Tag: DOD

DoD Seeks Expanded Investment in Counter-UAS Capabilities

Defense Daily reports, “The Defense Department’s office focused on speeding the development and delivery of systems and technologies to counter threats from small drones is requesting more than $580 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds in fiscal year 2027 and an unknown amount of procurement funding, according to Pentagon budget documents.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Lander Now in Lunar Orbit

Spaceflight Now reports, “A robotic lander from Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is now in orbit around the Moon and going through its final preparations to land in the coming weeks. On Thursday, the company announced that its Blue Ghost lander fired its main engine and thrusters for four minutes and 15 seconds in a maneuver called the Lunar Orbit Insertion, which put it in an elliptical orbit around the Moon.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

DoD Innovation Unit to Study Firefly Vehicle for Missions Beyond Earth Orbit

Space News reports, “The Defense Innovation Unit announced March 21 it has signed an agreement with Firefly Aerospace to study the potential use of the company’s Elytra orbital vehicle for missions beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit.” According to the article, once the study contract is complete, as many as two demonstration flights could occur, “in the region between GEO orbit and the moon, known as cislunar space.”
Full Story (Space News)

DOD Considering “All” Options as it Seeks Upgrades to F-35’s Cooling System

Breaking Defense reports the “Defense Department is considering ‘all’ options as it seeks upgrades to the F-35’s cooling system, … with the F-35 Joint Program Office not ruling out the potential for a new competition to upgrade the system currently provided by incumbent producer Honeywell Aerospace.” Honeywell makes the F-35’s Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), “which combines an auxiliary power unit, environmental control and emergency power into a single apparatus that, among other capabilities, cools off the aircrafts subsystems. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) wants to upgrade the PTMS in order to enable future capabilities on the fifth-generation aircraft.” When asked “whether the F-35 program is planning a competition to field a new PTMS, JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere on Thursday said, ‘All PTMS options will be assessed to ensure we provide the greatest capability to the warfighter.’”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

DoD Not Interested in Partnership With NASA on SLS

Reuters reports that NASA is “pushing ahead with plans to hand ownership of the Space Launch System (SLS) to a Boeing-Northrop joint venture in the next few years, with a goal of cutting in half the rocket’s price tag – estimated at $2 billion. But finding a market for a giant and costly rocket promises to be difficult, with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) – seen as a potential customer – signaling little interest.” In an interview, Col. Douglas Pentecost, a senior rocket acquisition official with the Space Force, said, “It’s a capability right now that we, the DoD, don’t need. … We have the capability that we need at the affordability price that we have, so we’re not that interested in some partnership with NASA on the SLS system.”
Full Story (Reuters)

EC-37B Compass Call Makes Debut Flight

Aviation Week reports that the USAF Compass Call eavesdropping and electronic attack suite has been successfully moved from the retired legacy EC-130H aircraft into the EC-37B. The new EC-37B Compass Call, a modified Gulfstream G550 business jet, recently conducted its first four-hour flight.
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Air Force Global Strike Command’s Innovation Lab Debuts Counter-Small UAS Competition

ExecutiveGov reports that Air Force Global Strike Command’s innovation arm “has launched a new competition to develop technology designed to counter threats posed by small unmanned aerial systems.” STRIKEWERX said it “is seeking submissions from private companies, academia and small businesses for the Mobile C-sUAS Swarm Defeat Challenge, which aims to protect mobile transport systems against drone swarms.” Director of STRIKEWERX Russ Mathers “said the command is encouraging businesses, educators and inventors to bring all ideas to the table to help its government partners ‘learn about the latest and greatest technology available.’”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

DOD Resumes Acceptance of F-35s from Lockheed Martin

FlightGlobal reports that on March 14, the F-35 Joint Program Office said that the Defense Department has “resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft from Lockheed [Martin].” Breaking Defense reports JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere said, “The Defense Contract Management Agency and F-35 Joint Program Office resumed acceptance of F-35 aircraft today from Lockheed Martin and are currently working with the U.S. services, partner nations and foreign military sales customers on the movement of aircraft to their operational units. … Prior to acceptance, the aircraft passed extensive technical and flight worthy checks ensuring their readiness for operational use.” Air Force Lt. Gen Mike Schmidt, the program executive officer for the JPO, said in a statement that the “Government and industry team worked tirelessly on this effort and their work demonstrates true professionalism and a devotion to accomplish complex missions with stringent ingenuity. The safety of our warfighters is always our highest priority.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal) | More Info (Breaking Defense)