The Insider

The INSIDER daily digest -- November 20, 2025
By John Liang
November 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has coverage of the Pentagon's Golden Dome missile defense system, the Navy working to attract private capital and more.

We start off with some exclusive, previously unreported news about the Golden Dome missile defense program:

Pentagon finalizes Golden Dome architecture as implementation plan under review

The Pentagon has completed the baseline architecture for the Golden Dome for America initiative and is shifting its focus to reviewing an implementation plan, marking a major milestone for one of the most ambitious missile defense efforts in decades, according to officials and a statement provided to Inside Defense.

A commercial adoption bootcamp for the acquisition workforce is in the works and an impending announcement on the Navy's relationship with private capital could be a substantial change for the service:

Ex-DOGE employee promises new Navy initiatives to attract private capital and address underperformance

Historically, the Navy has not been a good partner to venture capital and private equity, a Navy official said this week. This could soon change, with the rollout of new initiatives that coincide with the Pentagon's wide-ranging overhaul of its defense acquisition system.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on Aug. 27 which created JIATF 401 and dissolved its predecessor, the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office. The new task force, unlike the JCO, will have acquisition and procurement authorities:

JIATF 401 spending in FY-26 will emphasize procurement, director says

The Pentagon's newly stood up Joint Interagency Task Force 401, established this summer to focus on the counter-drone threat, will put an emphasis on procurement spending in fiscal year 2026, JIATF 401 Director and Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross told reporters last week.

Coverage of the ramifications of the Pentagon's new "Acquisition Transformation Strategy":

DOD's push for spending control to test Congress as lawmakers seek transparency

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has unveiled a new acquisition reform plan that would let Pentagon officials reprogram funds "without congressional approval," raising questions about the role of appropriators -- some of Washington's most powerful lawmakers -- while they demand increased transparency from the department.

White tapped to lead new Air Force critical major weapon systems portfolio

President Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Dale White to receive a fourth star and to become the first-ever Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems, an Air Force official told Inside Defense.

First hydrogen-powered drone among updates to DIU pre-vetting list
By Theresa Maher
November 20, 2025 at 12:22 PM

The Defense Innovation Unit added two new drones to its roster of policy-compliant uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) last week -- one of which is the first hydrogen-powered UAS to secure a spot on DIU's Blue UAS Cleared List.

The Z1 from Zepher Flight Labs -- a subsidiary of UAS production company Heven AeroTech -- is a small drone powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, with reliable vertical-takeoff-and-landing capabilities, per the company’s website. DIU added the platform to the pre-approval list last week and tagged it a Blue UAS Select system.

Blue UAS Select is the premium tier of the Blue UAS clearance list, so to speak -- signaling systems with the designation have -- in addition to passing basic policy compliance and cybersecurity evaluations -- already undergone a competitive process in response to a Defense Department component need. Platforms designated as Blue UAS Select have also undergone further assessments for performance and cybersecurity and possess an “Authority to Operate.”

DIU also signaled that vetting for the first-person view (FPV) drone winners of its inaugural Project G.I. prize challenge wrapped up last week, with the addition of Nokturnal AI’s Nightmare FPV to the list.

The other FPV platforms -- Auterion’s SLM-10, ModalAI’s Seeker Vision and Neros Technologies’ Archer -- had already been named to the list when Nightmare was added.

The update came nearly two months after DIU named the winners and announced each system would undergo cybersecurity and policy compliance review for addition to the roster of pre-approved drones.

Navy seeking UAS ISR services under four basic ordering agreements
By Abby Shepherd
November 20, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Naval Air Systems Command is seeking intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services for land and sea-based unmanned aircraft systems, according to an announcement today.

The Navy plans to issue delivery orders under four basic ordering agreements -- a written statement of understanding for future contracts -- for UAS ISR services to AeroVironment, Insitu Inc., Shield AI and Textron Systems. Each company will compete for each of the four basic ordering agreements.

The Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-263) is required to provide these ISR services for multiple combatant commands, according to the government notice.

“Contractors will be responsible for resources to produce sensor data, such as trained personnel, non-developmental UAS equipment, certifications, operation and maintenance, spares and product support,” the notice states. “Contracted services would be in direct support of ISR missions requiring around the clock imagery and other sensor capability in support of those missions.”

Navy seeks counter-swarm and other new tech for operational experimentation
By Abby Shepherd
November 19, 2025 at 5:54 PM

The Office of Naval Research is seeking information on technology related to counter-unmanned systems swarm, containerized payloads for unmanned surface vehicles and decision superiority for maritime operations centers in preparation for a Technology Operational Experimentation Event '26 campaign in the next year.

TOEEs are meant to inform future science and technology investments by executing live experimentation in operationally relevant scenarios and environments, according to a Tuesday notice. Past events have focused on expeditionary sustainment, subsea and seabed warfare, maritime reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.

The Office of Naval Research Global, Experimentation and Analysis worked with naval operational forces, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Office of Naval Research to develop the operational topics TOEE 26 will address.

ONRG E&A is interested in technologies with a technology readiness level of five through seven that can conduct live experimentation in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, will hold a virtual industry day with ONRG Dec. 4. The entire experimentation series will be initiated with a technology demonstration, and successful technologies will be invited to join limited objective experiments, which could begin by March to July 2026, according to the request for information. Sufficient technologies will then move onto the Advanced Capability Experiment, tentatively scheduled for August to December 2026.

Submissions to this RFI are due Dec. 19.

The INSIDER daily digest -- November 19, 2025
By John Liang
November 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Anduril Industries partnering with a South Korean shipbuilder, an artificial intelligence provision lawmakers are trying to include in the defense policy bill, the Navy's implementation of certain acquisition reforms and more.

Anduril has partnered with many companies and still has a desire to be a major defense prime, President and Chief Business Officer Matthew Steckman said at this week's State of Defense Business Acquisition Summit:

Anduril's partnership with South Korean shipbuilder part of pattern for company, executive says

Anduril Industries' recently announced partnership with South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is part of a pattern for the defense startup, a company executive said this week.

Our colleagues at Inside AI Policy have news on an artificial intelligence provision lawmakers are trying to get into the defense policy bill:

Moratorium on state AI regulation reemerges as defense policy bill moves to endgame

Backers of imposing a moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence are eyeing the annual national defense policy bill -- now the subject of endgame negotiations between the House and Senate -- as a vehicle, sending opponents scrambling to the barricades to block such a proposal for the second time this year.

A new Navy memo provides an early glimpse of the service's first steps to implement the Pentagon's acquisition overhaul agenda:

Draft memo: Navy's RAS office to absorb 66 programs spanning all domains

The Navy is developing plans to sweep 66 different programs spanning air, sea and land into its new Portfolio Acquisition Executive Robotic Autonomous System (PAE RAS) office, according to a draft memo obtained by Inside Defense.

A commercial solutions opening -- accompanied by an Area of Interest notice -- comes just over a month after the Army launched is Janus initiative and tasked DIU with building commercial microreactors using a "nimble, milestone-based contracting model":

DIU releases CSO for Army 'Janus' initiative

The Defense Innovation Unit today issued the anticipated call to industry for the Army's Janus program aimed at developing commercially owned and operated nuclear microreactors for the military.

Army Maj. Gen. John Rafferty, currently serving as chief of staff at U.S. European Command, is slated to receive a third star and take over the Huntsville-based command responsible for missile defense operations and Army space capabilities:

Artillery leader pick for SMDC raises Golden Dome expertise concerns

The decision to nominate Maj. Gen. John Rafferty to lead U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command comes as service leaders work to more closely integrate offensive and defensive fires, a move that is stirring concern among air defenders who argue that an artillery background doesn't provide expertise needed for Golden Dome.

Air Force considering laser-guided rocket capability to take down enemy drones
By Vanessa Montalbano
November 19, 2025 at 2:09 PM

The Air Force is asking industry how it could add Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System technologies to its fleet of counter small-unmanned aircraft systems to better combat small- to medium-sized enemy drones.

Such APKWS capabilities would provide pinpoint accuracy and minimal collateral damage in battle against Groups one, two and three drones -- the nomenclature used by the Pentagon to describe sUAS between zero and 1,320 lbs. which can travel up to 250 knots, according to a request for information issued today by Air Force Materiel Command.

The service “is looking for all systems capable of taking track data/queues from sensors to laze targets and launch guided Hydra 70 APKWS rockets. Native target detection/sensing and C2 capabilities are not required on system,” per the notice.

Additionally, the Air Force indicated it would likely only consider “Technology Readiness Level 6” options from companies, or those that are already fully prototyped and technically demonstrated in a relevant environment.

Vendors have until Dec. 31 to respond to several questions about the system’s hardware configuration and capabilities, including its ability to engage with multiple sUAS swarm in a short period of time, whether the system needs to be stationary or if it can be mounted onto a vehicle and the number of times the system can be fired before it needs to be reloaded.

Other questions regard the option’s software, intellectual property assertions, pricing, support and sustainment.

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.