Page 12 – Defense Daily

Private Equity Firm Acquires Defense Engineering Firm From Trident Maritime Systems

The private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co. on Monday said its portfolio company Trident Maritime Systems has sold its Hoffman Engineering company to another investment firm, Branford Castle Partners.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hoffman Engineering develops and manufactures night vision test equipment, night vision imaging lighting systems, and commercial aviation specialty lighting products for the U.S. military, aerospace and defense original equipment manufacturers, and commercial airlines.

Trident Maritime said the divestiture allows it to streamline its solution offering and focus on its core maritime end markets. Trident Maritime provides solutions in ship systems and platforms, vessel propulsion and power control, and naval mission systems.

Branford Castle said that Hoffman CEO Ron Hayward and the rest of the company’s management team will remain with the company.

Trident Maritime’s financial adviser on the deal was Philpott Ball & Werner.

BAE Nabs Contract For 10 Netherlands and Belgium Frigate Naval Guns

BAE Systems on Friday said it signed a contract with the Netherlands to provide eight new Bofors 40 Mk4 40mm naval guns for the Royal Netherlands and Belgian Navies.

The contract is between BAE and the Dutch Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT) as part of the countries’ joint venture for anti-submarine warfare frigates. Under the agreement, both companies are procuring two frigates each and two of these naval guns per frigate.

The first gun is set to be delivered in 2026 and its 40mm ammunition is designed for both anti-aircraft and anti-surface operations, both at sea and ashore. The company did not disclose the contract value.

BAE said the contract includes installation, training, documentation, spares and tools with an option for BAE Systems’ 3P programmable ammunition and more guns for training. The 3P version of the 40mm ammunition is programmable with six function modes. The Ps stand for pre-fragmented, programmable and proximity-fused ammunition while the function modes are meant to give a more optimized effect against the air, surface or shore targets.

The company noted one function includes airburst to counter things like small fast-maneuvering boats and concealed targets.

“This key milestone will ensure the new frigates have the cutting-edge capabilities they require, with the addition of our advanced 3P ammunition. BAE Systems continues to support our NATO allies by delivering enhanced capabilities to help to keep Europe safe,” Stefan Löfström, marketing and sales director at BAE Systems Bofors, said in a statement.

In 2020 BAE won a contract for 10 Bofors 40 Mk4 40mm small caliber and five Bofors 57 Mk3 57mm medium caliber naval guns for the U.K. Royal Navy’s Type 31 general purpose frigate program. (Defense Daily, Oct. 2, 2020).

The company describes the 40 Mk4 as having a maximum range of 12,500 nautical miles, fires at a rate of 300 rounds /minute, has over 100 rounds available in the gun at a time and has a barrel life of up to 5,000 rounds.

Teledyne Acquires Electronics Company Micropac Industries

Teledyne Technologies [TDY] on Monday said it has acquired Micropac Industries

[MPAD] in a $57.3 million deal that adds electronic components used in space, military, industrial, and medical applications.

The transaction is expected to close this year.

Micropac, which is based in Texas, develops and manufactures microelectronics, optoelectronics, and sensors and displays.

“Micropac’s products are complementary to our own, and we serve common customers in defense, space and healthcare markets,” Robert Mehrabian, Teledyne’s executive chairman, said in a statement.

Micropac said that once the deal closes, it will continue to operate under the same name and leverage Teledyne’s market reach and technical capabilities.

Microcap’s financial adviser on the deal is Mesirow Financial.

Navy To Extend Life Of 12 Destroyers And Three Cruisers

The Navy plans to extend the operations of 12 Flight 1 Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyers and three

Ticonderoga-class cruisers past their planned service lives to boost fleet numbers, the service said recently.

The Navy first announced the destroyer extensions on Oct. 31 and then added the cruisers on Nov. 4.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) transits the Suez Canal on Dec. 18, 2024 while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elexia Morelos) — The *Arleigh* *Burke*-class guided-missile destroyer USS *Laboon* (DDG 58) transits the Suez Canal on Dec. 18, 2024 while deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East region. (Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elexia Morelos)

The service said the destroyer extensions were decided on a hull-by-hull basis of ship material condition, combat capability, technical feasibility and lifecycle maintenance requirements that will allow the selected ships to last past their previous 35-year expected service lives.

The 12 DDGs will provide another 38-ship years of total service life over the course of 2028 to 2035.

The 12 destroyers and their extension times are the USS Carney (DDG-64) and Stethem (DDG-63) for one year each; Barry (DDG-52) and The Sullivans (DDG-68) for three years each; and the Gonzalez (DDG-66), Cole (DDG-67), John Paul Jones (DDG-53), Paul Hamilton (DDG-60), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and USS Stout (DDG-55) all extended for five years each.

The first announcement noted Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro requested the evaluation of the Flight 1 DDGs, which occurred over the past 10 months. It said the final determination was based on maximizing service life before it would require another extensive docking availability.

While the Navy did not initially disclose any costs to these extensions, it said the Navy proposed funding for the service life extensions in the FY ‘26 budget request plans and will update the 30-year shipbuilding plan.

A Navy spokesperson subsequently told Defense Daily that the “total cost estimate is $1.3 billion across the FY26 [five-year Future Years Defense Program] and $6 billion over 15 years. The average cost per ship per year is $139.6 million.”

In the announcement, Del Toro argued that extending the “well-maintained destroyers will further bolster our numbers as new construction warships join the Fleet.”

This is just the latest round in DDG-51-class destroyer extensions. Last year, the Navy said it would extend four destroyers that previously received the Aegis Baseline 9 upgrades via the DDG Modernization program: the USS Ramage (DDG-61) and Benfold (DDG-65) by five years to FY ‘25 and ‘26, respectively, and the Mitscher (DDG-57) and Milius (DDG-69) by four years each to FY 2034 and 2035 (Defense Daily, Aug. 3, 2023).

USS Carney prepares to moor pierside during a homecoming event on May 19, 2024 at Naval Station Mayport after a deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. (Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sophie A. Pinkham)

Earlier that year, the Navy extended the life of the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) by five years for a 40-year service life, to FY ‘31 (Defense Daily, March 17, 2023).

Last year, the Navy said it would keep evaluating surface combatant service lives by focusing on combat relevance, reliability data and material condition.

The latest cruiser extensions are the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), Chosin (CG-65), and Cape St. George (CG-71), which the Navy said adds a cumulative 10 years of more service life over FY 2026 to 2029.

The Navy highlighted these three ships have already received “extensive hull, mechanical and engineering, as well as combat system upgrades as part of an extended modernization program.”

Gettysburg and Chosin had their modernization in FY ‘23 and ‘24, respectively, while Cape St. George is currently on schedule to finish its modernization work in FY ‘25.

Del Toro underscored he is a former cruiser sailor and the Navy learned “hard lessons” from the cruise modernization program.

“We are only extending ships that have completed modernization and have the material readiness needed to continue advancing our Navy’s mission,” he said.

While Congress originally mandated the Navy to modernize and extend the life of seven cruisers past their original 35 year service life, problems in the Navy program’s costs and timing have led to only these three being left suitable for this extension. The modernization work began with the Gettysburg (CG-64) in 2014.

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG-65) steams alongside the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) during an at-sea demonstration of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) to reload an Mk 41 Vertical Launching System while underway off the coast of San Diego, Calif. on Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charlotte Dudenhoeffer) — The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS *Chosin* (CG-65) steams alongside the *Lewis* *and* *Clark*-class dry cargo ship USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) during an at-sea demonstration of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) to reload an Mk 41 Vertical Launching System while underway off the coast of San Diego on Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charlotte Dudenhoeffer)

In April 2023 Del Toro told a House Panel that he would like to add resources to extend the lives of three out of five cruisers the Navy had set out to decommission in the fiscal year 2024 budget request. He said the USS Antietam (CG-54), Leyte Gulf (CG-55) and Shiloh (CG-67) could be extended to last another one to two deployments each (Defense Daily, April 28, 2023).

The latest Navy announcement noted the cruiser decision came after the service successfully completed an at-sea demonstration of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Mechanism (TRAM) to reload missiles for the Chosin’s Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) last month (Defense Daily, Oct. 14).

The initial destroyer announcement boasted these efforts help meet Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s NAVPLAN aims.

“Today’s budget constrained environment requires the Navy to make prioritized investments to keep more ready players on the field. The Navy is actively pulling the right levers to maintain and grow its Battle Force Inventory to support the United States’s global interests in peace and to win decisively in conflict,” Franchetti said in a statement.

ARKA Group Acquires Radar And Sensor Tech Unit From Maxar Intelligence

ARKA Group last Friday said it has acquired the Radar and Sensor Technology (RST) business from Maxar Intelligence

, providing it with experts that support classified government sensor programs.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

RST is based in Ypsilanti, Mich., and has more than 200 employees that deliver software solutions around radar and sensor processing. The small unit “has extensive experience supporting U.S. government-led synthetic aperture radar programs,” ARKA Group said.

Within Maxar Intelligence, RST was part of Maxar Mission Solutions, serving as the SAR Center of Excellence.

“RST is the recognized leader in building, maintaining, and delivering sensor and signature processing algorithms and analytics for maritime, ground, air and space domains,” an ARKA spokeswoman told Defense Daily.

ARKA, which is based in Danbury, Conn., said the acquisition bolsters its ability to help customers address emerging threats in real-time using techniques involving SAR, moving target indication, and full spectrum geospatial intelligence products.

“With our existing space hardware and leading software capabilities, this acquisition will allow ARKA to provide more powerful and flexible solutions to our customers’ ever evolving and demanding mission needs,” Andreas Nonnemacher, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.

Following the acquisition, ARKA has more than 1,000 employees. The company has technology and expertise in radio frequency and optical systems for communications, laser threat warning and advanced windows, software mission applications, and space systems.

CCA In-Flight Adaptation Likely Need for ‘Tactical Responsiveness’

Some defense technologists believe that the U.S. Air Force’s manned Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) sixth generation fighter, in order to survive a service-ordered review, will have to be smaller in design than now planned or offload requirements to unmanned, autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which may accompany or fly ahead of manned NGAD and the F-35 on counterair missions.

Such CCAs are to adapt on the fly.

The effort to gain air superiority in a future conflict against an advanced technology adversary would likely require a mix of suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and “fighter sweeps,” according to Cockpit or Command Center? C2 Options for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, a new Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report.

“Establishing air superiority first requires blinding the enemy and destroying its ability to track and target friendly aircraft,” the CSIS study said. “Second, if enemy planes cannot be destroyed on the ground—the best place to kill an aircraft—they must be engaged in a series of operations designed to change the balance of air power. These missions, even with intelligence over-match, would likely require CCAs that are more tactically responsive.”

“Air-to-air combat and the adjustment to unforeseen aspects of an adversary’s air defenses—as seen in the evolution of SEAD missions since Vietnam—require the ability to recognize and respond to changes in the tactical environment,” the report said. “Feedback loops create a fluid environment prone to sudden changes.”

“Mission command for CCAs in these situations takes the form of pilots directly adjusting mission parameters in response to a changing environment,” according to the study. “This would likely require building in preconstructed mission sets that the pilot can rapidly assign as the threat environment changes. For example, consider a fighter sweep in which two F-35s are each paired with four CCAs, mixing electronic countermeasures and air-to-air weapons. The flight leader receives confirmation that there are more enemy aircraft than originally anticipated and relative to the payload. She could dynamically re-task the CCAs to jam and harass the enemy combat air patrol while the manned aircraft pull back to regroup and assess the situation with an AWACS and/or the command center (e.g., CAOG). Decentralized execution takes the form of an ability to assign missions to networked CCAs in order to free up time and space for pilots to adjust to new information.”

What may help CCA attain a unit cost goal of $30 million or less is a short logistics “tail” that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin discussed on Oct. 31 (Defense Daily, Oct. 31).

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has said that CCA should cost about one-third of an F-35–around $30 million, yet that may be a challenge, given the required artificial intelligence-enabled systems required for full CCA autonomy in launch, mission performance, and recovery.

In the past, the Air Force estimated a unit cost of several hundred million dollars for manned NGAD, but Kendall said in September that he is targeting a manned NGAD

unit cost of a Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 or lower–between $80 million and $90 million, depending on the military service F-35 variant and lot number (Defense Daily, Sept. 16).

The Air Force had talked about 3 to 5 CCAs under the control of an F-35 or manned NGAD for the air-to-air mission, but Kendall said in September that the conceptual number of CCAs per manned fighter is now higher.

Anduril Industries and General Atomics are under contract for the first batch of CCAs.

The CCAs would be within communications line-of-sight (LOS) of a manned platform, Kendall said in September. That distance is about 18 miles.

“One of the things you have to have if you’re gonna use CCAs and have them be armed and lethal is they have to be under tight control,” Kendall said. “For me, one of the elements of that is it needs to be line-of-sight communications, and I think that’s an important thing to have in the mix–secure, reliable, line-of-sight communications.”

U.S. OKs $425 Million In More Weapons For Ukraine, As North Korea Sends Troops To Support Russia

The Biden administration has approved a new $425 million weapons aid package for Ukraine, which includes providing Kyiv with additional munitions, counter-drone equipment and Stryker vehicles.

The new security assistance arrives following North Korea’s decision to send around 10,000 troops to support Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleynskyy in Kyiv, Oct. 21, 2024. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)

“The evidence now suggests that North Korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia and some of these [North Korean] troops have already moved closer to Ukraine,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday. “And we’re seeing them outfitted with Russian uniforms and provided with Russian equipment. And I am increasingly concerned that the Kremlin plans to use these North Korean soldiers to support Russia’s combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine.”

The new $425 million in weapons aid for Ukraine is the 69th package of equipment to be pulled from existing Pentagon inventories using the Presidential Drawdown Authority, the Pentagon noted on Friday.

It includes providing Ukraine with additional munitions for the NASAMS air defense systems and HIMARS launchers, counter-drone equipment and munitions, air-to-ground munitions, TOW, Javelin and Stinger missiles and 105mm and 105mm artillery ammunition.

Ukraine is also set to receive more Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers, small arms and ammunition and demolitions equipment, according to the Pentagon.

This is the second security assistance package to be announced following Austin’s visit to Kyiv on Oct. 21, with the U.S. detailing $400 million in weapons aid approved on the day of the defense secretary’s trip (Defense Daily, Oct. 21).

“We’ve moved heaven and earth to help Ukraine and our inspiring coalition of more than 50 allies and partners continues to stand to provide your country with the security assistance that Ukraine needs to prevail,” Austin said ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Oct. 21.

President Biden in late September announced plans to allocate nearly $8 billion in new weapons aid for Ukraine, split between $5.5 billion in equipment to be pulled from DoD inventories using PDA authority that was set to expire at the end of September and $2.4 billion in capabilities to be procured from industry using Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds (Defense Daily, Sept. 26).

Palantir’s CTO Sankar Issues Treatise On Reforming DoD Acquisition

A top Palantir [PLTR] executive last week offered a sweeping set of recommendations—he calls them theses—for transforming the way the Defense Departments buys weapons and systems, and how U.S. industry develops these products and goes to market.

In The Defense Reformation, Shyam Sankar argues the U.S. “is in an undeclared state of emergency” because China is a peer adversary, the U.S. has lost the ability to deter, and the defense industrial base cannot produce even the minimum number of platforms and weapons to sustain a warfighting effort beyond a few days.

“Given the vast sums we have spent on defense in these decades of Pax Americana, it would be reasonable to wonder: what went wrong?” the chief technology officer (CTO) of the artificial intelligence-based software company writes.

Two major problems as Sankar sees them in his treatise are the fact that most defense companies have lost their connection to commercial markets through their dependency on defense and federal business, and that DoD is not only a monopsony, it has throttled competition between the armed services for industry goods and services.

One of his 18 theses, “Make the primes business-worthy,” posits that the major defense prime contractors are not truly competitive because they lack commercial businesses and resort to taxpayer-funded research and development. Highlighting General Dynamics [GD] and its information technology division, Sankar suggests the company’s detachment from the commercial sector masks its true capabilities.

“If GDIT is so good, why don’t they serve the commercial IT market” he asks. “Because they can’t compete, having developed a business as far from the commercial market as the Galapagos Islands are from the mainland.”

Sankar also points to Boeing’s [BA] space business, mentioning the Starliner crew capsule the aerospace and defense giant developed for NASA to take humans to the International Space Station. Starliner, over budget and way behind schedule, finally successfully delivered a two-person crew to the space station this year but the agency decided to temporarily strand the astronauts there because it felt the capsule unsafe for crewed flight on the return after suffering helium leaks and propulsion issues. NASA has turned to SpaceX, a commercial developer of launch vehicles, crew capsules, and satellites, to bring the Starliner crew back to Earth.

As for DoD being a monopsony, an only buyer, Sankar says there is not competition inside the department and that it should adopt “market mechanisms.” As an example, he says the Space Force is a “worthy competimate” to the National Reconnaissance Office, which purchases exquisite spy satellites for the defense and intelligence establishment, and commercial remote sensing imagery.

“What looks like duplication is insurance against complacency and unpredictability—there is nothing more costly than losing,” Sankar says.

Sankar even offers a private sector example of a monopsony, pointing to Walmart [WMT], the purveyor of all manner of home goods at low cost by pressuring its suppliers to cuts costs rather than focus on innovation. The company was eventually blindsided by the rise of online seller Amazon [AMZN].

“Will we let that happen to America?” he asks.

Giving Combatant Commands buying power will also mitigate the pitfalls of a monopsony, giving them a source of “economic power,” so that that programs meet the needs of warfighters not just a service.

“This is how free markets work,” Sankar says.

In some of his other theses, Sankar takes a dig at cost-plus contracting for most of what DoD buys, saying it leads to higher costs, slow paced development, and stifles innovation. SpaceX spent 10 percent—versus NASA’s estimates—developing a new launch vehicle and ended up reducing launch costs by 85 percent, he says. The government views people as expensive and technology as “unaffordable” whereas in the commercial world it is the opposite, he says.

Sankar also argues DoD has the authority to quickly reprogram funding as necessary, even if “messy and imperfect,” an idea akin to agile software development for budgets. Noting former Navy Adm. Hyman Rickover spent more than 30 years overseeing his service’s nuclear reactors, Sankar says the military services need to keep key personnel around in the same job for far longer than the typical two-to-three-year rotation; otherwise, they lack true expertise.

DoD is essentially “bad commies” because its budget and procurement processes are “centrally unplanned,” leaving the department bereft of the benefits of free markets and whatever a centrally planned economy offers, he says.

“Everyone, including the Russians and the Chinese, have given up on communism except for Cuba and the DoD,” Sankar says of “the department’s heresy.”

Defense Watch: Welding School, Bomber Task Force-Europe, Freedom’s Forge, Faulty Welds, New Rheinmetall JV

Welding School. The Navy’s Submarine Industrial base program announced the opening of the John D. Haynes School of Welding Technology at Mount Vernon High School on Oct. 24 to help improve on the shortage of naval shipbuilders and tradespeople. This is a collaboration between BWX Technologies and BlueForge Alliance. The Navy said this school will provide students the chance to both complete their high school diploma and a welding certification, with graduates getting a direct entry to BWXT’s nuclear operations group. The school will be able to accommodate up to 60 students per year. The Navy called this a potential blueprint for similar programs across the country with government, industry and academia cooperating to bolster the defense industrial base workforce.

Naval Strategic Studies Group.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) said in January 2025 it will establish a Naval Strategic Studies Group (NSSG) program to be administered by the DoN Office of Strategic Assessment (OSA). NSSG is being modeled after the Cold War-era Strategic Studies Group that trained future flag officers in strategic thinking and conducted research on strategic challenges. The first cohort of the new group will be Navy and Marine Corps members conducting a capstone research project related to the strategic elements of Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro’s maritime statecraft initiative. The secretary established OSA in October 2023 and has tasked them with reconstituting this NSSG program to “rebuild the naval strategist community,” the service said.

Bomber Task Force-Europe. U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) has conducted more than a half dozen Bomber Task Forces (BTFs) so far this year, and another will occur in Europe within days to practice with NATO allies for several weeks, AFGSC said on Friday. In August and September, 180 personnel from the 110th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and three B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from Whiteman AFB, Mo., deployed with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to conduct 34 sorties with other aircraft, including F-35s, E-7 Wedgetails, and EA-18G Growler jamming aircraft. AFGSC said that B-2 aircrews communicated with Air Force joint terminal attack controller “forward observers” and RAAF Marine Rotational Force-Darwin for inert bombing runs.

…B-1s. U.S. Air Forces Europe did not specify the number or type of bombers that will deploy to Europe for the coming BTF. The Air Force has used all its bomber types–B-52, B-1, and B-2–for BTFs, but the three types have not appeared in the same BTF. As part of BTF-2 in February, two B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth AFB, S.D.’s 28th Bomb Wing deployed to Luleå-Kallax Air Base, Sweden, to train with Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighters in what marked the first multi-day deployment of U.S. bombers to Sweden.

Second SAOC. SNC said that the second 747-8i for the U.S. Air Force’s Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) program has arrived at the company’s Aviation Innovation and Technology Center (AITC) near Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In April, SNC received an up to $13 billion Air Force award for SAOC, which is to replace the service’s Boeing E-4B “Nightwatch” fleet, based on the 747 passenger plane and used as a mobile national command authority in crisis situations, such as “doomsday” events. “Acceptance of the second [747-8i] aircraft – just six months after SAOC contract award in April 2024 – signifies substantial and swift progress on the vital program,” SNC said on Thursday. Work at AITC on “state-of-the-art” SAOC hangars for SAOC and other “large aircraft modernization modification projects” recently started, the company said.

C-390 Hybrid SATCOM. Viasat and Embraer said that they are teaming to give Embraer’s C-390 airlifter improved communications through Viasat’s Hybrid SATCOM Approach (HSA), based on the Ku/Ka-band GAT-5530 terminal. “The HSA will provide secure and reliable satellite connectivity to the C-390 aircraft with automated failover, enhancing operations with resilient broadband SATCOM supporting the operational flexibility and responsiveness required by the C-390 tactical mission,” the companies said. C-390s with HSA may be an option for the U.S. Air Force to supplement its C-130Js, particularly in the area of highest national security concern, the Indo-Pacific. Viasat and Embraer said that HSA will support communications “using Ku-band and WGS” and will provide “flexibility for installation of future mission communications systems in LEO and L-Band.”

Freedom’s Forge Redux. Amid widespread concerns that the defense industrial base is incapable of a rapid production increase to a wartime footing, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in January will host an invitation-only workshop focused on a “sustained surge” of responsive, agile, flexible, and scalable advanced manufacturing. The workshop in Houston will help develop a new strategic pillar—Freedom’s Forge 2.0—led by DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office and inspired by transition of American industry to defense production in the early 1940s. “Key elements are rapid evolution from concept to manufacture and design to support surge production,” DARPA said in a notice last week. “Cost awareness and cost control of the manufactured articles are included in this focus area.”

…Hypothetical Challenge. Ahead of the Jan. 22-24 workshops, DARPA wants researchers, engineers, and subject matter experts to consider a hypothetical challenge involving the manufacture of an approximately 220-pound unmanned aircraft system that would have to be built at a rate of 100 units per day within five days of being ordered and can quickly be validated for meeting quality and functionality standards. The Oct. 28 notice provides examples of innovations that could solve the challenge, including using robots to shape digitally defined metal parts rather than using rigid molds, and additive manufacturing or digitally controlled machinating to rapidly produce molds and dies. DARPA wants the workshop to lead to a “strategy for technology advancement and investment in advanced manufacturing.”

The Faulty Welds. Faulty welds recently discovered by HII on aircraft carrier and submarine work it is doing for the Navy made up just a “small fraction” of the overall welds and were committed by a small number of welders at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding facility, HII President and CEO Chris Kastner told investors last week. HII took an “immaterial” charge in the third quarter “for the cost that we think could be deemed unallowable” related to the faulty welds, Tom Stiehle, the company’s chief financial officer, said. Once the investigation is complete there will be “finality on the financial front,” Stiehle said. Kaster said the company is “working very closely with the customer to bound the issue.”

…Dividend Hike. HII’s third quarter results last week were fraught with problems stemming from delays in a potential 17-submarine contract, combined with labor and supply chain challenges. Those concerns more than outweighed the faulty weld issue, which has drawn concern from House defense overseers. Still, ahead of the financial release, HII said its board raised the quarterly cash dividend by nearly 4 percent to $1.35 per share from the current $1.30 payout. The new dividend rate will be payable on Dec. 13.

M&A Thoughts. Bill Lynn, chairman and CEO of Leonardo DRS, last week said the company’s top priority for capital deployment is acquisitions, adding that there is more “volume” on the mergers and acquisitions front now and “an uptick in actionable opportunities” in the core market areas it targets. These areas are advanced sensing, naval power, force protection, and network computing. “So, we’re very active in terms of diligence,” he said, adding, “nothing yet to announce.” Lynn also said the company does not have anything “actionable at this point” related to potential Boeing assets that may be on the market.

…AI Innovation. Touting his company’s innovation chops, Lynn also said Leonardo DRS has strengthened its radar sensing capabilities by developing and testing an “AI-aided target recognition capability on multiple platforms.” A Leonardo DRS spokesman later told Defense Daily that the company’s RADA business unit has built the artificial intelligence recognition capability into their radars to enable them “to de-prioritize” certain objects like birds to ignore non-threats.

Corporate News. Defense technology company BlueHalo last week said it has established a presence in Lawton, Okla., at the Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator to better serve its Army customers at Fort Sill on counter-drone solutions and air defense training technologies. Australia’s DroneShield, a developer and provider of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), is expanding its European footprint appointing a team of counter-drone professionals in Denmark and Germany to provide local engagement and support. Germany’s Rohde & Schwarz has launched ARDRONIS Detect, a compressive C-UAS solution for detecting, localizing, and identifying drones. R&S said ARDRONIS can be deployed in fixed, semi-mobile, and mobile configurations.

People News. Former Republican Congressman and CIA veteran Will Hurd (Texas) has joined defense technology company CHAOS Industries as chief strategy officer. CHAOS, a venture capital-backed Los Angeles-based startup, has developed a dual-use, multistatic commercial radar for early warning and tracking of small drones, to missiles, and fighter jets. MITRE has named Katie Schroth as vice president of the Air and Space Forces Center, which provides technical capabilities for the Air Force. Voter Space has appointed Matt Magana as executive vice president for national security. Magana was previously president and CEO of RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies satellite business. Finally, Maxar Intelligence has appointed Matt Santangelo as chief financial officer and Matt Jenkins as chief space systems officer. Santangelo was most recently CFO of the cybersecurity company Forcepoint and Jenkins was head of the engineering team at Amazon’s Project Kuiper.

Bacon’s Seat. The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan political analysis group, said on Nov. 1 in its final update ahead of Election Day that its outlook on Rep. Don Bacon’s (R-Neb) race to keep his seat representing Nebraska’s 2nd district has shifted from “toss up” to “lean Democrat.” Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been locked in a tight race against Democratic state senator Tony Vargas to represent the swing district. The group’s prediction gives Vargas the slight edge following recent favorable polling numbers for the Democrat. Bacon, who has held the seat since 2017, is a former brigadier general in the Air Force and has been a proponent of cyber and electronic warfare programs and efforts during his tenure on HASC.

New Rheinmetall JV. Germany’s Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 28 to establish a new joint venture with Croatian firm DOK-ING that will focus on unmanned ground systems (UGS). Rheinmetall noted the new venture will include joint development and marketing for the new DOK-ING Komodo platform, with the German company set to provide capability modules and upgrade kits for direct and indirect fire, mine-laying, reconnaissance sensors, logistics and more “as well as its international market access and industrial capacities.” “DOK-ING and Rheinmetall represent two leading European suppliers in their field, joining forces to carry out challenging projects. Together, we aim to set new standards and pave the way for the series production and application of UGSs. We are addressing the European market as well as other partner nations,” Björn Bernhard, head of Rheinmetall’s vehicle systems Europe division, said in a statement.

Switzerland/Patriot Support. The State Department said on Oct. 28 it has approved a possible $450 million foreign military sale with Switzerland for equipment to sustain its Patriot air defense systems. The FMS case covers support for Switzerland’s five RTX Patriot systems and Lockheed Martin-built interceptor inventory, and includes test station equipment, Foreign Liaison Officer support, international engineering services, modification and upgrade kits, classified missile processing and spares. “The proposed sale supports Switzerland’s goal of maintaining national and territorial defense as well as interoperability with U.S. and other European forces,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Argentina/F-16 Equipment. The State Department then said on Oct. 30 it has also approved a potential $941 million FMS case with Argentina for F-16 aircraft equipment and support. The deal would include 36 AIM-120 C-8 AMRAAM missiles, MK-82 500-pound bombs, weapons support equipment, AN/ARC-238 radios, Joint Mission Planning Systems, cryptographic devices, avionics support, communications equipment, electronic warfare database support, modifications and maintenance support, spare parts, jet fuel and logistics support services. “The proposed sale will improve Argentina’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing the additional capacity to conduct air defense, offensive counter air, and close air support operations,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Poland FMS. The State Department on November 1 said it has also approved an FMS case with Poland for GCA-2020 Mobile Ground Control Approach Systems. The L3Harris military air traffic control radars consist of ultra high frequency radios, AN/UPX interrogators and radio navigation equipment and Poland will also receive test equipment. “The proposed sale will improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by bolstering its capabilities in air traffic control and reinforcing its commitment to provide secure and effective aviation services in accordance with international norms, while expanding its national defense capabilities and supporting the common defense of NATO,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Navy Radars. Leonardo DRS said on Nov. 1 it was recently awarded a new deal from the Navy worth up to $235 million to produce additional AN/SPQ-9B ship-based air and surface target detection radars. “The SPQ-9B radar is a vital ship protection system used across the fleet, and we are proud that the U.S. Navy continues to entrust us to produce this important defensive technology,” Cari Ossenfort, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS’ Naval electronics business unit, said in a statement. “Our experienced team’s ability to execute complex manufacturing and proven engineering processes are the key reasons we remain a trusted partner to NAVSEA and PEO Integrated Warfare Systems.” Leonardo DRS noted the SPQ-8 radars are used for “simultaneous and automatic air and surface target detection and tracking of low flying anti-ship cruise missiles, surface threats and low/slow flying aircraft, UAVs, periscopes and helicopters.”

Airbus CEO Addresses Potential Space Consolidation

Airbus is evaluating potential consolidation for its Space segment in Europe, CEO Guillaume Faury told investors on Oct. 30.

The Space segment at Airbus has been challenged this year with charges on satellite programs. Airbus restructured the Space segment earlier this year and is going through an audit of some of its programs. The company also announced up to 2,500 layoffs in the space segment earlier this month.

Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo are reported to be in talks for a potential space merger, and the CEO of Leonardo confirmed talks

in public remarks in July.

“We are fixing our foundations while assessing strategic alternatives, rethinking the European landscape and evaluating potential consolidation options,” Faury told investors on Wednesday.

“The space industry in Europe is undergoing major challenges in Europe and outside of Europe and needs to transform in order to remain competitive against other global players, including some new players,” he added.

Faury added that there is an “appetite in Europe at the moment to look at sovereignty,” to create a company with the scale to better compete against non-European players.

Third Quarter Defence & Space Financials

Airbus reported its third quarter financials on Oct. 30. Airbus Defence and Space reported 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in revenue during the quarter, up 6% from the same time last year.

Growth in the Defence and Space revenue this year is mainly driven by the Air Power business, partly offset by EAC adjustments in Space Systems.

EBIT Adjusted at Airbus Defence and Space was -661 million euros (-$719 million)for the first nine months of 2024, reflecting the previously announced charges of 989 million euros ($1 billion) in Space Systems.

For the first nine months of 2024, order intake at Defence and Space is up 30%. Faury cited a strong order momentum across the business. This includes the SATCOMBw 3 prime contract with the German Armed Forces, which Faury said was bid on with the segment’s new, more selective bidding strategy.