Dan Schere

The Army is surveying companies who can build a missile for less than $150,000 that can take out small unmanned aerial systems faster and at better ranges than current capability, a new notice says.

The Army wants to establish a basic ordering agreement (BOA) for Group 3 unmanned aerial systems -- those weighing between 55 and 1,320 pounds -- as it seeks to onboard commercially available platforms onto its online UAS marketplace, according to a government notice posted today. The service’s objective is to “provide an innovative and complete” Group 3 UAS that uses a Modular Open Systems Approach to facilitate interoperability for payloads and radios, while also allowing the government both...

The Army has announced a new memorandum of understanding with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will focus on energy siting for Redstone Arsenal, AL, and Ft. Campbell, KY. The MOU, considered non-binding, establishes a loose framework for how the service plans to go about strengthening energy resilience at installations across the country and will be significantly cheaper than the previous energy installation plan from the Biden administration, officials said today. The Army-TVA MOU will “bolster grid security, address growing energy...

The 11 best performing companies in the Gauntlet I phase of the Defense Department's Drone Dominance initiative had shipped 11,440 drones as of July 30, according to DOD.

The Army announced a new initiative this morning intended to speed up the time it takes smaller defense contractors to test weapon systems by opening up four domestic U.S. military ranges and one abroad to industry for testing platforms such as drones, counter-drone systems, low-cost interceptors and long-range fires. Using a new website, companies can request a reservation at one of the ranges, which are: Dugway Proving Ground, UT West Cibola Range, AZ Camp Grayling, MI Camp Shelby,...

Workforce losses over four years at two Army depots specializing in ground vehicle maintenance have made it more difficult to retain and replace experienced maintainers, particularly in skilled trades, according to depot officials who told the Government Accountability Office the staffing shortages are creating challenges for their operations. The federal workforce at Anniston Army Depot, AL, and Red River Army Depot, TX, decreased by a combined 785 people, or about 18%, between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, according to a...

The Army plans to expand the missile industrial base to more nontraditional vendors and establish a more consistent demand signal through a new initiative known as Project Strike, an official from the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fires said today. Project Strike will be a “plan for rapid and accelerated rocket and missile market space expansion and production capacity output,” according to slides presented to attendees of the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, AL Thursday morning. According to...

As the Defense Department pushes for greater access to contractors' intellectual property in the name of improving weapons maintenance and readiness, industry experts and executives are warning the effort could go far beyond what is needed to repair and sustain military systems. The tension between government and industry over IP rights is fueled in part what some industry advocates say are misconceptions about how big a role “ right to repair ” 227729 plays when it comes to readiness...

Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve issued a strategic direction statement yesterday, outlining a series of general guiding principles for the force. The statement, entitled “ The Army Azimuth,” emphasizes the service’s role in homeland defense, as well as the use of force on the battlefield “marked by unrelenting speed, precision lethality, and persistent observation” to counter enemies that use weapons such as unmanned systems and weapons of mass destruction, or WMD. LaNeve’s statement came shortly...

The Army wants to expand its domestic output of 155 mm cargo-carrying projectiles, with the goal of creating a "scalable, resilient manufacturing capability for affordable projectiles" and bolster the supply chain, according to a prototype project opportunity notice posted yesterday. The Modular Artillery for Combat Effectiveness (MACE) program will support both large-caliber and next-generation field artillery systems through “alternative manufacturing processes,” according to the notice. The projectile body will be interchangeable, in that it will be able to accept...