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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“The treaties and conventions that govern space are outdated.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.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Army's mixed-reality goggle program, plus the Space Development Agency getting new leadership and more.

The next iteration of the Army's mixed-reality goggle program is now under contract:

Army awards contracts to Anduril, Rivet for next iteration of IVAS

The Army has awarded other transaction agreements to Anduril Industries and Rivet Industries for prototypes of the next iteration of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, now formally known as the Soldier Borne Mission Command system (SBMC), the service’s Program Executive Office Soldier announced.

The Space Development Agency has new leadership:

Tournear leaving SDA, Sandhoo named acting director

Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear is leaving the organization he's been leading since it was first established, according to an SDA announcement this morning.

More SDA-related news:

SDA delays planned September contract awards for Tranche 3 Transport Layer

The Pentagon is pushing back a contract award for the next phase of its proliferated low-Earth orbit communications network, raising questions about the possibility of a major new plan for the multibillion-dollar Transport Layer effort following a nearly $500 million cut by the Trump administration.

In July, the Pentagon's acting comptroller asked lawmakers -- as part of an FY-25 omnibus reprogramming request -- to reallocate previously appropriated money into the Army's counter-drone account to finance a new radar competition and upgrades to the Ku-band Radio Frequency System (KuRFS):

Army to launch new mobile radar competition in 2026 as part of cUAS push

The Army is preparing to stage a Mobile Flat Panel Radar Sense-Off Competition in the summer of 2026, a move aimed at reducing costs and boosting performance of sensors used to defend against drones.

Navy Secretary John Phelan is calling for setting up a new deputy Navy assistant secretary for robotic and autonomous systems as well as a related program executive office and portfolio acquisition executive:

Navy to establish new robotic and autonomous systems program office, consolidate existing efforts

Navy Secretary John Phelan has directed the establishment of a new program executive office for robotic and autonomous systems (PEO RAS) and the creation of a corresponding portfolio acquisition executive position as well as a deputy assistant Navy secretary for robotic and autonomous systems position, according to a Sept. 3 memo obtained by Inside Defense.

Document: Navy memo on new robotic, autonomous systems program office

President Trump today signed an executive order authorizing the use of "Department of War" as a secondary title for the Defense Department.

Some GOP lawmakers are pushing to codify the name change into law as only Congress can rename federal agencies, but Trump today authorized the use of “secretary of war” and “Department of War” for public communication.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also updated his social media handle on X to be @SecWar following a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. The department’s official X account was also updated.

“WE ARE THE WAR DEPARTMENT,” the account declared.

The Pentagon’s official website www.defense.gov has also been changed to www.war.gov.

Hegseth, speaking alongside Trump in the Oval Office, said the name changes reflect the administration’s priorities.

“We're going to go on offense not just on defense,” he said. “Maximum lethality -- not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We're going to raise up warriors. Not just defenders. This War Department, Mr. President, just like America, is back.”

Trump said “Defense Department” -- which remains the department's legal name -- is too “politically correct” and “wokey.”

“It has to do with winning,” he said. “We should have won every war. We could have won every war. We really chose to be a very politically correct or wokey and we just fight forever.”

Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded on X, criticizing the size of the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 defense spending request.

“If we call it the Dept. of War, we'd better equip the military to actually prevent and win wars,” he wrote. “Can't preserve American primacy if we're unwilling to spend substantially more on our military than Carter or Biden. ‘Peace through strength’ requires investment, not just rebranding.”

The U.S. Department of War was created in 1789, reorganized in 1947 as the National Military Establishment and then renamed the Department of Defense in 1949.

The Air Force Research Lab is gauging private-sector interest in developing reliable and precise position, navigation and timing (PNT) technology to coordinate swarms of small drones in GPS-denied or degraded environments with harsh physical conditions, per a request for information published yesterday.

Input on such capabilities from industry is due Sept. 19.

The Air Force Research Laboratory isn’t yet soliciting prototype proposals, but its air domain research unit is gauging industry interest in supporting a VPX ruggedized testbed for position, navigation and timing prototypes that incorporate its Next Generation Atomic Clock -- a low-power, advanced system designed to maintain precise time measurement and synchronization.

Such a testbed would use a decentralized but standard open PNT architecture so platforms can operate without GPS. It would also allow swarms of small drones to establish reference frames using measurements between the platforms, so they can start navigating together without prior positioning data. As the swarm continues to operate, the positioning accuracy will improve with the accumulation of real-time data.

The VPX ruggedization means this testbed would also allow for the integration between platforms and the assessment of prototypes’ operation in harsh physical environments.

“This system is critical for maintaining coordinated flight, accurate data collection, advanced sensor fusion, and effective mission execution,” the notice said.

It comes as PNT capabilities continue to gain traction as a high-priority mission requirement for the Defense Department. The Pentagon’s science and technology chief brought it up last week at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual emerging technology conference.

“If I were to say we need to be able to operate through highly contested environments with a given mission, well, one of those important aspects is assured position, navigation and timing,” said Michael Holthe, performing the duties of assistant defense secretary for science and technology.

The RFI also comes more than a year after a Defense Science Board task force recommended the Pentagon attempt to leverage commercial markets for the rapid scaling of PNT systems for military use.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to convene on Sept. 11 to hold a nomination hearing for Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney, who has been tapped to serve as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

If confirmed, Mahoney, who currently serves as assistant Marine Corps commandant, would succeed Adm. Christopher Grady.

As vice chairman, Mahoney would co-chair the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, which -- for now -- governs the process for validating and prioritizing what the military needs.

The job is set to be transformed, however, as the Pentagon recently announced the disestablishment of the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System.

If confirmed, Mahoney would co-chair a new Requirements and Resourcing Alignment Board (RRAB) that is slated to be stood up over the next 120 days and is intended to link military requirements to the Pentagon budget process, choose “Key Operational Problems” (KOPs), and decide which will be resourced. The RRAB will also have the power to recommend canceling or redirecting service-specific programs.

Meanwhile, under the new regime the JROC will no longer validate service-level requirements, except when required by law. Instead, the JROC will focus on ranking the new KOPs representing the biggest warfighting gaps tied to the National Defense Strategy and the Joint Warfighting Concept.

Last week, Grady, noting the dissolution of JCIDS, said DOD is moving with haste toward its latest round of acquisition reforms.

“There is good momentum in the building to get after that,” he said. “JCIDS was in significant need of reform. The answer was: Let’s just get rid of it and think of different ways to do the business.”

Austal USA has entered into a strategic outsourcing agreement with fellow Alabama-based shipbuilder Master Boat Builders that will see the two companies collaborate on current programs in Austal’s portfolio as well as undisclosed future efforts, Austal announced today.

Under the agreement, Master Boat Builders will support Austal on “select programs” including the Landing Craft Utility 1700 series (LCU-1700) for the Navy, an Austal spokesperson told Inside Defense. Austal is on contract for five LCUs -- designed to carry vehicles and heavy cargo from ship to shore -- with options for up to seven additional vessels.

According to the announcement, “pilot projects” will be identified in the coming months, followed by a phased implementation approach. The partnership is intended to expand shipbuilding capacity by enabling regional shipyards to take on complex government programs.

“By distributing work across complementary facilities, Austal USA and Master Boat aim to reduce bottlenecks, shorten production schedules and create surge capacity for future demand. The companies also intend to co-invest in workforce development initiatives,” the announcement states.

Strategic outsourcing is one approach shipbuilders are pursuing to accelerate production across the Navy’s portfolio. Shipbuilding giant HII has made the practice a key piece of its plan to expand production capacity, and Austal itself is building Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine modules in an outsourcing arrangement with General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Austal is building a new, $450 million fabrication facility to expand submarine module work and is a limited partner in the United Submarine Alliance (USA) Qualified Opportunity Fund -- a shipbuilding venture managed by private equity that may eventually provide additional space and infrastructure to further expand Austal’s module work.

Austal also builds a range of naval surface ships, launching a steel production line in 2022 and taking on several new programs in recent years as serial production of its aluminum Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships reached its conclusion.

The company’s current portfolio includes Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue ships (T-ATS), Bethesda-class Expeditionary Medical Ships (EMS), TAGOS-25 Ocean Surveillance Ships and the Coast Guard’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter.

Master Boat Builders, located in coastal Alabama relatively near to Austal’s Mobile yard, builds commercial ships including offshore supply vessels, tugboats, fishing boats and dive support vessels for domestic and international customers. The family-owned company was established in 1979 and currently has about 300 employees.