Defense Daily

Lockheed Martin Receives Nearly $870 Million in Long Lead Funding for F-35 Lot 20

Lockheed Martin [LMT] has received a nearly $870 million award for long-lead items and parts for production Lot 20 of the company’s F-35, DoD said in a Friday contracts announcement.

Contract work, 59 percent of which is to be at the company’s F-35 plant in Fort Worth, 14 percent in El Segundo, Calif., 9 percent in Warton, United Kingdom, and 8 percent in Cameri, Italy and Orlando, Fla., is to finish in 2031, the announcement said.

Lockheed Martin expects to finalize the F-35 Lot 18 and 19 production contracts soon–a finalization

that the company said will allow it to recover sales, profit, and cash (Defense Daily, Oct. 22).

Last month, Lockheed Martin said that F-35 contract talks had delayed the company in booking $700 million in revenue in the third quarter.

Lockheed Martin said that it delivered 48 F-35s in the third quarter and that it expects to deliver 90 to 110 of the fifth-generation fighters this year, 15 more than the low end of prior guidance. The company said that it will deliver 180 F-35s annually starting next year.

SNC Conducts First Flight Of RAPCON-X ISR Jet Selected For Army’s ATHENA-S

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) on Thursday conducted the first flight of its RAPCON-X aircraft, which it cited as a “significant step forward” as it looks to deliver the aerial ISR jet for the Army’s ATHENA-S prototyping program.

The flight occurred from Hagerstown, Md., where SNC has been working on the RAPCON-X, which is a

Bombardier Global 6500 jet outfitted with radars and signals intelligence systems.

RAPCON-X. Photo: SNC.

“What started as a dream just three years ago has now become a reality, thanks to the willingness of our owners, Eren and Fatih Ozmen, to invest ahead of the need, and their confidence in our shared vision,” Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s mission solutions and technologies business area, said in a statement. “SNC’s pivot to creating a rapidly configurable jet ISR capability is a ground-breaking development that will revolutionize how our customers plan and execute ISR missions.”

The Army awarded the prototype contract for Army’s Theater Level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Aerial–Signals Intelligence, or ATHENA-S, project in late September 2023, with SNC providing two RAPCON-X platforms as a contractor-owned and operated services (Defense Daily, Oct. 10 2023).

SNC later said its deal for ATHENA-S was worth $554 million, with the company noting it first took possession of the two Global 6500 jets in 2022.

The company has emphasized that RAPCON-X was designed with an open architecture and model-based systems engineering to allow for rapid mission reconfiguration with new capabilities, with SNC noting the platform is intended to collect and process signals intelligence, electro-optical reconnaissance and ground moving-target signatures.

“Rapid configurability means the aircraft is swiftly adapted to specific recon missions by quickly switching out on-board equipment to match tactical needs – particularly for higher altitudes and longer endurance,” SNC said in a statement on Friday.

The ATHENA-S prototyping effort is intended to serve as a bridge capability to ultimately inform final requirements for the Army’s future HADES, or High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, aerial ISR program of record.

In January, the Army said that it had awarded Bombardier Defense a contract to provide up to three Global 6500 business jets for HADES’ prototyping (Defense Daily, Jan. 3).

The Army then announced in August it had picked SNC as the lead systems integrator for HADES, awarding the firm a contract worth up to $991.3 million (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).

SNC beat out L3Harris [LHX] for the HADES work, while the latter has filed a protest of the award decision, with the Government Accountability Office slated to offer its decision by the end of December.

Anduril Static Fires New Rocket Booster, Signaling New Competitor In Hypersonic Arena

Anduril Industries last Friday said it successfully static test fired its 18-inch Denali hypersonic solid rocket motor, validating a new propellant mixer and marking a milestone toward the development of hypersonic propulsion systems.

Anduril recently announced a partnership with FlackTek, a manufacturer of mixers for a range of industries and applications, including energetics (

Defense Daily, Oct. 3). The Mega FlackTek mixer is exclusive to Anduril and is reducing propellant manufacturing times from several hours to minutes, enabling the company to more quickly meet customer demand, it said at the time.

“Our single-piece-flow manufacturing paradigm, enabled by Anduril’s bladeless speedmixing technology, enables unprecedented speed, flexibility, and scalability, ensuring delivery of large volumes of solid rocket boosters at dramatically reduced costs,” Anduril said on Nov. 22. “The successful test firing of Denali validates this revolutionary approach, underscoring our ability to meet the evolving needs of the hypersonic domain.”

Denali is not specific to hypersonic flight but this will be the rocket booster’s first use case. Anduril said Denali will allow more frequent testing of hypersonic weapons.

The test occurred at the company’s solid rocket motor facility in McHenry, Miss. The booster was developed through external funding.

Anduril also announced a new partnership with Karman Space and Defense for new rocket motor cases. Karman, which is headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., worked with Anduril on the Denali rocket motor case.

Anduril said that Karman’s approach to rocket motor cases will save time and cost, and expand the supply chain for solid rocket propulsion systems.

Earlier this year, Anduril announced a $75 million investment in its McHenry rocket motor facility to boost production (Defense Daily, June 10). Anduril is one of several startups aiming to become a new supplier of solid rocket motors as growing demand for a range of missiles and munitions outpaces the ability of legacy suppliers L3Harris Technologies [LHX] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] to keep pace.

Defense Watch: UKR Production, Israel Arm Sales, NATO VC, Indo-Pacific BDA

Ukraine Production. In a statement delivered on the 1,000th day of its war against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy detailed his country’s efforts to scale up domestic weapons production, to include producing 2.5 million mortar rounds this year and plans for manufacturing 30,000 long-range drones next year. “Just as we achieved this year’s targets for drone production and supply, we will fully meet these goals in the upcoming year,” Zelenskyy said. In “the most intense frontline areas” of the conflict, Zelenskyy said up to 90 percent of Russian equipment losses are now due to Ukrainian-deployed drones. “We have set the goal of manufacturing no fewer than 3,000 cruise missiles and drone-based rockets,” Zelenskyy added.

Landmines.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also confirmed on Nov. 20 that the U.S. has approved providing anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine to assist in its fight against Russia. “[Ukraine is] fabricating their own anti-personnel landmines right now. The landmines that we would look to provide them would be landmines that are not persistent. You know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate. And that makes it far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Austin told reporters while in Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus.

Israel Arms Sales. The Senate this week voted down three resolutions to block offensive weapons sales to Israel, while 19 Senators backed the measures led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) who argued the arms deals violated U.S. and international law due to Israel’s actions in Gaza. “This war has been conducted almost entirely with American weapons and $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars. Israel has dropped U.S.-provided 2,000-pound bombs into crowded neighborhoods, killed hundreds of civilians to take out a handful of Hamas fighters, and made little effort to distinguish between civilians and combatants. These actions are immoral and illegal,” Sanders said in a statement detailing his resolutions. “The United States cannot continue to be complicit in this war by supplying more military aid and weaponry to the Netanyahu government. Congress must act to block these arms sales.”

SASC Members Support. The three unsuccessful resolutions would have blocked the sale of 120mm tank rounds, 120mm mortar rounds and Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits for bombs to Israel. The measures received support from several Senate Armed Services Committee members, to include Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, stated ahead of the vote he believed the Biden administration had “failed” to adhere to National Security Memorandum-20 in regards to Israel, which requires the suspension of arms sales to countries using U.S.-provided weapons in violation of international law. “I’ll be pretty blunt, I think the Biden administration has failed to follow the law and failed to follow its own policies that bind the administration, including NSM-20,” Van Hollen said in a press briefing. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement following his vote detailing his opposition to the measures. “While addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and advocating for peace, we also must uphold our country’s longstanding bipartisan commitment to Israel. We must make it unequivocally clear that the United States stands with Israel against these shared threats and ensure it has the resources to defend itself.”

Gaetz. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, confirmed on Nov. 22 he will not return to Congress in the next session. President-elect Trump had named Gaetz as his pick for attorney general, but the Florida Republican announced on Nov. 21 he was removing himself from consideration as he faced the pending release of a House Ethics report into sexual misconduct allegations and potential opposition to his nomination from some GOP senators. Gaetz immediately resigned from the current Congress following his nomination and there was some speculation about whether he would return following his re-election. After announcing his decision on Friday, the House GOP will start the next Congress with an incredibly slim majority after Trump also picked Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for positions in his administration.

New RL10 Feature. L3Harris Technologies last week said it has delivered the first RL10 rocket engine to United Launch Alliance (ULA) that features a 3D-printed copper thrust chamber. The additive manufacturing techniques enables a 98 percent reduction in the number of parts that make up the chamber, the company said. L3Harris is under contract to deliver 116 RL10E-1 engines—the type with the 3D-printed thrust chamber—to ULA. The RL10E-1 is set to power a ULA Vulcan rocket in 2025.

Anvil for Madis. Anduril Industries will supply its Anvil autonomous drone to kinetically defeat Group 1 and 2 small unmanned aircraft threats as part of the Counter UAS Engagement System (CUAS) for the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS), the company said last week. The Marine Corps in October awarded Anduril and Invariant Corp. $200 million each to provide CES for integration into the existing MADIS platform to be mounted on a Joint Lightweight Tactical Vehicle trailer (Defense Daily, Oct. 18). Anvil’s onboard computing and sensors maintain target lock and conduct precise terminal guidance to defeat small drones. The company said its Lattice open systems command and control platform will also be used for CES.

…Invariant’s Solution. Invariant’s solution for CES includes its Multi-Use Launch Electronics (MULE) and the Optical Surveillance Infrared Imaging System. MULE interfaces with the Commonly Remotely Operated Weapons System to allow a user to launch several munitions from a remote location. Anduril and Invariant are expected to deliver first article test units within six to nine months of award with testing slated to begin in late fiscal year 2025 to support potential initial fielding one year later.

Arctic Patrol. The Coast Guard’s national security cutter (NSC) Stratton in early November completed its second 110-day Alaskan patrol in 2024, the most recent of which included patrolling the Alaskan Inside Passage to Juneau, Alaska, throughout the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and into the Arctic Ocean. Stratton’s crew observed two Russian navy surface action groups transiting through U.S. waters above the Arctic Circle, and also conducted the first at-sea refueling evolutions for a NSC in the high latitudes. The at-sea refueling extended patrol times in the Arctic to enable persistent Coast Guard presence in the region.

NATO VC Investment. The NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), a venture capital fund backed by 24 NATO allies to invest in deep technology, has invested in Portugal-based TEKEVER, a developer of artificial intelligence-enabled unmanned aircraft systems. NIF participated alongside Baille Gifford, Crescent Cove Advisors, Iberis Capital, NSSIF, and Cedrus Capital in the nearly $74 million funding round, which the company will use for research and development to support product innovation, and to expand global production and delivery. TEKEVER has a software-first approach to its systems and offers three different size drones.

Australian Innovation. Australia’s Ministry of Defense has awarded $39 million to universities and companies in Australia for innovative technologies that can be harnessed for “decision advantage.” The awardees include Lockheed Martin Australia Advanced Systems and Technologies, which received $2.1 million.

People News. The Aerospace Industries Association has elected Chris Kubasik as its new chairman through 2025. Kubasik is chairman and CEO of L3Harris Technologies. Phebe Novakovic, chairwoman and CEO of General Dynamics, has been named AIA’s vice chair. The AIA chairmanship was previous held by former Boeing defense chief Ted Colbert. Science Applications International Corp. has appointed John Tien as a board member beginning Dec. 2. Tien was Deputy Homeland Security Secretary from June 2021 to July 2023. Finally, Booz Allen Hamilton has appointed Debra Dial to its board effective Jan. 2, 2025. Dial is the former senior vice president, chief accounting officer, and controller of AT&T Inc.

Australian Landing Craft. Australia’s government selected the Damen Shipyards Group Landing Ship Transport 100 (LST100) design as a preferred option for a new Landing Craft Heavy as part of a new littoral fleet. Under this decision, shipbuilder Austal is set to build eight of these vessels at the Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia. The LST100 design has a displacement of 4,300 American tons, is 328 feet long, 52 feet wide and will be able to carry over 551 tons of military vehicles and equipment. The Defense Ministry said it intends the craft to be able to carry six Abrams Tanks, 11 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles or 26 HIMARS. Construction of the first new Landing Craft Heavy is expected to start in 2026.

Carrier Construction. HII said on Nov. 19 that it transferred the mid-body hull section of the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) such that it can start concurrently assembling two Ford-class carriers on the same dry dock. The work started on Oct. 31 at the Newport News Shipbuilding division shipyard to start floating CVN-80 in dry dock so it could be moved to the west end of the dry dock to continue construction. This is all preparation for next year, when HII expects to start assembling the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) on the east side of the dry dock. It said this will mark the first time two Ford-class carriers are under construction in the dry dock concurrently.

F-35C Combat. The first Marine Corps F-35C aircraft that conducted a combat air strike did so on Nov. 9-10 against Houthi weapon storage facilities in Yemen, DoD said Nov. 20. The aircraft, part of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, assigned to Carrier Air Wing 9 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), conducted multiple strikes on the weapons storage facilities that housed conventional weapons like anti-ship missiles.

Hypersonic Challenge Part II. The Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) announced the Phase II final winners to the Hypersonic Accelerated Manufactured Prototype Demonstration (Hyper-AMPD) prize challenge. This was a two-phase price challenge that sought novel solutions to enable the rapid delivery of hypersonic systems, leading to both monetary and non-monetary prizes in a pool of up to $1 million total. In Phase I participants submitted a white paper on a low cost, manufacturable hypersonic system to provide an offensive solution. 49 papers were submitted in Phase 1 and JHTP and NSWC Crane selected five respondents to move to Phase II in April. Phase II focused on building a feasibility study on the concept from each group. The final winners were Specter Aerospace and Castelion Corporation. The Navy did not disclose the specific monetary prizes for each.

LCS-29. The Navy plans to commission the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Beloit (LCS-29) on Nov. 23 in Milwaukee, Wis. This is the 15th Freedom-variant LCS and the fourth ship to bear the name of the Wisconsin city. After being commissioned, the ship will sail to its homeport of Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla.

Accountability. The fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act laid out the possible use of a Contractor Responsibility Watch List (CRWL) by the U.S. Space Force to hold a stick to companies to meet cost, schedule and performance. The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has used its CRWL for decades to try to improve companies’ program performance, and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli, an NRO veteran, has spoken of possible use of the list. “There is a company on the watch list today—I won’t say who it is,” said Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, the head of Space Systems Command (SSC). “Those authorities reside with me right now. The FY 25 NDAA moves those authorities to the service acquisition executive. Mr. Calvelli has indicated he would intend to use it.” The name of the contractor on the CRWL is not classified, but the Space Force may be withholding the name so as not to embarrass the company and/or tank its stock price, if the contractor is publicly traded.

…GPS IIIF. While Lockheed Martin is eight to 11 months behind schedule on delivering its GPS III Follow-On (GPS IIIF) satellites to the Space Force for launch, GPS-IIIF “is not on the CRWL,” Garrant says. Lockheed Martin “is getting better on the delivery dates” through SSC’s use of the contract fee structure under the eye of Cordell DeLaPena, SSC’s program executive officer for military communications and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), and Col. Matt Spencer, commander of SSC’s PNT program systems delta, Garrant said. GPS IIIF deliveries before an initial, expected 2027 launch date may not come until the end of 2026.

Indo-Pacific Battle Damage Assessment. Garrant has said that one of his top priorities is improving Battle Damage Assessment for a possible Indo-Pacific conflict. Because of the Space Force Space Development Agency’s focus on fielding relatively low-cost, proliferated low Earth orbit satellites, “what we’re realizing is we have a lot of sensors that are now gonna be covering the Earth, particularly in that area [the Indo-Pacific],” Garrant says. “We’re looking at this new constellation, can we use if for battle damage assessment? I don’t know the answer to that, but we’re starting to think about using new things in new ways.”

Australia and Canada Commit To Research Missile Defense Together

The Canadian and Australian defense ministers on Friday announced a new agreement to collaborate on missile defense research focused on emerging threats.

This effort specifically focuses on defense of newer advanced cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.

According to a joint statement released by Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence of Canada, and Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia, under this project arrangement, the Defence Research and Development Canada and the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group commit to “collaborate on research to understand emerging missile threats, as well as develop detection, monitoring, targeting and counter-measure technologies.”

They argued this collaboration will allow both countries to access the expertise, experience, unique facilities and cost-effective joint research trials to fast-track their understanding of advanced missile technologies to inform new defenses.

Australia and Canada are set to contribute up to $169.5 million over five years toward a total project arrangement value of $339 million.

This agreement follows an August meeting and joint statement between the two defense ministers where they committed to strengthening their relationship and reinforce their collective abilities.

That previous statement specifically said they committed to exploring ways to reduce barriers to collaboration via “arrangements to facilitate value-added defense and industrial activities and to support operational cooperation,” as well as reinforcing collaboration in research and development, advanced capabilities and science and technology.

Navy Orders $1.7 Billion In Seven More International Boeing P-8As

The Navy awarded Boeing [BA] a $1.7 billion modification Nov. 21 to procure seven more P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft for international customers.

This award adds scope to a previous undefinitized contract and also procures Foreign Military Sales unique non-recurring engineering.

The original $3.4 billion contract was awarded in February for 17 Lot 13 P-8As, 14 for Canada and three for Germany (Defense Daily, Feb. 29).

The new contract announcement said this award also updates the not-to-exceed prices for the previously awarded Lot 13 P-8A aircraft for Canada and Germany as well as updating the not-to-exceed price for previously awarded common NRE.

“This $1.67 billion undefinitized contract for seven additional P-8A Poseidons not only reinforces the U.S. Navy’s commitment to maintaining a robust maritime presence but also highlights Boeing’s dedication to delivering safe, reliable platforms that enhance the Navy’s operational capabilities, readiness and effectiveness,” Tory Peterson, Boeing vice president and program manager for the P-8 program, said in a statement.

“We look forward to delivering these additional P-8A maritime patrol aircraft to ensure the continued safety and security of our nation and allies,” he continued.

Boeing confirmed this award raises the total number of P-8s on contract to 207, with 135 for the U.S. Navy alone. The company has delivered 170 P-8s around the world, which have amassed more than 600,000 flight hours total.

Work will largely occur in Seattle, Wash., and is expected to be finished by September 2030. $696 million in Navy FY 2024 aircraft procurement funds was obligated at the time of award.

P-8 operators include the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, India, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, and the U.K.

DOT&E Report Noted F-35 Deficiencies A Month Before Full-Rate Pentagon Go Ahead

The Pentagon said on March 12 that it had approved the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 for full-rate production–nine years after the fifth-generation fighter entered service. A month before the DoD full-rate decision, a report by the Pentagon Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) found serious shortcomings in the F-35.

On Thursday, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) posted the redacted report that the organization said it received through a Freedom of Information Act request. DOT&E Assessment of Post-IOT&E F-35 Block 4 Operational Testing was to inform the March F-35 full-rate decision.

“The overall reliability, maintainability, and availability of the U.S. F-35 fleet remains below service expectations,” the study said. “DOT&E assesses that the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program’s Continuous Capability Development and Delivery (C2D2) development process is not working as intended at this point. C2D2 is failing to deliver new, fully functional capabilities on schedule mostly due to test infrastructure (ground testing laboratories and test aircraft) and development processes that are not able to maintain the planned pace. This results in utilization of the developmental testing (DT) and OT [operational test] aircraft fleets on a fly-fix-fly basis. Since the completion of [the] 30R07 [software batch] OT the program moved from a 6-month to a 12-month C2D2 cadence, but has failed to deliver the next software version, 30R08, after more than 2 years of DT. Furthermore, as of this writing, 30R08 has introduced new deficiencies in previously delivered capabilities.”

The F-35 program extended the C2D2 software upgrade cycle from six months to a year during DT of 30R08 in December 2021.

The DOT&E report also pointed to high false alarm rates for the aircraft’s Prognostic Health Maintenance, a still inaccurate gun, and difficulties in hauling F-35 support equipment to forward locations, maintaining the aircraft’s low-observables, and moving from the Lockheed Martin-owned, more than two decade old Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) to the cloud-based Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN). The report said that ODIN hardware is still running ALIS software.

Compared to a mission capable (MC) rate goal of 70 percent or more, the rates of OT planes were 59 percent for the F-35A, 40 percent for the Marine Corps F-35B, and 62 percent for the Navy F-35C, the report said. The MC rates represent the proportion of planes not in depot that are able to fly one mission.

During the testing, “sortie generation was prioritized over Mission Capable status; consequently, maintenance (such as low observable [LO] system restoration) that would have affected the Fully Mission Capable (FMC) status was frequently deferred to allow aircraft to continue to fly sorties,” DOT&E said. “In fact, none of the F-35A or F-35C aircraft either achieved or maintained FMC status during any period of these deployments, a condition that would be necessary for combat operations.”

“For the F-35B deployment, the FMC rate was at 20 percent or less for the entire demonstration,” the study said. “All F-35A sorties were flown with aircraft that had a non- compliant LO signature. Four out of the five F-35B aircraft, and 80 percent of individual sorties, were LO non-compliant. None of the F-35C aircraft were reported as LO non-compliant.”

In response to the POGO-ferreted report, the F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement that “we have combat capable aircraft in operation today and they perform exceptionally well against the threat for which they were designed.”

“Pilots continually emphasize that this is the fighter they want to take to war if called upon,” the F-35 program said. “In the next 10 years, there will be 700 F-35s in Europe and only 60 of these will belong to the U.S.”

“The readiness impact to the test fleet experienced during OT was not new or unknown,” the F-35 program said. “The JPO continues working to improve the reliability and availability of the F-35 fleet. We initiated the ‘War on Readiness’ [sic] and assembled a fleet readiness team dedicated to understanding and addressing complex challenges that negatively affect fleet mission capability. The F-35 executive leadership team is engaging directly with suppliers to ensure necessary focus is placed on top degraders affecting the fleet. War on Readiness [sic] stakeholders meet bi-weekly with F-35 users, industry, and JPO personnel to “get tactical” in addressing specific sustainment challenges.”

“Due to the War on Readiness [sic], the sustainment and supply chain data at our disposal today is greater than at any point in our program’s history,” the F-35 JPO said.

USAF Awards Boeing Nearly $2.4 Billion KC-46A Contract

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [BA] a nearly $2.4 billion contract for 15 KC-46A Pegasus tankers in Lot 11 of the buy, the Pentagon said in its contracts announcements on Thursday.

On Nov. 4, the Boeing machinists union announced the end of a 53-day strike several weeks after the company released preliminary third quarter financial results with Boeing’s defense segment taking a $2 billion charge related to continued cost overruns on certain fixed-price development contracts and the impacts of the work stoppage on the Air Force’s KC-46A tanker, which is based on a derivative of the 767 commercial aircraft (Defense Daily, Nov. 5).

The new award brings to 158 the number of KC-46As that the Air Force has on contract out of a buy of at least 179. Boeing said that it has delivered 89 KC-46As thus far.

The Air Force has been finishing an Analysis of Alternatives on the Next Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS) to succeed the KC-46As.

McConnell To Take Over As Senate’s Top Defense Appropriator In Next Congress

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), after stepping down as GOP leader, said Thursday he will chair the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the next Congress.

“America’s national security interests face the gravest array of threats since the Second World War. At this critical moment, a new Senate Republican majority has a responsibility to secure the future of U.S. leadership and primacy. I intend to play an active role in this urgent mission as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and I look forward to working closely with incoming Chair Susan Collins to accomplish our shared goal,” McConnell said in a statement.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during a press conference on May 30, 2024 at the Army Aviation Support Facility on Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Kentucky. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Spc. Georgia Napier.)

McConnell will take over the upper chamber’s top defense appropriator post from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who lost his reelection bid to Republican and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy.

The Kentucky Republican will now lead the SAC-D panel as Republicans are poised to pursue boosts to defense spending, with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), in position to serve as the next leader of the Senate Armed Services Committee, having previously detailed an agenda to increase defense spending to five percent of the gross domestic product.

If Congress does not pass full fiscal year 2025 spending bills before the end of the year and approves another stopgap funding measure to avoid a shutdown, McConnell would also be tasked with finalizing FY ’25 defense appropriations negotiations in the next session.

The Senate Appropriations Committee previously advanced its $852.2 billion FY ‘25 defense appropriations bill, which works around the debt limit deal’s one percent spending cap and adds nearly $21 billion in “emergency spending,” while the full Senate has yet to take up the legislation (Defense Daily, Aug. 1).

With Republicans retaking majority control of the Senate in the next Congress, Collins is set to take over as chair of the Appropriations Committee after serving as the full panel’s vice chair while Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is expected to retain her role as the committee’s top Democrat.

McConnell, who has served as Senate GOP leader since 2005, currently serves on both SAC and the defense subcommittee where he is the most senior Republican behind Collins.

Ahead of McConnell’s announcement, it was unclear who would take over the coveted SAC-D chairmanship, though the Kentucky Republican did state recently he planned to “concentrate on defense and foreign policy” in the next Congress (Defense Daily, Nov. 6).

“I think this is the most dangerous time since right before World War II. Our adversaries – the North Koreans, the Chinese, Russians, Iran and Iran’s proxies – are all talking to each other. They have one thing in common, they hate us. And they want to diminish our role in the world,” McConnell said. “We need to ramp up defense spending in order to prevent a direct conflict with our adversaries. It’s a lot cheaper to prevent war than it is to have one. So that’s the focus I’m going to have for the next couple years.”

Senate Republicans last week elected Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has been the GOP Whip since 2019, to succeed McConnell as GOP majority leader (Defense Daily, Nov. 13).

McConnell represents the Army’s Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division, as well as Fort Knox and the Blue Grass Army Depot, and recently touted the Army’s decision to award Repkon USA a contract worth up to $435 million to build a new TNT facility in Graham, Kentucky that will restart domestic production (Defense Daily, Nov. 8).

“For the first time in decades, America will produce TNT on its own soil, manufacturing the explosive material our military uses for everything from hand grenades to 155mm artillery. I’m proud that the National Security Supplemental I championed in the Senate will bring home $435 million in federal funding to establish this TNT capability right here in Kentucky, helping retool the defense industrial base our military relies on. Through this partnership with the Army and Repkon USA, our state is proving once again that we have the infrastructure, workforce, and logistics edge to take on projects critical to our national defense,” McConnell said at a Nov. 8 press conference in Kentucky.

McConnell on Thursday also announced he will chair the Senate Rules Committee in the next Congress.

“Defending the Senate as an institution and protecting the right to political speech in our elections remain among my longest-standing priorities. Ranking Member Deb Fischer has done an outstanding job advancing these causes, and I know she will remain a key partner in the committee’s ongoing work,” McConnell said in a statement.

SpaceX’s Starshield Has Received Most Task Orders in $660 Million for Space Force pLEO Services So Far

Military forces’ demand for Proliferated low Earth orbit (PLEO) services outstripped what U.S. Space Force expected, and the service has already divvied out $660 million in communications task orders–the majority to SpaceX‘s Starshield, the military version of Starlink–under the originally envisioned, up to $900 million 10-year contract, a service official said on Thursday.

The result? In the last few months, Space Force increased the $900 million ceiling for the overall contract–a base five years with an option for another five–to $13 billion, the official said.

“Math-wise we were gonna hit the ceiling in 2025,” the official said. “The popularity of PLEO is very apparent right now.”

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and SSC have awarded eligibility contracts to 20 companies for the PLEO services since July last year–SpaceX, Capella Space‘s Capella Federal, Inc.; BlackSky Technology Inc.’s [BKSY] BlackSky Geospatial Solutions, Inc.; SES‘ [SESG] DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, Inc.; EchoStar Corp.‘s [SATS] Hughes Network Systems, LLC; Viasat Inc.‘s [VSAT] Inmarsat Government, Inc.; Amazon‘s [AMZN] Kuiper Government Services (KGS) LLC; Intelsat‘s Intelsat General Communications LLC; OneWeb Technologies, Inc.; ARINC, Inc.; Artel, LLC; PAR Technology Corp.‘s [PAR] PAR Government; RiteNet Corp.; Satcom Direct, Inc.’s Satcom Direct Government, Inc. (SDG); Trace Systems Inc.; UltiSat, Inc., Honeywell‘s [HON] aerospace division, AT&T [T], Iridium Communications [IRDM], and Lynk Global, Inc. (Defense Daily, Oct. 13, 2023).

The commercial PLEO contract is to provide low-latency for military mission areas, such as communications and imagery, for space, air, land, sea and cyber forces.

In addition to DISA and SSC, the Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA) is pursuing the Transport Layer of pLEO satellites to reduce satellite data transmission times to military forces.

Delays of 30 minutes to an hour and a half have occurred in radio frequency data exchange, as satellites wait until they pass over a fixed ground station.

SDA is moving toward intersatellite optical links, such as those carried by SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, to create an orbital mesh network of hundreds of satellites that are able to transfer data among themselves and to antennas on Earth.