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The Navy is seeking additional sources for Contractor Owned Contractor Operated (COCO) services meant to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance via unmanned aerial systems, according to a request for information issued Feb. 5.

UAS ISR services are already being delivered to the Navy by Insitu Inc. and Textron Systems, yet these Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) are set to expire in March 2026, leading the Navy to seek out additional sources for fiscal year 2026, according to the RFI.

The notice asks that contractors be able to “produce sensor data, such as trained personnel, non-developmental UAS equipment, certifications, operation and maintenance, spares and product support,” and “be capable of providing ISR services on a normal and surge basis, day and night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Specifically, the Navy is seeking sources with a technology readiness level of 8, a minimum operational range of 75 nautical miles, an operational endurance of 10 hours, an ability to operate in adverse weather conditions, and a capability to operate in Global Positioning System-denied environments.

The Navy also wants systems that are “capable of providing a communications relay to support extending the range of voice communications for manned aircraft and C2/data for unmanned aircraft and vessels,” that include an air vehicle that can operate on heavy fuels typically found at forward-deployed locations, and that can operate two air vehicles at the same time from one ground control station, among other capabilities, according to the RFI.

The Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office (PMA-263) held an industry day in February 2023, when industry members gathered to share their capabilities on unmanned technology.

Potential contractors are encouraged to submit a capability statement package that includes the technology readiness level of the potential UAS, the system’s anti-jam capabilities, capabilities in a GPS-denied environment, as well as the system’s weather and environmental limitations, the RFI states.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on countering drone threats, increasing military cooperation between Russia and China, the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program and more.

The general in charge of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command testified on Capitol Hill recently:

Pentagon expands efforts to counter drone threats, plans major demonstration in August

The Pentagon is ramping up efforts to counter the growing threat of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) with an expanded demonstration of cutting-edge drone defense technologies scheduled for August 2025.

NORAD: Deepened China-Russia military cooperation increases threats to U.S. homeland

The likelihood of direct military conflict between the U.S. and its top adversaries is growing, fueled by deepening strategic cooperation between China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, according to the head of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

The latest CMMC news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Pentagon officials post guidance for defense agencies to implement CMMC requirements

A recent memorandum from senior Pentagon officials provides guidance on determining assessment levels and the waivers process under the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

Document: DOD memo on CMMC implementation requirements

Port Alpha, a planned shipyard, is set to "enable the expansion of Saronic's Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) fleet into medium- and large-class autonomous ships for defense applications," according to the company:

Saronic launching 'next-generation shipyard' to support expansion of USV offerings

Maritime defense technology provider Saronic announced today it has closed a nearly $600 million private capital funding round, valuing the company at $4 billion and positioning it to build "a next-generation shipyard" to deliver "new classes of unmanned ships" at speed and scale.

In recent letters to all the military service chiefs, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-CA) ask all the services to identify obsolete programs that don't enhance U.S. deterrence:

Lawmakers ask Pentagon to deliver lists of possible budget cuts

The Pentagon is being asked to provide senior lawmakers with a list of weapons programs, military infrastructure and processes that could be cut from the budget if they are not aligned with the National Defense Strategy.

Document: House lawmakers' letters on obsolete programs

Katie Arrington is returning to the Pentagon in a new role as chief information security officer at the Defense Department Office of the Chief Information Officer, marking a full-circle moment for the former acquisition official who served as the public face of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program during President Trump's first term.

Arrington announced her new job in a Feb. 19 LinkedIn post with no details on what she will be doing as DOD CISO. She was tapped to lead the development of the CMMC program in July 2019 within the office of the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, where the CMMC Program Management Office was initially based.

The CMMC program was paused in early 2021 under the direction of then-Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks who came in at the start of the Biden administration. Arrington was put on suspension in the summer of 2021 over her alleged sharing of classified information outside of DOD.

Arrington officially resigned in February 2022 from DOD and announced a run for a House seat in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. She lost in the primary election to incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) who was selected in the 118th Congress to serve as chair of the House Oversight cyber subcommittee.

Arrington joined supply chain firm Exiger in January 2024 as vice president of government affairs.

The CISO job at the DOD CIO was posted on USAJobs in January after acting DOD CIO Leslie Beavers moved David McKeown into a new job as special assistant for cybersecurity innovation. Sudha Vyas, chief cybersecurity architect at DOD CIO, was made acting DOD CISO and acting principal director for cybersecurity.

In a February 2022 memorandum, Hicks moved the CMMC PMO over to the DOD office of the CIO and eliminated Arrington’s previous job as CISO at A&S. DOD did not respond to a request for comment on Arrington’s new role at the DOD CIO office as of publication time.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on House lawmakers asking the service chiefs to identify obsolete programs that don't enhance U.S. deterrence, plus unmanned surface vessel coverage and more.

In recent letters to all the military service chiefs, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-CA) ask all the services to identify obsolete programs that don't enhance U.S. deterrence:

Lawmakers ask Pentagon to deliver lists of possible budget cuts

The Pentagon is being asked to provide senior lawmakers with a list of weapons programs, military infrastructure and processes that could be cut from the budget if they are not aligned with the National Defense Strategy.

Document: House lawmakers' letters on obsolete programs

In November 2024, a meeting between lawmakers and the Navy consisted of discussions on “funding lines required to support the new Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC), which is a merger of the LUSV/MUSV into a medium-sized USV,” a Navy spokesperson recently told Inside Defense:

Navy considering new USV amid questions over LUSV practicality

A new unmanned surface vessel may result from talks between the Navy and lawmakers, following a year filled with debate over how to phase out larger, more bespoke systems in favor of a streamlined solution -- an effort industry has been heavily involved in as well.

Document: Wicker, Reed letter on the Navy's LUSV program

In related USV news, the Pentagon's latest operational test and evaluation report looks at the Marine Corps' Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel program:

LRUSV transitioning to major capability acquisition pathway in FY-27 after pivot from rapid prototyping

The Marine Corps will transition its Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel program to the major capability acquisition pathway in fiscal year 2027 following a decision to terminate a middle tier acquisition rapid prototyping effort, according to the latest annual report from the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation.

(Read our complete DOT&E report coverage.)

In case you missed it, Inside Defense did a deep dive into Air Force depots' surge capacity in the event of a war in the Indo-Pacific:

Air Force depots can support surge capacity in the Indo-Pacific for 30 days before things get 'interesting'

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OK -- Should a conflict between the U.S. and China break out, the Air Force Sustainment Center here could support a roughly 30-day surge before operations of the service's logistics arm get "really, really interesting," the commander said.

The Army recently executed two PrSM Increment 1 engagements during a flight test at White Sands Missile Range, NM:

PrSM Increment 1 notches another success in production qualification test

The Army successfully completed a key production qualification test for its next-generation, long-range strike missile, marking an important advance in the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 effort, the first part of a planned $8.4 billion acquisition.

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several public events this week.

Monday

Presidents Day.

Wednesday

The Hudson Institute hosts a discussion on Navy shipbuilding.

The Zero Trust Summit is held in Washington.

Thursday

Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein speaks at the Miami Space Summit in Miami, FL.

President Trump said today he wants to schedule meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladmir Putin to reduce their nuclear arsenals and cut military spending "in half."

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he would like the meeting to take place “in the not-too-distant future” when “things settle down.”

The United States, he said, spends far too much on its nearly $1 trillion military.

“One of the first meetings I want to have [is] with President Xi [of] China and with President Putin of Russia and I want to say, ‘let's cut our military budget in half,’” he said. “We're going to have them spend a lot less money and we're going to spend a lot less money and I know they are going to do it.”

Trump said he had discussed nuclear de-escalation with Putin and Xi in his first term before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and brought it up more recently in a phone call with Putin when they discussed beginning negotiations to end to the war in Ukraine.

“President Putin and I agreed that we are going to do it in a very big way,” Trump said. “There’s no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons. We already have so many you could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over and here we are building new nuclear weapons and they’re building nuclear weapons, and China is building nuclear weapons and China is trying to catch up. . . . We're all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things.”

Trump said the word “de-nuclearize” is a “beautiful term.”

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are arguing that U.S. defense spending must dramatically increase, hitting between 4% and 5% of gross domestic product and the Trump administration is push NATO nations to also spend 5% of GDP on defense.

The GOP-led House and Senate have produced competing budget reconciliation proposals that would increase defense spending by an additional $100 billion to $150 billion over the next 10 years.

News of Trump’s remarks cause a slide in the defense market, with shares of Northrop Grumman dropping 3.3%, General Dynamics falling 2.1% and Lockheed Martin down 1.6%.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a House Budget Committee resolution that would increase defense spending by $100 billion as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcoming DOGE to find "billions" in wasteful Pentagon spending and more.

A new resolution released today, which the House Budget Committee will vote on tomorrow, would cut $2 trillion in spending, potentially adding $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and adding $100 billion to defense:

House releases budget resolution with $100 billion defense boost

The House Budget Committee has released a resolution that increases defense spending by $100 billion, a competing "blueprint" with one being crafted in the Senate that would boost the military topline by $150 billion.

Document: House budget committee's budget resolution

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke to reporters this week outside U.S. Africa Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany:

Hegseth welcomes 'keen eye of DOGE' to cut billions at DOD

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today he is ready to welcome Elon Musk's team of government cost-cutters to the Pentagon, anticipating they will identify "billions" in wasteful spending that can be redirected toward military readiness.

Acting Space Force acquisition chief Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy spoke this week at the Defense and Intelligence Space Conference:

OCX operational acceptance expected in January

The Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) will be delivered to operators in June, according to a letter from acting Air Force Secretary Gary Ashworth to the Pentagon's chief tester, with acceptance of the long-delayed program expected in January.

Missile defense news:

LTAMDS detects cruise missile target, PAC-2 GEM-T intercepts in key test

The Army's next-generation air and missile defense radar successfully demonstrated its ability to counter cruise missile threats using a legacy interceptor during a flight test last week at White Sands Missile Range, NM, marking an important step forward in the program's development and march toward a production review.

Former MDA chief envisions Uber-like space-based interceptor fleet

The former head of the Missile Defense Agency who two decades ago oversaw the launch of the current system that provides limited national missile defense against North Korean and Iranian threats says the United States must embrace a space-based missile defense system to keep pace with evolving threats from Russia and China.

Increased domestic refining, recycling and manufacturing should join domestic mining activity as vital components to securing U.S. mineral -- and therefore national -- security, while partnerships with international allies would also create a more resilient supply chain, witnesses and lawmakers said during a recent House Natural Resources energy and mineral resources subcommittee hearing:

House panel: Domestic mining not sole solution to ensuring critical mineral supply

Reducing reliance on imports from adversary nations for critical minerals powering the defense sector's supply chain will require a more comprehensive approach than just ramping up domestic mining activity, lawmakers and experts said during a House hearing last week.