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The Navy is accepting bids for design work on its Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) and plans to award up to three concept refinement contracts in the near future, according to a Sept. 10 request for proposals.

Also known as the Light Replenishment Oiler, the NGLS is intended to augment the Combat Logistics Force as a relatively small and inexpensive logistics craft capable of refueling, rearming and resupplying Navy and Marine Corps platforms and installations.

According to the RFP, selected contractors will be tasked with delivering “cost effective ship designs and approaches” to the Navy. Responses to the notice are due Oct. 10.

The contractors will “conduct a global market survey for replenishment ships that could be built in United States shipyards, assess feasibility and affordability of current NGLS requirements by performing design development and provide information regarding compliance with 2025 [National Defense Authorization Act] basic and functional design requirements,” the notice continues.

Last month, the Navy published a presolicitation indicating it would soon award multiple contracts to industry members to perform “concept refinement studies” for the program, which was initiated in the fiscal year 2021 budget cycle.

A detailed design and construction award is now expected in FY-28, according to budget documents, marking a multiyear delay compared to earlier estimates that once projected procurement to begin in FY-26.

The Navy’s budget request seeks about $1.1 million in research and development funding in FY-26 to support the ship’s preliminary design development after receiving about $7.7 million in FY-25.

HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding is scaling up outsourcing work on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program, tapping six different partner companies to build outfitted structural units for Flight III ships Thad Cochran (DDG-135), John Lehman (DDG-137) and Telesforo Trinidad (DDG-139).

Production work is underway at these third-party facilities, which are building select structural units that will later be delivered to Ingalls’ Pascagoula, MS yard for integration into the destroyer hulls, according to an HII announcement.

The notice doesn't name the six companies but says they were “strategically selected beyond [HII’s] traditional labor market, at locations with existing skilled labor and facility capacity.”

Across the maritime industrial base, shipbuilders are increasingly turning to outsourcing efforts in a bid to improve schedule performance and meet the Navy’s demand for submarines and warships.

HII, which is involved in most Navy shipbuilding programs between Ingalls Shipbuilding and Virginia-based Newport News Shipbuilding, has made the approach a focus in recent years, working to develop what today’s announcement describes as a “more distributed shipbuilding model.”

The company has expanded its structural assembly network to 23 partner companies to date, according to today’s announcement. Additionally, Newport News is outsourcing submarine module and structural aircraft carrier unit work to a separate facility in Charleston, SC acquired by HII earlier this year.

“We’ve already doubled our outsourced hours in 2025, and we are on track to quadruple them in a two-year period,” HII CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement in the release, adding that HII’s hiring and attrition are improving.

Additional work packages involving more domestic partners are under evaluation, the release continues. Internationally, HII recently entered partnerships with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Babcock International Group.

Today, Babcock and HII announced the signing of a new memorandum of understanding to collaborate on autonomous launch and recovery of unmanned underwater vehicles from submarine missile tubes, using HII’s REMUS UUV and Babcock’s weapon handling and launch systems technology.

The House voted 213 to 196 to pass its version of the annual defense authorization bill that will need to be reconciled with the Senate.

The bill authorizes $896 billion in total national defense spending and contains key bipartisan legislation that would reform the Pentagon acquisition process.

The bill was passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a vote of 55-2 but lost most of its bipartisan support on the floor following politically controversial amendments sought by the GOP.

Only 17 Democrats voted for the bill, while only four Republicans opposed it.

Many Democrats said they opposed the bill because it included measures blocking gender-affirming medical care for servicemembers.

Meanwhile, the bill includes an amendment that would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force for Iraq.

Other amendments were unsuccessful, like ones proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would have blocked U.S. aid to Ukraine and Taiwan.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, thanked Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) for his bipartisanship during the writing of the initial bill but blamed GOP leadership for sidelining Democrats in the amendment process.

“For the third year running, Republican leadership cast aside that time-honored tradition and strong bipartisan work, placing politics above the needs of our troops and our national security,” Smith said. “They included countless partisan amendments that sought to score points in a right-wing culture war rather than focus on the real needs of our service members and their families. And they refused to include meaningful amendments offered by Democrats, silencing debate of critical issues including the Trump administration’s politicization of our military and executive overreach that threatens our constitutional democracy, which undermines the authority of the Congress. That is why I voted against final passage today.”

Rogers said the bill has a strong, bipartisan “core,” highlighting acquisition reform.

“The FY-26 [defense authorization bill] cuts red tape, streamlines bureaucracy, and refocuses acquisition on its most important mission: getting our warfighters what they need when they need it,” he said. “In addition to modernizing our military and accelerating innovative technologies, the FY-26 [bill] invests in the men and women who serve our country, with a 3.8% payraise for all servicemembers and improved schools, housing, and access to healthcare.”

The bill must now advance to a conference committee with the Senate, which is also considering its version of the bill on the floor this week.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has chosen Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, currently assigned to the G-3/5/7, to lead the new counter-drone Joint Interagency Task Force 401 announced by Pentagon leadership last month.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo Aug. 27, establishing JIATF 401, which will report directly to the deputy defense secretary and have acquisition and procurement authority. This new task force, once established, will dissolve the Pentagon’s current joint counter-drone office.

Lt. Gen. Joseph Ryan, the Army deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training, told attendees at the Maneuver Warfighting Conference at Ft. Benning, GA Wednesday that Ross would be running the task force, calling him a “particularly talented individual.” Ross was most recently the deputy commander for maneuver of the 3rd Infantry Division, Ft. Stewart, GA.

Among the other federal agencies that will be a part of JIATF 401 will be the CIA, FBI, NSA and Federal Aviation Administration, Ryan added.

The number 401 in the name of the task force refers to the need for the Defense Department to coordinate with “all kinds of different interagencies to figure out how we’re going to shoot things down,” when drones are flying at more than 400 feet, George explained during the conference Tuesday.

George and other top officials within the Army have consistently said the United States must close the gap with adversary nations when it comes to producing cheap drones en masse -- a point Ryan reiterated Wednesday.

Ryan said Wednesday that the U.S. military “can’t win” when it is shooting down $10,000 drones using missiles that cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce.

“Our adversaries are ahead of us here. The Ukrainians are ahead of us here. We're watching it in real time every day, and we're trying to take some of those lessons, because that Ukraine-Russia battlefield is a living laboratory of everything we're seeing and learning about the effects that a counter UAS system must have,” he said.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on some of the defense programs the White House wants included in a potential continuing resolution, plus the Navy seeking a second builder for its Landing Craft Utility program and more.

The White House has submitted a list of "anomalies" it wants included in a continuing resolution -- if it's needed -- to keep the government funded:

White House seeks submarine stopgap funding as Congress eyes CR

The Trump administration is seeking billions to begin building an additional Columbia-class submarine in the likely event Congress is forced to pass a stopgap continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1, according to a list of "anomalies" sent to Capitol Hill.

Document: DOD's CR 'anomalies' list

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the York Space Systems space vehicles from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA at about 7 a.m. local time today:

SDA's first operational satellites launched

After about a year delay, the Space Development Agency today launched the first satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture that are suitable for operations.

The Navy is seeking companies capable of producing at least two LCUs per year and plans to release an official request for proposals next spring:

Navy seeks second builder for Landing Craft Utility program

The Navy is looking for a second shipyard to build vessels for its Landing Craft Utility program, according to a new sources-sought notice signaling a renewed push to expand output of the amphibious connectors 18 months after the service terminated its original LCU-1700 production contract.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George spoke this week at the Army's 2025 Maneuver Warfighting Conference:

Four next-gen tanks rolling out next year, Army chief says

The Army wants to build its next-generation tank faster -- and will have four prototypes to mess with as soon as next year, according to the service's chief of staff.

Steve Russell, vice president and general manager of Edison Works at GE, spoke at a Mitchell Institute event this week:

GE exec rejects notion industrial base can't handle F-47, F/A-XX engine production simultaneously

The advanced propulsion industrial base can handle two separate supply chains to produce an engine for both the Air Force's F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet and the Navy's F/A-XX, according to a senior GE Aerospace executive.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) this week called for treating economic vitality as central to security, launching a Manhattan Project-style initiative for AI and creating a Cyber National Guard to protect Americans on the digital frontlines:

Senator presses for national security overhaul to address economic and tech threats

A sweeping reorganization of the United States' national security institutions is needed to confront threats defined not by missiles and tanks but by economic decline, artificial intelligence and cyberattacks on civilians, a Democratic senator with deep national security credentials argued in a major address.

Bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers introduced yesterday a bill that would direct the defense secretary to work with Australia, India and Japan on space issues through the Quad partnership.

Reps. Jeff Crank (R-CO) and Jason Crow (D-CO) and Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) proposed the bill -- dubbed the Quad Space Act -- so the nations can work together to form best practices in space, share space situational awareness and cooperate on space industrial policy, according to a news release from Crank’s office.

"The Quad Space Act reinforces America’s role as a leading voice in international space policy," Crank said. "By strengthening cooperation with Japan, Australia and India, it advances our shared commitment to preventing Chinese dominance in outer space and promotes a free and open space domain for all."

The bill is separate from the fiscal year 2026 defense policy bill, a spokesperson for Crank confirmed.

The Colorado delegation represents many stakeholders in space as it is home to three out of six Space Force bases as well as headquarters or manufacturing facilities for several space-related businesses.

U.S. Space Command is currently based in Colorado Springs, CO, but President Trump announced last week that it would move to Redstone Arsenal, AL.

“The treaties and conventions that govern space are outdated. We must strengthen our work with allies to address modern challenges and keep America safe,” Crow said. “Colorado will continue to play a key role in protecting the homeland, with Buckley Space Force Base, a talented defense workforce, and leading defense, space, and aerospace businesses.”

The bill would direct the defense secretary to start discussions on space through the Quad within 180 days of enactment and would order a report on discussions -- including potential areas of mutual interest and potential steps to formalize cooperation -- within 270 days, according to the bill text.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA).)

The House Rules Committee voted 9-4 to advance the annual defense authorization bill, approving around 300 amendments for debate, with floor consideration slated for later today.

The bill, known as the "Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026," began with more than 1,000 proposed amendments.

Democratic lawmakers argued that a defense bill free of divisive “culture war” amendments would garner broad bipartisan support, such as when the measure first passed out of the House Armed Services Committee.

The bill, however, includes amendments to block gender-affirming medical care, which is set to cost it the support of some Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, who listed several objections to the actions of the Trump administration including its use of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement, the firings of senior military leaders, eliminating inspectors general, and cutting the jobs of cyber experts via downsizing at the Pentagon.

“I will be voting no on the passage of the rule for the FY26 NDAA and standing in strong opposition to its failure to provide meaningful debate on core policy disagreements with the Trump administration," he said. "Furthermore, there are a number of problematic amendments included in the rule that focus on divisive topics rather than strengthening our national security. Should these amendments be adopted, I will vote against final passage of the bill."

Additionally, the bill does not contain any standalone amendments proposed by Democrats.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said the bill’s initial show of bipartisan support out of committee can be attributed to its focus on national security.

“We keep the focus on the warfighter and making sure we give them what they need to be successful and safe,” he said. “That is our focus. It always has been. We still have our robust debates around some small measure of issues but generally the focus is where it should be and that is our national security.”

Smith predicted the bill, if it were allowed to proceed to the floor largely free of divisive amendments, could easily win 360 or 370 votes. He noted, however, that the “principal risk” facing the measure would be culture war debates.

Along with other measures that will be debated, the bill contains a bipartisan amendment to repeal the 1991 and 2002 laws authorizing the use of military force, which has been unsuccessful in previous years.

The bill also includes an amendment authored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would bar U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

The House Armed Services Committee has set up a floor amendment tracker to follow the debate in real time.

Watch Inside Defense for further coverage.