HII UUVs. HII unveiled its new REMUS 130 unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at the Oceanology International 2024 conference on March 12. The company said it is built on the same technology as the REUS 300 but at a lower cost. It has an operational depth to 100 meters, battery life of up to 10 hours and two-person portable design and can be used for data collection, offshore oil and gas exploration, search and rescue and mine countermeasures operations. It also announced its second order for a REMUS 620 UUV by an unspecified customer in the Indo-Pacific region. This vehicle will be built and delivered this year and is set to be used for monitoring and data collection missions. The company said REMUS 620 has a battery life of up to 110 hours and a range of 275 nautical miles.
SSN-760 Down Under. The USS Annapolis (SSN-760)
Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia on March 10, the second visit by a U.S. SSN since the AUKUS optimal pathway was announced in March 2023. These increasing submarine visits aim to help Australia practice and build infrastructure and capabilities to support Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-W), which is due to be established as soon as 2027. Under AUKUS, up to four U.S. Virginia-class submarines and one United Kingdom Astute-class submarine will have a rotation presence at HMAS Stirling for SRF-W.
SSN-799. The Navy planned to christen the latest Virginia-class attack submarine, the future USS Idaho (SSN-799), during a March 16 ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. Construction on the submarine started in 2017 and it will be the 26th overall Virginia-class submarine. SSN-799 will also be the fifth U.S. Navy ship to have the name Idaho. Previously, battleship BB 42 was last named Idaho, commissioned in 1919.
NOC-German IAMD. Northrop Grumman and Germany’s Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG signed a Memorandum of Understanding this month to formalize a commitment to work together on layered air and missile defense capabilities for Germany. Thanks to the MoU, Northrop Grumman said the companies will be able to use their expertise to explore technologies that would support easier integration of Germany’s air and missile defense systems. Diehl’s senior vice president for the ground based air defense business unit, Torsten Cook, said this offers new options for its IRIS-T SLM customers, like using that ground-based air defense system in parallel with and interoperable with Patriot missile defense.
Nigerian Helos. The Navy awarded Bell Textron a $455 million undefinitized contract on March 12 for production and delivery of 12 AH-1Z helicopters for Nigeria. The sale also covers associated engineering, program management and logistics support, and non-recurring engineering for obsolescence. Work will be split between Fort Worth, Texas (80 percent); and Amarillo, Texas (20 percent), and is expected to be finished by July 2028. $82 million in Foreign Military Sales customer funds were obligated at the time of award.
More Launch Providers. The U.S. Space Force’s small launch and targets division at Kirtland AFB, N.M., has issued a solicitation to bring on more launch providers for the $986 million Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4, which is to run through October 2028 OSP-4, which began in 2019 and is to complement National Security Space Launch, is to enable launches of 400 pound or greater payloads within one to two years of contract award. “While there is not an upper limit on the size or performance of launch systems available on the contract, OSP-4 missions are typically structured with an emphasis on small launch capabilities,” Space Force said. Current OSP-4 providers are SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Rocket Lab, X-Bow, Northrop Grumman, Firefly Aerospace, Astra, Relativity Space, ABL Space Systems, and Aevum.
Space Force Astronaut. U.S. Space Force Col. Nick Hague will be the first “Guardian” on a NASA mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Department of the Air Force said. Hague, who served as the Space Force’s director of test and evaluation at the Pentagon and who also orbited on the ISS as a member of the Air Force in 2019, may reach space again as early as August as the pilot on NASA’s Space X Crew-9 mission aboard the Dragon spacecraft. Accompanying him will be commander Zena Cardman, mission specialist Stephanie Wilson, and Russian Roscomos cosmonaut mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov. “Once they arrive to the space station, Hague will transition to the role of flight engineer where he, along with the crew, will conduct a wide-ranging set of operations and research activities for the duration of their more than six-month mission,” the Department of the Air Force said.
F-22 Upgrades. The Air Force fiscal 2025 budget requests nearly $769 million for upgrades to the F-22 Raptor, $44 million more than the fiscal 2024 ask. Such enhancements have included open system architecture for improved F-22 communications with 4th generation fighters; development of advanced infrared search and track sensors for improved air-to-air performance; cryptographic modernization; transition to the NATO standard Identification Friend or Foe Mode 5; and Project Keystone to improve the F-22’s radar warning/countermeasures and pilot situational awareness. The Air Force plans to pick a contract for Keystone in fiscal 2025.
Industry Tranche 2 News. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems last week said it was awarded a subcontract from Lockheed Martin to deliver missile warning, tracking, and defense payloads for the company’s new contract with the Space Development Agency (SDA) to deliver satellites for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program. General Atomics will provide the electro-optical and infrared sensor systems to include 16 wide-field-of-view missile warning and tracking IR payloads and two fire control-missile defense IR payloads. Launch of the satellites is slated for 2027. Maxar Space Systems said that L3Harris Technologies has selected the company to build 18 Maxar 300 satellite busses for L3Harris’ Tranche 2 Tracking Layer effort with SDA. Maxar said the work builds on an existing contract it has with L3Harris for the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer that was awarded in 2022.
Stinger Propulsion. L3Harris Technologies this month said its Aerojet Rocketdyne unit received a subcontract from RTX to produce solid rocket motors for the Stinger anti-aircraft missile “in support of U.S. stockpile replenishment.” RTX in late 2023 received a Defense Department contract to produce Stinger missiles for the U.S. to replenish missiles that have been sent to Ukraine. Aerojet Rocketdyne supplies the launch and flight solid rocket motors for Stingers.
DIU-ODNI Collab. The Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) last week announced an official collaboration to leverage their respective capabilities and networks to strengthen a demand signal to industry and ultimately take advantage of innovative technologies more quickly for national security. “Formalizing this relationship is in direct support of DIU’s 3.0 strategic plan, which includes working with partners across the department to take advantage of opportunities to generate impact through shared best practices and enhanced teamwork,” DIU Director Doug Beck said in a statement.
People News. Peraton has appointed Constantine “Costa” Saab, chief technology officer at Valor Equity Partners, to its advisory board. Saab is also a board member at Anduril Industries, HackerOne, and Strider Technologies, and spent nearly 20 years at the CIA. Shield AI has hired Armor Harris, formerly with SpaceX, as its vice president of engineering for Hivemind, the company’s artificial intelligence pilot. Harris most recently was SpaceX’s senior director for Starshield, a government and military-focused derivative of SpaceX’s Starlink commercial satellite-based communications service.
Ukraine Support Meeting. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will travel to Germany next week to host the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on March 19. The latest meeting of the UDCG will once gather senior defense officials from nearly 50 countries to discuss ongoing security assistance efforts for Ukraine and follows the U.S.’ recent approval of a $300 million weapons aid package, its first in months that was funded with cost savings from previous contracts the Pentagon had negotiated to replenish its weapons stockpiles.
M109 Support. The Army on March 12 awarded BAE Systems a $318 million contract for continued system technical services in support of its M109 howitzers. Work on the deal runs through March 2029, according to the Pentagon. “The M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer continues to prove itself as the ‘King of Battle’ as it provides the firepower and maneuverability to dominate the battlefield,” Dan Furber, director of ground vehicle production for BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems business, said in a statement. “Sustainment services for the M109 allow the U.S. Army to maintain a high level of operational readiness to take this powerful capability to the fight.”
Army Budget. The Army’s $185.9 billion budget submission for fiscal year 2025 represents a -2.4 percent decrease from its FY ‘24 requested topline when factoring for inflation, Maj. Gen. Mark Bennett, director of Army budget, told reporters on March 12. “[That] affects everything, as you can imagine, but particularly in our accounts that are strained, [such as] operations and maintenance with rising costs. But it also affects our procurement accounts with parts and things like that, that all grow over time,” Bennett said. Without factoring in real growth, the topline is a 0.2 percent increase of the service’s FY ‘24 request, an essentially flat figure as the Pentagon adheres to the debt limit deal’s one percent spending cap.
Bell Facility. Bell said on March 11 it has officially opened its new Weapon Systems Integration Lab (WSIL) in Arlington, Texas, which it said “will aid in the safe, rapid and efficient integration and test of a next generation fly-by-wire tiltrotor and mission systems using a modular open systems approach for the Army’s Future Long- Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).” “As part of our commitment to deliver the U.S. Army’s FLRAA capability to our nation’s warfighters, Bell is pleased to announce the opening of its latest systems integration lab,” Ryan Ehinger, Bell’s senior vice president and program director for FLRAA, said in a statement. “This dedicated SIL supports the application, verification and validation of Bell’s innovative digital engineering approach and open architecture, playing a critical role in delivering outstanding operational performance and versatility to the U.S. Army.” The Army in December 2022 selected Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft for its FLRAA program.
New CDAO. Dr. Radha Plumb, deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, has been named as the Pentagon’s next chief digital and artificial officer (CDAO). Plumb will succeed Craig Martell, DoD’s inaugural CDAO, who will step down after leading the office since April 2022. “The strategic value of information to decision-making is critical for our warfighters and industry partners, which is why the department stood up the CDAO in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century while operating within a rapidly changing technology landscape. There is no doubt that Dr. Plumb’s technical expertise and strategic acumen will enhance the CDAO’s innovative efforts, and help accelerate the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a March 14 statement.