The Insider

RTX's Pratt and Whitney has received a $1.3 billion Navy contract for continued work on the F135 engine core upgrade for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, according to a Monday Pentagon announcement.

The award will “provide for the design, analysis, rig testing, engine test preparation, developmental hardware, test asset assembly, air system integration, airworthiness evaluation, and product support planning in support of the continued maturation” of the engine, the announcement states, indicating work is expected to conclude in March 2028.

In a statement shared with Inside Defense, Pratt & Whitney’s Military Engines business President Jill Albertelli said the contract is “critical to continuing our positive forward momentum on this program.”

“It allows us to continue work in the risk-reduction phase with a fully staffed team focused on design maturation, aircraft integration and mobilizing the supply base to prepare for production,” Albertelli added.

The company’s F135 engine completed a preliminary design review for the F-35 engine core upgrade in July, putting the program on pace to field by 2029. Last year, the Air Force officially decided to modernize the F-35’s existing engine rather than develop a new one, making Pratt the sole vendor for the project.

The Air Force has awarded Boeing up to $6.9 billion to produce and deliver its Small Diameter Bomb Increment I precision munitions for the next decade, according to a contract notice posted today.

The firm fixed-price and indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract includes Lots 20 through 29 with work expected to be complete at the end of 2035. Only the Lot 20 award is guaranteed at this point.

When broken down, $147,207 worth of fiscal year 2022 missile procurement funds are being allotted for this award, followed by $2.4 million from FY-23 and $34.3 million from FY-24.

This contract also includes $396.4 million in foreign military sales to Japan, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

The munition, which was first operationally delivered to the service in 2005, has been mostly used to hit stationary targets at an extended range.

“SDB increases aircraft loadout, decreases the logistical footprint, decreases collateral damage, and improves aircraft sortie generation times,” the service wrote in an explanatory document about the weapon. “Its small size allows increased aircraft loadout to achieve multiple kills per sortie and inherently reduces the probability of collateral damage.”

The contract comes as President Biden last week announced nearly $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine to help defend against Russian strikes. He called on the Pentagon to provide Ukraine with additional missiles.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Army and Air Force debating funding for air base defense and more.

Air base defense against ballistic and cruise missile as well as drone attacks has historically been an Army mission, but under the current financial outlook, service officials are hesitant to take on the expensive and complex role in its entirety:

Army, Air Force draw lines over air base defense while questions about funding loom

As the Air Force envisions a future in which a network of small bases in austere locations allows airmen to swiftly plug in and out of operations, service officials are calling on the Army to bulk up its portion of air base defense.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently held an event with Army acquisition chief Doug Bush and Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of Army Futures Command, that covered the service's experience with unmanned aerial systems, insights gleaned from the Russia-Ukraine war and the Replicator and Launched Effects programs:

CR won't slow down specific Army projects but could become long-term issue

The three-month continuing resolution Congress passed last week might not slow down specific Army projects, Army acquisition czar Doug Bush said at a roundtable Friday, but it does slow down the system as a whole.

HII says through internal reporting, the company found some welders "knowingly circumvented certain welding procedures," though there was no indication of malicious intent in the initial investigation:

HII: No indication of malicious intent behind faulty welds; lawmakers vow to investigate

Shipbuilder HII says there is no indication of malicious intent behind suspected faulty welds on Navy submarines and aircraft carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding, after the Justice Department received notification that they may have been intentionally placed on non-critical components.

Originally called the Mobile Protected Firepower System, the M10 Booker's IOT&E testing, which began in July, will wrap up in February:

M10 Booker operational testing halfway done

The Army is about midway through the initial operational testing and evaluation phase for the M10 Booker, which is designed to provide combat power to the service's Infantry Brigade Combat Teams.

Textron's RIPSAW M3 robotic combat vehicle is made to keep soldiers out of danger and take on missions such as reconnaissance and surveillance across all sorts of terrain:

Textron teams up with Kodiak Robotics on self-driving system for RIPSAW M3

Textron Systems has added a self-driving system from Kodiak Robotics to its RIPSAW M3 robotic combat vehicle, the company has announced.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on unmanned systems, the Marine Corps operating under a continuing resolution and more.

Textron's RIPSAW M3 robotic combat vehicle is made to keep soldiers out of danger and take on missions such as reconnaissance and surveillance across all sorts of terrain:

Textron teams up with Kodiak Robotics on self-driving system for RIPSAW M3

Textron Systems has added a self-driving system from Kodiak Robotics to its RIPSAW M3 robotic combat vehicle, the company announced last Tuesday.

The Marine Corps has approximately $1 billion in new program starts that it will be unable to begin under a continuing resolution, according to a service spokesman:

Marine Corps: Three-month CR 'manageable' but not ideal

Now that Congress has passed a three-month continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 20, the threat posed by the earlier six-month CR proposal is temporarily averted, yet defense officials still have a sense of urgency for Congress to pass a fiscal year 2025 budget.

Anduril and General Atomics were selected in April for continued funding to develop their CCA airframe designs, beating out industry bigwigs Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing in the contest:

CCA prototypes take center stage as Air Force reveals new details about first increment

The Air Force Research Laboratory last week debuted two mock-ups of the first increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, built by Anduril Industries and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, providing a rare glimpse into how the service is narrowing its expectations for the autonomous platforms that will eventually accompany advanced fighters in battle.

The Air Force is inviting industry to develop command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and battle management fielded systems:

Air Force bringing industry into C3BM/ABMS experiments

The Air Force is bringing industry into command, control, communications and battle management experiments to help current or potential contractors understand the warfighter's operational needs.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official, introduced legislation in May that would give the Commerce Department the power to "limit or ban the introduction of [connected] vehicles from U.S. markets if they pose a threat to national security":

Congress pushing bills that would give Commerce and Defense departments power to quash threat electric vehicles pose

The Commerce Department proposed a rule Monday that would ban importing or selling certain electric cars in the United States with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and Russia.

Appearing in London alongside U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary John Healey framed a prospective new, bilateral treaty as an extension of AUKUS that will focus specifically on the relationship between Australia and the U.K. as they develop the future SSN-AUKUS submarine:

Australia, U.K. to begin negotiating bilateral treaty for SSN-AUKUS development

Australia and the United Kingdom will soon begin negotiations to establish a new bilateral defense treaty to "bind our AUKUS collaborations into law," defense officials said today, while also announcing the addition of Sting Ray torpedoes to Australian, U.K. and United States P-8 aircraft fleets.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, plus the Missile Defense Agency awarding a Glide Phase Interceptor contract to Northrop Grumman and more.

We start off with the Biden administration seeking to ensure that any remaining funds earmarked for Ukraine weapons transfers actually take place, regardless of the lack of a full, congressionally approved, fiscal year 2025 budget:

Biden directs $8B in military aid to Ukraine, including Joint Standoff Weapon, Patriot system

President Biden announced nearly $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine today, including the Joint Standoff Weapon capable of long-range strikes against Russia and an additional Patriot missile system.

Related: DOD commits to moving remaining Ukraine aid funds before Biden leaves office

RTX won't be building the Missile Defense Agency's Glide Phase Interceptor:

Northrop beats RTX in GPI contest, new missile defense industrial order takes shape

The Missile Defense Agency has selected Northrop Grumman to develop the Glide Phase Interceptor, knocking RTX from the contest to provide a new ship-based missile optimized to defeat long-range hypersonic threats and giving shape to a new order in the U.S. missile defense industrial base.

The SHIPS for America Act seeks to revitalize the U.S. Merchant Marine and consists of four primary lines of effort, including establishing national leadership and consistent support for the maritime industry as well as expanding and strengthening maritime workforce development to boost mariner and shipyard worker recruitment, training and retention:

Kelly, Waltz preview new legislation to boost incentives for maritime industrial base

A new bipartisan, bicameral piece of legislation will seek to address incentives for shipbuilders, innovation in shipbuilding and the alignment of maritime regulation and will likely be introduced following the upcoming election, two lawmakers announced Wednesday.

The Army has been very focused on the "autonomy behaviors" of the Launched Effects technology under development:

Army planning Launched Effects requirement update for end of FY-25

The Army is targeting the end of fiscal year 2025 for the next requirement update to its Launched Effects program, following its Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event (EDGE) this month at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ.

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall regarding their concerns about reliance on Chinese suppliers for certain critical technologies:

Wittman, Stefanik call on Air Force to quit relying on Chinese suppliers

The Air Force relied on about 130 China-based suppliers for critical technologies in fiscal year 2023, a 68.8% increase from the year prior, according to a recent report by Govini that has led key GOP lawmakers to call for change, citing national security concerns.

A pair of companies has been tasked with building eight Small Multipurpose Equipment Transports, an unmanned robotic vehicle designed for lugging Army payloads that also will act as a mobile power generator:

New Army contracts aim to double payload for robot equipment carriers

The Army has awarded two contracts for a second phase in robotic mule prototypes -- one to American Rheinmetall Vehicles and another to HDT Expeditionary Systems, the service announced Tuesday.

New York City-based Distributed Spectrum Inc. will receive $150,000 as U.S. branch winner of the inaugural AUKUS Electronic Warfare Innovation Challenge, the Defense Innovation Unit announced today.

The challenge, launched in March, joined DIU with its Australian and U.K. defense innovation counterparts -- the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator and the Defence and Security Accelerator, respectively -- to identify electromagnetic spectrum technology solutions from each country that would enable the AUKUS nations to counter “adversarial electromagnetic-targeting capabilities,” according to the DIU release.

The initiative was part of AUKUS Pillar II -- a defense and security partnership between the three nations aimed at boosting joint defense capabilities.

“Challenges are one way for the Department of Defense to easily work with our partners and allies to identify and potentially scale capabilities,” Doug Beck, DIU director, said in the release. “The EW Challenge is an exciting first step in deepening partnerships with some of our closest allies, creating networks across our commercial and tech sectors, and building resilience across our industrial bases and supply chains.”

Distributed Spectrum took the top spot among U.S. contenders for its radio frequency sensing platform, which facilitates an understanding of adversary activity on operator and analyst levels via “real-time indications to operators on the ground” and aggregated data from thousands of sensors in the environment, DIU said.

Distributed Spectrum provided one of three initiatives chosen across the challenges from 173 companies.

The winner’s announcement comes a week after DIU launched another joint challenge with Singapore to identify countermeasure technology for ships operating close to shore to detect and disrupt unmanned aerial systems.

The House voted 341-82 today to pass a three-month continuing resolution that would avert a partial government shutdown Oct. 1.

The bill was supported by all 209 House Democrats and 132 Republicans. All those opposed were Republicans.

The CR, which would keep the government funded through Dec. 20, now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.