The Insider

By Abby Shepherd
April 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Fairbanks Morse Defense has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries today at Sea-Air-Space, an agreement which will seek to further shipbuilding capabilities.

The agreement, signed by Fairbanks Morse Defense CEO George Whittier and HHI Chief Executive of Naval and Special Ships Won-ho Joo, will allow for “collaboration on future international Navy initiatives,” according to the news release.

“The U.S. is signaling to the world that it’s ready to reestablish itself as a shipbuilding nation, and global companies are eager to be part of that effort by working with the American industrial base,” Whittier said in a statement. “This MOU allows both our companies to explore avenues that drive mutual growth while still supporting our national manufacturing and maritime defense priorities.”

The partnership with HHI is not the only one announced this week, as American shipbuilder HII signed a MOU with the South Korean company on Monday to accelerate ship production.

“Today’s agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,” HII Executive Vice President and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Brian Blanchette told reporters. “By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.”

These two partnerships are the latest example of South Korean companies entering the U.S. industrial base, with defense conglomerate Hanwha purchasing the Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard last year.

By John Liang
April 8, 2025 at 1:40 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Navy big-deck amphibious warships, the proposed Golden Dome missile defense program and more.

We start off with continuing coverage of this week's Sea-Air-Space symposium:

Navy piloting new amphib maintenance program with more prep time before availabilities

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy will pilot a new maintenance program for amphibious warships this year that will provide extended lead time for maintainers to plan and prepare for big-deck amphibious ship maintenance availabilities, senior officials said Monday at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference.

Northrop executive urges Pentagon to clarify Golden Dome goals before industry can deliver

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- A top Northrop Grumman executive warned Monday that the Pentagon must deliver a clearer articulation of the problem it wants to solve with its "Golden Dome for America" missile defense initiative if it expects meaningful responses from industry.

Facing budget pressure, Navy may look to retire or reduce spending on cruisers and other aging platforms

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- As the Navy faces spending pressure from the full-year continuing resolution and a Pentagon-wide budget review, it may look to retire or scale back spending on aging platforms like cruisers as it prioritizes personnel, munitions and capacity for shipbuilding and unmanned systems, according to the sea service's top officer.

(Read our full Sea-Air-Space coverage.)

A request for proposals for the Army's Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization (SPH-M) effort is yet to be seen, and while vendors have said they’ve received reassurance about the program, some are left to wonder:

After successful demos, industry still waiting on self-propelled howitzer solicitation

The Army has yet to put out its planned solicitation to kick off the second phase of its Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization (SPH-M) program despite planning its release for the end of February, following what those in industry have described as successful demos last fall.

Could U.S. Northern and Southern commands be merged into a single combatant command? Some lawmakers aren't on board just yet:

Trump official sidesteps COCOM consolidation questions amid congressional pushback

A Trump administration official declined to provide clear answers last week on whether the U.S. military plans to consolidate its combatant command structure, amid intensifying concerns from lawmakers and warnings from senior commanders about the potential risks such changes could pose to national security.

By Tony Bertuca
April 8, 2025 at 12:48 PM

The Senate voted 54-45 today to confirm Elbridge Colby as under secretary of defense for policy.

Three Democrats voted for Colby -- Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) -- while Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was the only Republican to oppose him.

Colby’s nomination ran into early resistance amid discussion of his views that the United States should consider lesser roles in Europe and the Middle East in order to properly pivot to the Indo-Pacific region to compete with China.

McConnell released a statement after Colby’s confirmation saying the “prioritization that Mr. Colby argues is fresh, new and urgently needed is, in fact, a return to an Obama-era conception of a la carte geostrategy.”

“Abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific is not a clever geopolitical chess move,” McConnell continued. “It is geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit.”

Vice President Vance responded to McConnell’s statement by posting on X: “Mitch’s vote today -- like so much of the last few years of his career -- is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen.”

McConnell has broken with the Trump administration over several nominees, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose nomination needed to be saved by Vance’s historic tie-breaking vote.

During his March 4 nomination hearing, Colby, who would be one of the primary authors of the Trump administration’s upcoming national defense strategy, said he wants to deliver a “realistic strategy of prioritization focused on China” while working with allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“We don’t have a military that's capable of fighting four adversaries,” he said. "Because the threat is so acute and so realistic, and because of the very real possibility of multifront war, we must have a realistic plan. I feel a special obligation that, if confirmed, I must deliver a strategy that actually deals with that.”

McConnell, however, argued that Colby’s confirmation “leaves open the door for the less-polished standard-bearers of restraint and retrenchment at the Pentagon to do irreparable damage to the system of alliances and partnerships which serve as force multipliers to U.S. leadership,” while also encouraging “isolationist perversions of peace through strength to continue apace at the highest levels of administration policymaking.”

In a written statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Colby said the United States should prioritize the defense Taiwan, while showing less concern for Ukraine and U.S. allies in Europe.

“As President Trump has repeatedly emphasized, it is vitally important that our European allies take the lead in providing security assistance to Ukraine and deterring further Russian aggression, including by rapidly increasing their own defense spending and production,” he wrote.

By Abby Shepherd
April 8, 2025 at 12:22 PM

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Re-arming at sea is a Navy priority that has been front of mind amid logistical challenges in the Red Sea, a Navy official said today at Sea-Air-Space.

“We've learned a lot of lessons from the expeditionary reload teams, but one of the lessons that we've also learned is we really need the capability to reload at sea, re-arm at sea,” Vice Adm. Jeffery Jablon, deputy chief of naval operations for installations and logistics, said Tuesday.

The Navy is working on several different concepts right now for re-arming at sea, Jablon said, and has run through various exercises. The capability will be a “game changer,” he added.

“We're continuing to work on that capability, and I see that coming in the near future, to enable us to re-arm at sea,” he said.

In October, the Navy demonstrated the first successful test of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method in the open ocean, after a previous land-based demonstration.

“Today, we proved just how game-changing TRAM truly is -- and what a powerful deterrent it will be to our competitors,” previous Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said at the time. “This demonstration marks a key milestone on the path to perfecting this capability and fielding it for sustained operations at sea.”

In the compromise fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, lawmakers called for the Navy to define a clear strategy for a re-arm at sea capability and provide cost and schedule estimates for fielding this ability in three years or less.

By Dan Schere
April 8, 2025 at 12:20 PM

In the face of a "global force posture review" by the Trump administration and a potential shakeup of the military's combatant commands, both House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) today urged the United States to maintain its current force posture in Europe.

Rogers, in his opening statement at a committee hearing Tuesday, emphasized the U.S. cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to drag out potential peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine -- the desired solution by President Trump to bring the three-year conflict to an end.

“The reality is, Russia maintains the world’s largest and most diverse nuclear arsenal. And despite suffering massive losses in Ukraine, the Russian Army is now larger than it was before the war,” Rogers said.

The chairman added Russia’s military is “reconstituting faster than expected,” and the industrial base is being supported by China, North Korea and Iran.

“Given these threats, I’m concerned by reports that some at DOD are considering not only giving up NATO command, but also significantly reducing our posture in Europe. I’m especially concerned that Congress has not been consulted,” he said.

Rogers went on to say that “pulling back prematurely would risk inviting further Russian aggression -- potentially even against NATO.”

“That’s why I strongly support maintaining the current U.S. force posture in Europe at this time,” he said.

Smith, following Rogers’ statement, emphasized that the U.S. must find an end to the war, but it should not be done by “undermining support for Ukraine and praising Putin and Russia.”

Smith urged the U.S. must stand up for its European allies to deter Putin, stop the war and “protect economic and political freedom as we have done for a very long time.”

“I think we made it very clear how we feel about this,” Rogers then said following Smith’s remarks.

CNN reported on March 19 that the Pentagon was considering a consolidation of combatant commands, with the possibility of merging U.S. European and U.S. Africa commands into one command based in Germany. However, in the weeks since that report, DOD officials have not given clear answers on what that would look like.

When Rogers asked Katherine Thompson, who is performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, whether the U.S. should maintain its current posture in Europe for the foreseeable future, she answered the Pentagon is “undergoing a global force posture review.”

“And so, we are taking into account, not only the dynamics in EUCOM, but in all of our theaters and evaluating that based on President Trump’s stated interests and upsizing our force and our resources appropriately to that,” she said.

No decisions have been made yet as part of the review, she added.

Rogers then responded by saying he and Smith had made it “very clear” in previous correspondence that DOD should maintain its surge posture in Europe “for the foreseeable future.”

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of EUCOM, testified Tuesday that the command currently has 80,000 service members throughout Europe, which is down from the 105,000 that were postured in the theater at the start of the war in 2022. The 80,000 figure represents about 20% of U.S. forces that had been stationed in Europe during the Cold War to deter the Soviet Union at the time, he added.

“Russia continues to reconstitute its conventional forces, and possesses advantages in geography, domain, and readiness. A conventional fight with Russia will be decided on land, and it would likely begin with a comparatively large Russian force positioned on a NATO border in order to negate traditional U.S. and NATO advantages in, and preferences for, long-range, standoff warfare. Therefore, NATO, including U.S. EUCOM, must be postured to blunt Russia’s ability to rapidly mass numerically superior land forces,” he said.

By John Liang
April 8, 2025 at 11:01 AM

Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned systems company AEVEX Aerospace today announced the hiring of Roger Wells as the company's new president.

Prior to joining Solana Beach, CA-based AEVEX, Wells was chief operating officer and executive vice president at Mercury Systems.

Wells also previously worked at FLIR, ICX Technologies and Northrop Grumman.

By John Liang
April 8, 2025 at 8:58 AM

Maritime drone maker Saildrone this week announced the appointment of retired Navy Vice Adm. John Mustin as the company's first president.

Mustin will work alongside Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO, "to focus on growing the defense business at Saildrone," the company said in a statement.

The retired admiral joins Saildrone following a 34-year career in the Navy, where he served as the chief of the Navy Reserve and commander of the Navy Reserve Force.

Mustin also founded Wasabi Rabbit, a digital customer relationship management firm. As founder and CEO, he grew the company into a leading digital agency specializing in customer acquisition strategies and technology solutions for Fortune 500 clients, according to Saildrone.

By Tony Bertuca
April 7, 2025 at 6:30 PM

President Trump said in the Oval Office today that the upcoming U.S. defense budget will be near $1 trillion, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posting on social media that the massive Pentagon topline is "coming soon."

Trump, in an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the White House has approved a defense budget “in the [vicinity]" of $1 trillion.

“Nobody has seen anything like it,” he said. “We're going to be approving a budget and I'm proud to say the biggest one we've ever done for the military.”

Hegseth later posted on X, thanking Trump.

“COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget,” he wrote. “President@realDonaldTrump is rebuilding our military -- and FAST. (PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely -- on lethality and readiness).”

Neither the Pentagon nor the White House responded to additional requests for comment and it remains unclear when the Trump administration will submit its fiscal year 2026 budget. Some analysts predict the budget could be released in late May, while others say a “skinny” budget might be announced with only topline information and little to no detail.

Trump, it should be noted, felt differently in February when he said he wanted to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladmir Putin to reduce their nuclear arsenals and cut military spending "in half."

The promise of a $1 trillion defense budget also comes as DOD is crafting its own 8% budget “re-look” for FY-26 and beyond, which would cut about $50 billion annually from existing spending and re-allocate toward new priorities.

The Pentagon is also in the midst of cutting between 5% and 8% of its total civilian workforce.

Trump’s promise of $1 trillion also follows the passage of a yearlong continuing resolution that amounts to a cut in defense spending because the topline does not keep pace with inflation, reducing Pentagon buying power.

By Shelley K. Mesch
April 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM

The Space Development Agency today posted a request for proposals for the next set of missile warning/missile tracking satellites for its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

The Tranche 3 Tracking Layer builds upon the yet-to-launch Tranche 1 and in-development Tranche 2 satellites as the agency seeks to deliver upgraded technology to warfighters by adding to the low-Earth orbit constellation every few years.

SDA is planning 54 satellites for T3TRK with infrared sensors in six orbital planes. SDA may purchase the satellites from more than one vendor.

Proposals are due May 22, and the first set of T3TRKs is scheduled for launch in spring 2029.

By Shelley K. Mesch
April 7, 2025 at 3:32 PM

Air and Space Forces civilian employees can apply for the Defense Department’s Deferred Resignation Program or Voluntary Early Retirement Authority until April 14 as part of the Air Force Department’s workforce reduction efforts.

“To reduce the size of our civilian workforce by 5-8% in the coming months and strategically restructure, the DAF will execute a broad outreach campaign to maximize employee awareness and opportunity to participate in these voluntary programs,” acting Assistant Air Force Secretary Gwendolyn DeFilippi wrote in a memo Friday.

Several categories are not eligible for DRP or VERA, she wrote:

  • Flight instructors.
  • Highly Qualified Experts.
  • Childcare and youth program employees.
  • Non-Appropriated Fund employees.
  • Foreign Local National employees
  • Dual-Status Military Technicians.
  • Re-Employed Annuitants.

Employees who accept DRP or VERA could be placed on paid administrative leave no earlier than May 1 before officially resigning or retiring Sept. 30.

Some employees had already accepted such programs, officials told reporters last month, before this window opened.

Some officials have warned that losing civilians could damage or slow the work done by the services.

“DAF supports a large portion of the workforce participating in these programs while ensuring the Air Force and Space Force maintain operational readiness and the ability to perform mission essential functions,” DeFelippi wrote, with emphasis. “Employees are not approved for DRP immediately upon application.

Once the application period ends, the department will evaluate how the resignations or retirements may affect various teams and may implement additional exemptions for the programs, DeFelippi wrote. Should further exemptions, the department will prioritize VERA applicants.

To apply for VERA and retire with full benefits, employees must be at least 50 years old with at least 20 years of federal service of any age with at least 25 years of service.

Officials can ask for deadline extensions for employees who are not able to complete the applications in time and were on approved absence during the application window. Those extensions need to be requested before April 21.

By Vanessa Montalbano
April 7, 2025 at 2:32 PM

The Air Force will soon begin developmental testing of Lockheed Martin’s Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar following delivery of the first system, according to a company news release issued today.

“The successful completion of early phase testing and delivery of the first TPY-4 radar system underscores our dedication to providing the U.S. Air Force with cutting-edge, high-performance systems that meet their evolving requirements and expectations," Rick Cordaro, vice president of Lockheed’s radar and sensor systems, said in a statement. "The 3DELRR program is of the utmost importance to air surveillance and defense capabilities worldwide, as well as defending the nation."

3DELRR, the service’s new long-range, ground-based sensor, is meant to replace the 1970s-era Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-75 radar. The new system can tap into a mobile command and control center the Air Force may deploy in theater to track or detect aerial targets, like aircraft or ballistic missiles.

Each new radar system includes the TPY-4 sensor, a pair of Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, one trailer and four micro-grid generators.

The Air Force in 2020 canceled an original contract with RTX subsidiary Raytheon to develop 3DELRR due to numerous technical and supplier challenges. Lockheed was then awarded a new deal to produce the radar system in 2022.

The Air Force previously said initial operational capability for six radars would be achieved in fiscal year 2024, but fielding the system has proven more difficult amid testing and production hurdles.

An FY-24 report released Jan. 31 from the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester indicated that formal government-led developmental testing paused last year because of “system deficiencies and transitioned to a risk-reduction event after one of four planned weeks of testing.”

The problems discovered included operational effectiveness and 3DELRR suitability, the report stated.

To allow Lockheed time to troubleshoot those issues, the Air Force pushed developmental testing back one year from the second quarter of FY-24 to the second quarter of FY-25, according to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

The projected timeline for 3DELRR Initial Operational Test and Evaluation has also slid, the report notes, from the third quarter of FY-25 to the first quarter of FY-26.

By John Liang
April 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Navy's future warship spending plans, the possibility of U.S. Northern and Southern commands merging into a single combatant command and more.

We start off with coverage of the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space symposium taking place this week:

Facing budget pressure, Navy may look to retire or reduce spending on cruisers and other aging platforms

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- As the Navy faces spending pressure from the full-year continuing resolution and a Pentagon-wide budget review, it may look to retire or scale back spending on aging platforms like cruisers as it prioritizes personnel, munitions and capacity for shipbuilding and unmanned systems, the sea service's top officer said today.

(Read our full Sea-Air-Space coverage.)

Could U.S. Northern and Southern commands be merged into a single combatant command? Some lawmakers aren't on board just yet:

Trump official sidesteps COCOM consolidation questions amid congressional pushback

A Trump administration official declined to provide clear answers last week on whether the U.S. military plans to consolidate its combatant command structure, amid intensifying concerns from lawmakers and warnings from senior commanders about the potential risks such changes could pose to national security.

Document: NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM FY-26 posture statements

New NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 indefinite-delivery requirements contracts have been awarded to SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin, according to a Space Force announcement:

Three providers awarded $13.7B for space launches

The Space Force has awarded National Security Space Launch missions to three vendors, totaling more than $13.7 billion over the five-year contracting window.

On April 4, the Missile Defense Agency, in partnership with the Space Force, announced a three-day event from April 30 to May 2 in Huntsville, AL, to brief industry on the scope of the Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) program and gather technical ideas for what could become a centerpiece of the Trump administration's new missile shield:

Pentagon summons industry to help build space-based interceptors for Golden Dome

The Defense Department is taking a critical next step in its drive to build a space-based missile shield over the United States, inviting a broad array of companies -- including non-traditional defense firms -- to contribute concepts for a potential network of orbital interceptors capable of striking enemy missiles during launch.

Document: MDA notice on SBI industry event

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command, testified at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing:

EUCOM warns of Russian land buildup as Army eyes cuts in wake of Hegseth budget drill

The Army is reportedly weighing the most significant troop reduction in years, even as military commanders in Europe warn that Russia is reconstituting its land forces at a speed and scale which could challenge NATO deterrence before the alliance fully rebuilds its own.

Document: EUCOM, AFRICOM FY-26 posture statements

By Abby Shepherd
April 7, 2025 at 11:34 AM

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The first two Lionfish small uncrewed undersea vehicles have been delivered to the Navy, shipbuilder HII announced today.

Lionfish -- part of HII’s REMUS 300 class -- is modular with an open architecture and was developed through collaboration between the Navy and the Defense Innovation Unit. The Navy awarded HII a contract worth over $347 million in 2023 for the potential delivery of 200 vehicles.

“This delivery represents a key milestone in the Lionfish program,” Duane Fotheringham, president of uncrewed systems for HII’s Mission Technologies Division, said in a news release. “The success and on-time delivery of Lionfish is the product of close collaboration between the government and industry team that will put a critical mine hunting capability in the hands of sailors and marines in an operationally relevant time frame.”

In a panel on autonomous undersea warfare in March, Fotheringham shared that HII will deliver over 100 small-class UUVs this year for the Navy’s Lionfish program.

By Nick Wilson
April 7, 2025 at 9:51 AM

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- United States shipbuilder HII have signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to "explore opportunities to collaborate on accelerating ship production" for both defense and commercial work, the companies announced today.

Signed by executives from the two companies this morning during the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference, the MOU is the latest indication of increased collaboration between the U.S. and South Korean shipbuilding industries.

It connects HII -- a U.S. shipbuilding giant involved in the production of most of the Navy’s surface and undersea fleet including its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and both the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs -- with one of the largest shipbuilders in the world in HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

The initial focus of the partnership will be an exchange of technologies and lessons learned, with the potential for “component outsourcing” to follow, HII Executive Vice President and President of Ingalls Shipbuilding Brian Blanchette told reporters following the signing. HII will soon host a delegation from HHI at its U.S. facilities, Blanchette said.

“Today’s agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,” Blanchette said. “By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.”

The partnership is intended to “leverage the combined expertise and resources of both companies to advance technological innovation, maximize production efficiency, and strengthen the global defense industry,” according to an HII press release.

“This partnership marks a new milestone for both of our companies and provides us with the unique opportunity to expand our expertise in shipbuilding,” said Won-ho Joo, chief executive of HHI’s naval and special ship business unit. “We look forward to working with HII to explore new possibilities and deliver even greater value to our customers.”

As the U.S. shipbuilding industry looks for ways to boost ship and submarine output, the Navy has encouraged South Korean and other international shipbuilders to invest in U.S. industry, with former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro saying a “cash infusion” from foreign companies could improve production capacity.

Last summer, South Korean defense conglomerate Hanwha purchased Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard where it plans to take on ship and submarine module fabrication work.

By Nick Wilson
April 7, 2025 at 8:00 AM

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Defense companies General Atomics and Rafael are entering a partnership to produce a long-range, precision-guided strike missile to meet multiple United States military service requirements, the companies announced today at the Navy League's Sea-Air-Space conference.

Dubbed “Bullseye” by the companies, the missile will provide “multiplatform launch capabilities from air, ground and sea for strike mass at an affordable price point,” the announcement states.

Under a memorandum of understanding with the Israeli firm Rafael, General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems group (GA-EMS) will become a U.S.-based manufacturer of the missile. The company plans to build the missiles at manufacturing facilities in Tupelo, MS.

A General Atomics spokesperson declined to specify which U.S. service branches are expected to use the missile, but said it is designed to be launched first from the air, followed by ground and sea and can “support various mission parameters and [operational concepts] without changing the basic missile configuration and profile making it an appealing solution for all services and joint operations.”

“GA-EMS has responded to numerous inquiries from potential customers across the services to help align the capabilities of the Bullseye missile with the needs of those customers looking for a highly capable, precision-guided missile,” the spokesperson added.

The missile’s design is currently at technology readiness level eight, the announcement states, with Rafael having already performed aerodynamics, engine, seeker and launch integration testing. Further testing to demonstrate flight qualification and operational readiness is expected to begin in late 2025.

“We are excited to work with Rafael to introduce Bullseye, a highly effective, deep-strike missile. Bullseye will be built in the U.S. for delivery to U.S. military customers to support a variety of critical Department of Defense and coalition partners’ precision-fires missions,” GA-EMS President Scott Forney said in a statement included in the release.

“By leveraging Rafael’s extensive investment in the design, maturation and testing of a unique, modular missile, we can reduce risk and development costs and provide production-scale delivery of a highly capable, high-performance, precision-guided missile at significant per-unit cost-savings,” Forney’s statement continued.