacement component that could have been 3D printed onsite in a fraction of the time.
The Navy is losing approximately 16,000 civilian workers to layoffs and voluntary resignations, according to a prominent House appropriator, who questioned reductions to public shipyard labor and other hard-to-replace personnel while service officials pointed to opportunities to “rebalance” their enterprise.
The Marine Corps anticipates Joint Light Tactical Vehicle unit costs to rise following the Army's cancellation of future JLTV procurement, Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told lawmakers today, saying his service branch is still assessing the full impact of the Army's abrupt exit from the joint program.
The Navy expects to receive its first full-sized version of the "Orca" Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle from Boeing this summer after the company delivered an initial test and training asset in December 2024, the head of the service's unmanned and small combatants program office said this week.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers today introduced a bicameral bill intended to strengthen and expand the defense industrial base workforce via initiatives to recruit individuals who want to serve in the military but are medically ineligible to do so.
Over 1,900 workers at the United States' four public shipyards have accepted differed resignation buyout packages offered by the Trump administration, acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby told lawmakers today.
The Marine Corps is refining the acquisition strategy for its Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle as budget uncertainty hangs over Pentagon procurement programs.
The Pentagon plans to add $150 million to its nuclear-armed sea-launched missile (SLCM-N) program in fiscal year 2025 and make several other adjustments to Navy research and development efforts in accordance with non-binding recommendations from congressional appropriators.
The Navy and Marine Corps have coalesced around a new procurement approach for the Landing Ship Medium, with the services tapping Louisiana shipbuilder Bollinger to construct a single vessel based on an existing ship design before deciding how to proceed with the program.
The Navy has awarded shipbuilders HII and General Dynamics Electric Boat contract modifications for two block V Virginia-class submarines -- Baltimore (SSN-812) and Atlanta (SSN-813) -- initially appropriated for as part of the fiscal year 2024 budget.