The Insider

The Army is hosting an industry event at the end of the month to assess the level of ability and interest in what is geared up to be the service's first program of record for directed energy.

The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office will host the event in Huntsville, AL, on Sept. 30 to give a production requirement overview and glean feedback on the Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program, according to a special notice posted today.

The program is planned to kick off in fiscal year 2026, wherein E-HEL will start “development, test and evaluation, systems engineering and program management,” according to Army budget books, while at the same time continuing directed energy development “to support modular, palletized and maneuverable capabilities.”

The Army has researched directed-energy capabilities for decades, but recently it has homed in on employing it specifically for short-range air defense to counter the rise in drones swarming the skies.

The Army’s capability office in June conducted a live-fire exercise at Ft. Sill, OK, centered around taking out drones using directed-energy prototypes alongside the Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) system.

The exercise was designed to see how directed-energy systems pair with kinetic systems like M-SHORAD, an Army release said -- but RCCTO has also developed a directed-energy variant of M-SHORAD, or DE M-SHORAD, which entails mounting a 50-kilowatt directed energy onto a Stryker vehicle.

“Now that we have delivered directed-energy capabilities to the Army we are developing and maturing the domains of policy, doctrine, organization, training and personnel to employ the capability optimally,” Col. Steven Gutierrez, RCCTO project manager for directed energy, said in a statement following the testing in June.

RCCTO earlier this month also received two Infantry Squad Vehicles fitted with AeroVironment’s LOCUST directed energy weapon system for prototyping under the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laster (AMP-HEL) prototyping program.

LOCUST offers a 20 kw-class laser for air defense, according to the company, and next month AeroVironment will deliver the system integrated into two Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

RCCTO is expected to put out a request for information with a draft statement of work before the industry day, according to the notice; to attend companies must reply by the end of the day Sept. 26.

U.S. Central Command is launching a task force aimed at rapidly delivering innovative capabilities to deployed forces, according to a new announcement.

The Rapid Employment Joint Task Force (REJTF), to be led by CENTCOM’s chief technology officer, will fast-track processes to equip deployed forces with novel capabilities, the combatant command said today.

“Our goal is to rapidly deliver innovation,” CENTCOM CTO Joy Shanaberger said, “meaning putting combat-credible capability into the hands of our warfighters in 60 days or less.”

The new team will also align existing efforts from service components to accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities into warfighter hands and support Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s July directive to establish military drone dominance, according to CENTCOM.

The task force will focus innovation initiatives across three focus areas -- capability, software and tech diplomacy -- which CENTCOM said would build on previous work from service-component task forces.

Those teams -- like the Air Force’s Task Force 99 and the Navy’s Task Force 59 -- mostly focus on technology capabilities to counter uncrewed systems across their relative domains.

Aside from Shanaberger, the team would also include experts in resourcing, evaluations, information systems, data integration, acquisition, integration and logistics, the notice said.

The announcement comes a week after U.S. and Saudi forces completed Red Sands -- a live-fire counter-drone exercise in the Middle East, which CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said demonstrated how working with regional partners to innovate and adapt “is more critical than ever.”

Brent Ingraham was sworn in as the Army's next assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology Monday, the service announced in a news release.

Ingraham was nominated for the role in April and appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee in late June.

The Senate confirmed Ingraham Sept. 18 by a 51-47 vote that was along party lines, with two senators not voting, according to a congressional notice.

In advance policy questions sent to the committee prior to his June 26 hearing, Ingraham wrote that Army requirements must be “agile, flexible and adaptable,” as opposed to being so prescriptive that they tie acquisition programs to “unachievable or outdated technology.”

Ingraham also said he would ensure requirements are properly vetted for cost, schedule and performance risks, and use a series of acquisition panels to ensure this is adhered to.

Ingraham’s answers to the committee echoed service Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Secretary Dan Driscoll’s calls to get away from long-term programs of record and divest from technology that is no longer relevant on the battlefield.

Ingraham most recently had been performing the duties of deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, in which he handled matters “pertaining to acquisition, contract administration, logistics and materiel readiness, installations and environment, operational energy” as well as other areas, according to the Army. Prior to that role, he served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for platform and weapon portfolio management, in which he managed “major platforms and weapons capability portfolios,” across the Pentagon.

As acquisition chief, Ingraham will oversee more than 550 acquisition programs totaling about $170 billion. He succeeds Jesse Tolleson Jr, who had been serving in the role in an acting capacity during the Trump administration, and Doug Bush, who served as acquisition chief during the Biden administration.

Raytheon has completed a major review of a new Advanced Electronic Warfare prototype for the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, that comes as the Navy prepares to test prototype systems in fiscal year 2026.

The prototype, or ADVEW, will replace electronic warfare systems currently in place on Super Hornets across the fleet, increasing the aircraft’s overall defensive capabilities and survivability, according to a company news release today.

In 2023, the Navy awarded Raytheon $80 million to create an ADVEW prototype to replace the existing AN/ALQ-214 integrated defensive electronic countermeasure and the AN/ALR-67(V) 3 radar warning receiver, according to another company announcement.

Raytheon is currently in competition with L3Harris Technologies for the final contract. In November 2024, L3Harris announced it had completed critical hardware checks and capability demonstrations for its own version of the technology.

According to FY-26 budget justification documents, the cost of ADVEW’s Middle Tier of Acquisition effort totals $179 million -- including research, development, test and evaluation of prototype units.

"Our ADVEW prototype continues to showcase significant progress in both hardware and software that will improve the aircraft's ability to detect and counter electronic threats," Daniel Theisen, president of advanced products and solutions at Raytheon, said in the announcement. "We are on track with our fast-paced schedule and will continue developing the system to meet all necessary requirements on the U.S. Navy's accelerated fielding timeline."

Raytheon also recently completed a test plan working group that ensures ADVEW’s in-flight performance is coordinated and streamlined, the release added.

The Super Hornet fleet is in the process of aging and is set to stop production by 2027. The Navy’s next-gen fighter -- F/A-XX -- is the planned successor to the Super Hornet, though questions currently surround the Navy’s commitment to the program.

The Navy is seeking submissions for participation in the 2026 Silent Swarm experiment -- a series of events focusing on early development Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations capabilities that can be utilized on attritable, multidomain unmanned systems, according to a recent posting.

The two-week Silent Swarm event will take place next July and will focus on the effects of distributed electromagnetic attack, deception and concealment, alternative position, navigation and timing, resilient communications and electromagnetic warfare support with geolocation, the government notice states.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division -- in support of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering -- is looking for technology that is scalable and adaptive; modular, coordinated, coherent and reactive; highly portable; capable of multidomain operability and integration; and capable of remote or autonomous operation.

Ideally, technologies in the Technology Readiness Level two to five range are desired, the notice adds.

“Silent Swarm provides an experimentation venue and environment for rapid technology exploration and innovation, provides an opportunity for teaming and direct feedback from technical and operational [subject matter experts],” the notice states.

NSWC Crane plans to host a virtual industry day on Oct. 14 “to provide a forum for industry and government stakeholders to better understand the Silent Swarm goals, requirements and the process for submitting proposals,” according to the posting. Submissions are due no later than Oct. 31.

Additionally, those selected to participate will be expected to attend planning workshops, including a virtual workshop scheduled for Dec. 2-4.

Engine-maker Pratt & Whitney is developing a new family of engines intended to power munitions and the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft, spanning a thrust class of 500 to 1,800 pounds, the company announced today.

“This new family of engines prioritizes development speed and affordability,” Jill Albertelli, president of Pratt & Whitney’s military engines business, told reporters during a briefing last week. The company has not yet decided on a name designation for the new combat drone and munition engine series, she added.

Since the engine class will be scalable from 500 to 1,800 pounds it will help foster a common architecture among the systems which reduces production timelines and “will help us be able to really take lessons learned from one to another, but also to have it available for several different applications,” Albertelli said.

Additionally, this particular type of engine could lend itself to a variety of uses for the CCA program, she said, based on conversations with Air Force, Navy and international customers.

“Is it something that they want to return and come back? Is it something that is actually, you know, deploying effects, or is it something that's out there and, you know, creating collecting information, creating sense, sensory scrambles, etcetera, is it something that's not going to return?” Albertelli said. “So, we really have studied this and worked with the customer to be able to provide to them whichever way they go.”

Citing classification, she would not name which, if any, partnerships are already established for this engine type.

The new CCA engine series will use additive manufacturing to help tamp down costs and keep the engine readily available, Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX, said in its news release.

Initial testing for the engine family is set to begin later this year, Albertelli said, with a second series of tests expected to run in early 2026 to further validate key design features.

The engine family will be available for Pratt & Whitney’s domestic and international customers, Albertelli said.