The Insider

DEVCOM wants to equip MK19 with counter sUAS capability
By Dan Schere
November 19, 2025 at 11:40 AM

The Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) is undertaking an effort to equip the MK19 grenade launcher with the capability to counter small unmanned systems through "programmable air burst cartridges," according to a solicitation posted Tuesday.

The effort will involve integrating “advanced proximity sensing fuze technology” into the cartridges, which will enable the development of a fully integrated system that has detection, tracking, targeting and defeat capabilities, according to the Army. The system will be able to integrate with existing weapon platforms, fire-control systems and remote weapon stations.

The Army will issue a cornerstone initiative request (CIR) for 40mm CUAS on or after Nov. 25, with the CIR remaining open for 30 days.

The Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement is a consortium that was established in 2018 through a partnership between the deputy assistant defense secretary for industrial policy, DEVCOM’s Chemical Biological Center and Army Contracting Command Rock Island. This OTA supports multiple DOD technology areas aimed at strengthening the force posture of the defense industrial base.

Once the CIR is released, only consortium members will be allowed to submit white papers for the OTA. The selected offerors will then be required to orally brief a government panel, which will be followed by a 48-month period of performance, according to the notice. A non-competitive award may be issued following a successful prototype.

SAIC and HavocAI announce partnership to link autonomous fleets with command-and-control infrastructure
By Abby Shepherd
November 19, 2025 at 10:29 AM

SAIC and HavocAI will partner to integrate multidomain communication and the ability to deploy and manage autonomous systems, the companies announced today.

HavocAI’s collaborative autonomy stack -- a modular system consisting of three software products that help execute multidomain autonomous fleet operations -- will be paired with SAIC’s Joint Range Extension system, which extends the range of Link 16, or TADIL-J, a data link used to exchange information between command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) systems.

The addition of autonomous maritime systems to Link 16 will allow for the easy connection of large, heterogeneous fleets of sensors, platforms and command and control systems to military infrastructure, according to the announcement.

"This is a significant leap forward in expanding the capability of large-scale collaborative autonomy," HavocAI CEO and co-founder Paul Lwin said. "By integrating with SAIC's proven JRE infrastructure, we're not just connecting our autonomous vessels to existing systems -- we're fundamentally enhancing how autonomous maritime systems receive and provide real-time tactical data within joint and coalition C2 systems.”

Recent structure changes yield excess Strykers for Army
By Dominic Minadeo
November 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM

The Army expects to have an extra fleet of Stryker vehicles as it transforms its 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team into a Mobile Brigade Combat Team as part of the service's Transformation Initiative.

The 81st SBCT, part of the Washington State Army National Guard, was tapped in September to swap its Strykers out for Infantry Squad Vehicles in a move to make the Army lighter and more mobile under its modernization effort.

The move will leave the Army with excess Strykers that it plans to offer up to partner nations -- as soon as it figures out how many it will need to replenish its own active units, according to a service spokesperson.

“Everything that we’re doing right now is all about readiness,” the spokesperson told Inside Defense. “So, if our Stryker units are needing those, then that’s where they’ll go.”

It’s not clear just how many vehicles will go to partners and how many will slide into other Army units, because that depends on how many the Army needs to replace -- but what is clear is that the Stryker hasn’t met the service’s mission-capable rate in any of the past 10 years, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

“I’m sure we’ll fill ourselves up first for the readiness factor,” the spokesperson said.

That comes after the Army decided to stop procurement under its Stryker Upgrade program in its fiscal year 2026 budget request, chalking up the purchasing halt to force-structure changes and the ATI, Inside Defense reported in August.

As the 81st SBCT transitions, it will leave the Army with eight SBCTs instead of nine, with seven in the active force and one in the National Guard.

None of the Army’s active SBCTs will turn to MBCTs, the Army spokesperson said.

The 81st SBCT started turning in its Strykers in October in a process that’s expected to take months.

Army eyeing GOCO repair services for its armored vehicles
By Dominic Minadeo
November 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM

The Army is surveying industry for companies that can help repair and sustain parts for its Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M104 Wolverine family of vehicles, according to a notice posted to industry today.

The request for information will assess “potential market capabilities in providing the component repair and sustainment services” for the three tracked vehicles, according to the notice.

The service is looking for a contractor to run a government-owned, contractor-operated facility at Ft. Hood, TX, home to the Army’s Team Armor Partnership (TAP) program.

TAP launched in 1999 and was originally meant to help with operations and support “cost concerns” related to just the M1A2. Today it supports 1,400 parts for the M1A1 and M1A2, the Bradley and the Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge.

The Integrated Logistics Support Center at Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) requires “repair and sustainment services” for its line replaceable units (LRUs) and shop replaceable units (SRUs) for the three vehicles, according to the notice.

Interested contractors must be able to manage inventory and receipt-keeping of the parts, test their conditions, repair damaged items as well as manage shipping, part lifecycles, the supply chain and technical data, according to the Army’s notice.

It also notes that vendors should be able to fulfill all those requirements not just at Ft. Hood but in forward repair areas outside the United States as well.

Interested vendors must describe their experience and qualification for managing the relevant parts and overall supply chain as a prime vendor operating on an Army base, as well as lay out any concerns they see such as potential technical data rights issues.

Responses are due Dec. 4, according to the posting.

Defense authorization bill to reach floor by second week of December, Wittman says
By Abby Shepherd
November 18, 2025 at 2:03 PM

The annual defense authorization bill should reach the floor for a vote by the beginning of the second week in December, House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Rob Wittman (R-VA) said today.

The joint version of the policy bill is “making great progress,” Wittman said at today’s State of Defense Business Acquisition Summit, sponsored by Defense One.

“The other issues remaining to be resolved are issues having to do with other committee jurisdictions, and those mostly are relegated to the Senate bill, so they're trying to work through those particular issues,” he added. “I think that those will hopefully be done by the end of the week, and then the bill will be in its final form.”

Wittman compared components of the bill to the Pentagon’s memo laying out a new plan to overhaul its acquisition system, calling it the “farthest reaching effort and acquisition reform in the history of the DOD.”

The memo -- announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month -- instructs the military services to use a modular open systems architecture in all acquisition strategies and would rename Program Executive Offices to Portfolio Acquisition Executives who would be capable of moving funding to programs based on performance.

“A lot of what the House and Senate are doing, which will come to the floor in the [defense authorization bill] in the next several weeks, is reflected in some of the things that the Pentagon is doing,” Wittman said. “So, there is an awful lot of alignment there.”

More specifically, Wittman compared aspects of Hegseth’s memo to the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery Act, or SPEED Act, and the Senate’s Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense (FORGED) Act.

“If you look at the mix there, the House’s version really focused on achieving mission outcomes,” he said today. “It’s much more outcome based. The Senate version was more about governance. How do we change the issues there of governance? Some of the things that we saw there that I think are really transformational in time frames. You know, the average acquisition process in the Pentagon is 800 days. This is going to change it to 90-100 days. Things are going to happen really fast.”

Earlier this month, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) praised Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) for his leadership on acquisition reform.

“For two years, it has been the central focus of our committee,” Smith said at an Atlantic Council panel. “We've held hearings, we've brought in contractors, traditional, non-traditional. We've done field hearings out in Silicon Valley to really try to get that right. And I think we're in a good place on that, and I think we'll get there.”

The INSIDER daily digest -- November 18, 2025
By John Liang
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM

The bulk of this Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest covers Army and Navy efforts to comply with the Pentagon's new acquisition reform strategy.

During an event held Nov. 13 at Boeing’s Mesa, AZ, facility celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apache helicopter's first flight, TJ Jamison, the company’s director of business development and strategy for attack programs, told Inside Defense that service officials had promised to provide more information about the new proposed acquisition restructure during a separate conference this week:

Requirements are big question mark for Army PAE shakeup, Boeing executive says

MESA, AZ -- One of the biggest questions coming out of the Army's decision to restructure itself into a half-dozen Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAEs) is how the requirements process will change, according to a Boeing executive.

More on Army acquisition reform:

Army identifies leadership slate for sweeping acquisition overhaul

The Army has selected the senior leaders who will helm its largest acquisition restructuring in decades, an overhaul intended to speed the delivery of new weapons and technology to soldiers and push decision-making authority closer to the point of need.

The Navy has identified approximately 200 systems falling under the jurisdiction of the nascent robotics and autonomous systems office:

Navy's RAS office is first step in implementing PAE structure

The Navy's fledgling robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) office represents the service's first attempt at establishing the Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) structure directed by the Pentagon's acquisition overhaul memo, according to a senior service official.

In case you missed it, here's a deep dive into the Navy's potential use of a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) "in all acquisition strategies to the maximum extent practicable":

Pentagon's new MOSA push could accelerate Navy's hybrid fleet, experts say

The Pentagon's new plan to overhaul its defense acquisition system could help the Navy with the rapid buildup of a hybrid fleet by placing an increased focus on modularity among platforms, according to experts.

The Defense Department has released a revamped critical technology areas list:

Pentagon CTO unveils trimmed critical technology list

The Defense Department's research chief this week revealed an updated list of critical technology areas -- bringing the number of high-priority topics for the Pentagon to focus on from 14 to six.

Electric Boat receives $2.3 billion AP award for Columbia build II
By Nick Wilson
November 17, 2025 at 7:24 PM

General Dynamics Electric Boat has received a nearly $2.3 billion Navy award for work on the Columbia-class submarine program, according to a Monday contract announcement.

The contract modification funds advance procurement and advance construction for five build II ballistic missile submarines, from the third vessel Groton (SSBN-828) through the unnamed seventh vessel, SSBN-832. Work is expected to conclude in December 2031, the notice states.

The Navy has been engaged in long-running contract negotiations with its builders over these five vessels, which are expected to be purchased via a multiyear procurement deal. The negotiations also involve 10 Block VI Virginia-class attack boats.

Executives from shipbuilder HII -- which collaborates with Electric Boat on the program -- recently said they could reach an agreement by the end of the calendar year.

Last week, some lawmakers raised concern when Congress’ latest continuing resolution omitted $3.9 billion in Columbia anomaly funding that was previously requested by the White House to avoid further program delays.

Trump: U.S. will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia
By Vanessa Montalbano
November 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM

The United States is planning to sell F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Saudi Arabia, President Trump said today, marking a significant policy shift in the region.

“I am planning on doing that,” Trump said today in the Oval Office in response to questions from reporters about the potential sale.

“They want to buy them. They’ve been a great ally. . . . Yeah, I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling F-35s,” Trump added.

His comments come in advance of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s visit to the White House on Tuesday. The pair are expected to discuss security considerations surrounding a possible F-35 deal, among other things.

If officially approved, the Kingdom would become the first country in the Middle East apart from Israel to fly the advanced, U.S.-made jets.

Saudi Arabia has expressed intent to procure F-35s since 2017, but those efforts were largely stalled during the Biden administration.

GA-ASI: F-22 pilot collaborated with drone wingman in mock demo
By Vanessa Montalbano
November 17, 2025 at 4:07 PM

An F-22 Raptor pilot supervised an MQ-20 Avenger drone from its cockpit in flight testing last month, according to an announcement from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, marking a leap in the Collaborative Combat Aircraft capability the Air Force wants to field by the end of the decade.

The company-funded demonstration took place on Oct. 21 at the Nevada Test and Training Range, GA-ASI wrote in a news release today. Both the Lockheed Martin Raptor and GA-ASI Avenger were integrated with L3Harris’ BANSHEE advanced tactical datalinks and Pantera software defined radios while using Lockheed’s open radio architecture as a foundation.

The drone was controlled through a tablet placed in the F-22’s cockpit to provide “end-to-end communications, enabling the F-22 command and control of the MQ-20 in flight,” GA-ASI said.

For Lockheed, the effort flowed through Skunk Works, the company's secretive innovation arm, to integrate its "flexible and hardware-agnostic pilot vehicle interface," a Lockheed spokesperson told Inside Defense.

“This effort represents Skunk Works bringing its diverse and unique expertise to the table to lead the way demonstrating the future of air combat, where single-seat aircraft command and control drones with simple and intuitive interfaces in the cockpit,” OJ Sanchez, Skunk Works vice president and general manager, said in a statement.

Additional flight tests to demonstrate manned and unmanned teaming are expected to continue via internal research and development funding, according to the company.

“The collaborative demonstration showcased non-proprietary, U.S. government-owned communications capabilities and the ability to fly, transition and re-fly flight hardware that is core to the Open Mission Systems and skills based unmanned autonomy ecosystem,” GA-ASI wrote.

GA-ASI and Anduril Industries are currently on contract to produce drone wingman prototypes for the first round of the Air Force’s CCA program, envisioned to operate in combat scenarios in a manner similar to the GA-ASI test.

Those unmanned platforms, dubbed the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A and designed by GA-ASI and Anduril respectively, have already notched first flights. But today’s announcement marks the first time this kind of teaming has ever been demonstrated, according to GA-ASI.

Production contracts for CCA increment 1 are planned for calendar year 2026. The Air Force has said it is targeting the F-22 as the first manned jet to pair with the earliest version of CCAs.

In its fiscal year 2026 budget request, the service asked for about $15 million in procurement funding to kick off a new-start Crewed Platform Integration program and begin buying tablet-based control systems for its F-22s.

Navy to conduct Arctic submarine training in February 2026
By Abby Shepherd
November 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM

The Navy plans to conduct submarine training and testing activities in the Arctic as part of its biennial Ice Exercise 2026, or ICEX26, according to a recent notice.

These training activities will include the establishment of a tracking range and temporary ice camp for research in the Arctic Ocean for six weeks, between February and April 2026. The ice camp would be approximately 185 to 370 kilometers north of Prudhoe Bay, AK, a Federal Register notice focused on the environmental impact of the exercise states.

Testing for unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial systems and submarine-launched non-explosive torpedoes will occur as part of ICEX26, the posting adds.

The exercise comes as the head of U.S. Northern Command warns of the heightened possibility of conflict between the U.S., Russia, China and North Korea, particularly in the Arctic.

In February, Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Beijing’s expanded presence in the Arctic could be indicative of future intent -- testifying that if China has access to Russian bases and ports in the Arctic, time to launch strikes against North American targets could be significantly shortened.

The INSIDER daily digest -- November 17, 2025
By John Liang
November 17, 2025 at 1:53 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Navy looking at using a modular open systems architecture to build its warships, plus the Pentagon revealing an updated list of critical technology areas and more.

We start off with a deep dive into the Navy's potential use of a modular open systems architecture (MOSA) "in all acquisition strategies to the maximum extent practicable":

Pentagon's new MOSA push could accelerate Navy's hybrid fleet, experts say

The Pentagon's new plan to overhaul its defense acquisition system could help the Navy with the rapid buildup of a hybrid fleet by placing an increased focus on modularity among platforms, according to experts.

In case you missed it, here's the Army's stab at acquisition flexibility:

Army aims to extend agile funding to all PAEs amid congressional pushback

The Army wants to expand its agile funding initiative to consolidate budget items across each of its newly announced portfolio acquisition executives (PAEs) -- teeing up potential tension with a Congress that has already pushed back on proposals for spending flexibility.

The Pentagon has released a revamped critical technology areas list:

Pentagon CTO unveils trimmed critical technology list

The Defense Department's research chief today revealed an updated list of critical technology areas -- bringing the number of high-priority topics for the Pentagon to focus on from 14 to six.

Last but by no means least, the latest cyber defense news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

National Defense ISAC leader raises questions over CMMC assessment capacity, controlled unclassified information

The long-awaited rollout of contract requirements for the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program raises questions about the current capacity for getting a level two assessment and reducing the flow of controlled unclassified information, according to defense info-sharing leader Steve Shirley.

CMMC final rule goes into effect, kicking off four-phase timeline for contract requirements

The Pentagon's four-phase timeline for incorporating cyber certification requirements into contract solicitations kicked off recently, with a final rulemaking amending defense acquisition rules officially going into effect.

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
November 17, 2025 at 12:05 AM

Washington think tanks are scheduled to discuss the national security implications of artificial intelligence and space capabilities this week.

Wednesday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds an event on Golden Dome and Strategic Stability.

The Hudson Institute hosts a discussion on artificial intelligence and strategic imperatives.

Thursday

CSIS hosts a discussion on space capabilities for warfighting.

The Center for a New American Security hosts a discussion on artificial intelligence.

The INSIDER daily digest -- November 14, 2025
By Thomas Duffy
November 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM

This end of the week INSIDER Daily Digest looks at the Army’s attempt to gain some flexibility in its funding decisions, Canada may be in line for U.S. help with its space command and control system, it’s back to work in St. Louis for Boeing workers, and another look at the Army’s drone-buying strategy.

The Army will take another run at Congress over budget flexibility:

Army aims to extend agile funding to all PAEs amid congressional pushback

The Army wants to expand its agile funding initiative to consolidate budget items across each of its newly announced portfolio acquisition executives (PAEs) -- teeing up potential tension with a Congress that has already pushed back on proposals for spending flexibility.

The Space Force is looking to help out Canada’s defense:

Space Force seeking space C2 capabilities for foreign sale

The Space Force is seeking information on space command and control capabilities for foreign military sales to Canada, according to a notice posted yesterday.

Boeing has settled a strike with the local union:

Boeing workers in St. Louis approve new contract, end strike

Boeing machinists in the St. Louis area voted today to accept a contract agreement with the defense contractor and return to work after striking for more than three months, according to an announcement from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

And in case you missed it, the Army has some novel ideas for obtaining drones:

Flexible procurement models eyed for Army's push to buy 1 million drones

The Army is preparing to tap a mix of flexible procurement authorities in an effort to generate a "predictable demand signal" and fully leverage the capacity of the U.S. industrial base as it pursues an ambitious plan to buy 1 million drones over the next two to three years, according to a service official.

DLA expects to issue updated cobalt metal solicitation worth up to $500M
By Theresa Maher
November 14, 2025 at 1:37 PM

The Defense Logistics Agency said today it expects to re-issue and update a previously cancelled solicitation for cobalt metal worth up to $500 million in awards at the end of the month.

The initial call -- published in August with strict specifications on sourcing the cobalt metal -- went through 10 amendments before DLA cancelled the solicitation last month, according to a statement from the agency.

"The cancelled cobalt metal solicitation is for rotating aerospace applications, which requires specific qualified cobalt sources,” DLA said.

Those specific sources for the alloy-grade cobalt metal included three suppliers originating from Canada, Japan and Norway. If vendors sought other sources qualified or in the qualification process “with U.S.-based aerospace alloy manufacturers” for rotating parts, submissions would have to include at least two letters from such manufacturers confirming the source’s completed or near-completed qualification.

During the solicitation window, though, DLA said “it became unclear if there was another qualified source in addition to the three originally identified.”

That led to the agency cancelling the call so it could verify qualified sources and write a justification and approval for the limitations.

DLA intends to issue an updated call by the end of the month, and the agency expects to make an award in early February.

Cobalt is one of many critical mineral supply chains dominated by China. While the U.S. has increased efforts to ensure access to critical minerals for defense, commercial and energy applications via negotiation with allies and changes in domestic policy, a recent report from the International Energy Agency says concentration in the global minerals market has so far only increased.

“Diversification is central to energy security,” IEA says in its 2025 World Energy Outlook, “yet the production, refining and processing of critical minerals is becoming increasingly concentrated in a few countries, heightening vulnerabilities to shocks and disruptions.”

Aside from defense applications, cobalt is also considered a key energy mineral -- a market that has been especially susceptible to concentration in recent years.

“As a result, geographic concentration in refining increased for nearly all key energy minerals, and particularly for nickel and cobalt. The average market share of the top-three refining nations of key energy minerals rose from around 82 percent in 2020 to 86 percent in 2024,” according to the IEA report.

Space Force seeking space C2 capabilities for foreign sale
By Shelley K. Mesch
November 14, 2025 at 10:38 AM

The Space Force is seeking information on space command and control capabilities for foreign military sales to Canada, according to a notice posted yesterday.

The Space C2 Project would offer Canada a system of systems that enables data storage and processing from various sources and at various classification levels, system applications and tools, automation and AI components and a lifecycle of at least 10 years, according to the notice.

Canada is looking for an enterprise-level capability to “ingest, fuse, and share data” that can “integrate seamlessly” into the Canadian military and allied systems, the notice states.

“To avoid ambiguity, respondents are advised that the Space C2 Project is not a spacecraft C2 system,” it states.

The program aligns with the country’s Pan-Domain C2 effort, according to the notice.

Interested businesses should respond by Dec. 12 with information on existing or planned capabilities with a Technology Readiness Level of at least six as well as estimates on cost and schedule.