The Insider

The Army is asking for industry responses to a request for information published last month that seeks to identify potential sources for manufacturing the M284 155mm cannon tube.

The June 10 notice asks vendors to describe their ability to manufacture rifled, 155mm artillery cannon tubes as well as information about their facility location, manufacturing square footage, infrastructure age and number of workers. The notice asks companies to respond by July 17.

The Army produces cannons for the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, M1 Abrams tank M777 lightweight howitzer and the Air Force’s AC-130 gunship at Watervliet Arsenal, NY -- a service-owned and operated facility that dates back to the War of 1812.

With the RFI released last month, the government is “surveying the market for secondary sources,” and there is no intent to move production away from Watervliet, Army contract specialist Brianna Davis wrote in an email to Inside Defense this week.

“The government would evaluate sources who respond to assist in developing an acquisition strategy, determine market capability and identify commercial practices,” she wrote.

An award made to industry would “likely be binding by way of a government-to-private industry contract,” according to Davis.

The Army has awarded a $251 million contract to Sikorsky for UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft that will be used for foreign military sales to Croatia and Jordan, according to a notice from the Pentagon posted Thursday.

The contract has an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027, according to the notice.

Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, noted in an announcement today that the foreign military sale will buy eight of the aircraft for Croatia, which will bring the country’s fleet to 12.

The deal includes aircraft, organizational equipment, spare and repair parts as well as associated support equipment, according to Sikorsky. The aircraft can support “troop lift, border security, counterterrorism, medical evacuation, search-and-rescue, resupply or external lift and combat support.”

Hamid Salim, Sikorsky’s vice president for Army and Air Force systems, said in a statement that “Croatia’s decision to acquire eight more of the latest generation UH-60M Black Hawks for its armed forces, tripling its fleet, will support ongoing modernization efforts and strengthen the Balkan region’s ability to deter current and future threats.”

The Defense Department today announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine, including air defense systems, munitions and anti-tank weapons worth an estimated $225 million, with the announcement coming on the heels of the NATO summit in Washington.

This marks the 61st tranche of equipment the Biden administration has provided Ukraine, totaling more than $54.4 billion in security assistance, DOD said today.

At the NATO summit earlier this week, President Biden announced the U.S. is working together with Germany, Romania, the Netherlands and Italy to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses by supplying five strategic air defense systems, like Patriot batteries and SAMP/T systems.

The package announced today after a meeting between Biden and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy includes supplying one additional Patriot battery. A previous Pentagon fact sheet noted that the U.S. has already supplied Ukraine with one Patriot battery since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.

However, a February Defense Department I.G. report found that there was no lifecycle sustainment strategy for the Patriot air defense systems the Pentagon delivered to Ukraine, although the department was working on sustainment efforts.

Today’s package also includes munitions for national advanced surface-to-air missile systems; stinger anti-aircraft missiles; ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems; 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds; tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided equipment and missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; demolitions munitions; and spare parts for maintenance.

“The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners to ensure Ukraine's brave defenders receive the critical capabilities needed to fight Russian aggression,” DOD said.

The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is seeking to develop a high-energy laser that can defeat groups 1 through 3 unmanned systems, according to a government notice posted Wednesday asking vendors to submit white papers.

RCCTO is aiming to leverage industry in accelerating the “development and field testing of a producible and sustainable laser weapon system,” according to the Army. The weapon system will be designed to meet a counter UAS force protection requirement from the Army and will be compatible with existing air and missile defense architecture.

According to the notice, the laser will be able to deliver lethal effects against groups 1 through 3 UAS, which the Defense Department defines as those weighing less than 1,320 pounds.

The laser weapon system should be capable of “fixed site defense and/or integration onto an existing Army platform, such as a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle,” according to the Army. And it also must be interoperable with the service’s Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control.

RCCTO plans to issue a prototype award early in fiscal year 2025 and will choose a prime contractor in FY-26 for production following the development and demonstration effort, according to the notice. Once the program transitions to the Army’s Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, it could use a middle tier acquisition rapid fielding approach to produce up to 20 laser weapon systems.

The government will give preference to vendors’ systems that are assessed at Technology Readiness Level 7 by the third quarter of FY-26 -- meaning that the prototype has been demonstrated in an operational environment.

Interested vendors are invited to an industry day at Redstone Arsenal, AL July 18, and white papers are due Aug. 7.

In a report accompanying the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the FY-25 defense authorization bill, released earlier this week, lawmakers noted the threat posed by “Group 1 to Group 3+ unmanned aerial systems and UAS swarms, both to the Homeland and to U.S. military operations, installations, and personnel worldwide."

Senate authorizers stated in the legislation that the Pentagon must test directed-energy capabilities and servicemembers must be trained to operate directed-energy weapons before they can be deployed against UAS.

The committee has included a provision directing the defense secretary to brief the congressional defense committees by March 31, 2025 on the capability of the Pentagon to test directed-energy systems, and its plans to increase that capability. The briefing is to include a list of DOD test ranges that currently conduct directed-energy testing, along with information on any impacts the tests may have on the National Airspace System and the electromagnetic spectrum as well as a plan to “expand range support for DE testing and operations.”

(Editor’s note: Kongsberg reported their quarterly financial information in Norwegian Krone. This story uses the conversion rate to the U.S. dollar as of July 10, 2024.)

Kongsberg defense revenue increased by 28% for the second quarter of 2024 driven in part by U.S. air defense and remotely operated weapon systems, company executives reported during a quarterly earnings presentation today.

With defense segment revenues at $413 million, President and CEO Geir Håøy said programs with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army “were an important milestone” in the Norwegian company’s defense profits for the second quarter of this year.

Kongsberg’s defense segment is currently contracted to produce the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for the U.S. Air Force and the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) for the U.S. Army.

In total, the company reported an approximate $1.08 billion in revenue with growth ranging from 8% to 28% across all segments, which include maritime, aerospace and digital design.

Based off the Navy’s Strike Missile, the JSM is an air-launched cruise missile with a 345-mile range designed to be fired from an F-35.

“The U.S. Air Force is by far the largest purchaser of F-35s and represent a huge potential for our missile going forward,” Håøy said during the presentation. “We expect more countries to order the missile in the next years.”

Kongsberg also opened a new factory associated with the JASM, which Håøy added would contribute to further growth.

The CROWS is a remotely operated machine gun that allows soldiers the fire on targets from inside combat vehicles without having to expose themselves to enemy fire. The Army is currently fitting the system to the Stryker combat vehicle, according to service budget documents.

Mette Toft Bjørgen, the company’s financial officer, noted that CROWS was the “largest contributor” to growth in the defense segment.

Partnering with Textron, Kongsberg is also designing lethal payloads for the U.S. Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle program, an unmanned vehicle designed to operate alongside manned units.

Assistant Air Force Secretary for Financial Management and Comptroller Kristyn Jones, who performed the duties of the service under secretary for more than a year, will retire from the government tomorrow, the service announced today.

Jones began her role as assistant secretary in May 2022, and from March 2023 until May of this year, she acted as the Air Force under secretary. During this time, she helped shape the service’s “Reoptimization for Great Power Competition” plan to meet the potential threat posed by near peer adversaries, particularly China.

“I want to express my gratitude to Kristyn Jones for her dedicated service while serving as under secretary,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in May. “Her leadership and focus was invaluable as we advanced our modernization priorities and efforts to reoptimize the department for an era of great power competition.”

Melissa Dalton took over as under secretary in May following her Senate confirmation, more than a year after former Under Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones left the position.

Jones previously served in the Army and worked in financial management for both the Navy and Army.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program's price tag, plus coverage of the Senate Armed Services Committee's fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill and more.

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante certified this week that the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile modernization program is necessary for national security, there are no alternatives to meet the requirements and the program is a higher priority than other programs whose funding will need to be cut:

Sentinel nuclear missile program to continue despite cost jump to $141 billion

The Defense Department is committing to the LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile program despite the price tag jumping to $140.9 billion -- an 81% increase -- and facing years-long delays.

The Senate defense authorization bill released this week would add $615 million in funding to a variety of Army programs:

Senate authorizers add funding for counter UAS, missile items from Army UPL in bill

The Senate Armed Services Committee would add funding for multiple items listed on the Army's unfunded priorities list related to unmanned systems and air and missile defense in its version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

Building a manned refueling aircraft remains Boeing's priority because it "requires much less electromagnetic spectrum to accomplish the mission over time, through technologies such as artificial intelligence, which could reduce the electromagnetic spectrum required to command and control those assets," according to a senior company executive:

Boeing not interested in making autonomous air refuelers -- for now

ST. LOUIS -- Even as the Air Force has signaled some support to eventually field unmanned tanker systems, plane-maker Boeing is looking at "principally crewed concepts" when developing future refueling platforms, Sean Liedman, Boeing's director of global reach, mobility, surveillance and bombers, recently told reporters here.

In its latest annual weapon system assessment, the Government Accountability Office found the Army initially intended to conduct its design completion review for the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 by December 2023 but delayed the review until all entrance criteria were met:

Army completes design review of Precision Strike Missile

The Army completed the design review for its short-range precision fire missile in the third quarter of this fiscal year, moving the nearly $8 million multiyear program closer to full operability.

GAO's weapon systems assessment also found cost increases in the Navy's MQ-4C Triton uncrewed aircraft program:

MQ-4C costs rise by 117%, final version estimated at $618 million per unit

The Navy's MQ-4C unmanned aircraft program has experienced substantial increases in acquisition unit costs with the newest version of the aircraft estimated to cost $618 million per unit, according to the Government Accountability Office and a Navy spokesperson.

The Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) effort is a new-start program in fiscal year 2025 aimed at bolstering the joint force's air and missile defense efforts against cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft systems:

Army releases RFIs for Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System

The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office released a series of requests for information today related to the service's new Multi-Domain Artillery Cannon System (MDACS) effort.

Document: Army RFI for MDAC

Document: Army RFI for MFPR