DoD Sets Sights on Small UAS Arms Race, Cutting a Gordian Knot of Red Tape

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s recently published memo was instantly met with enthusiasm from homefield drone companies, who threw their hat in the ring to provide new toys to the DoD. The memo, "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance”, sets out Hegseth’s ideal for DoD and drone usage. “When l became the Secretary of Defense,” the memo reads, “I committed to rebuild our military to match threats to capabilities. Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine. Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year. While global military drone production skyrocketed over the last three years, the previous administration deployed red tape. U.S. units are not outfitted with the lethal small drones the modern battlefield requires.” The memo lays out 3 primary tasks...

Up Next: Building, Testing, Engineering…

Bell Helicopter has been down-selected for Phase 2 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s SPRINT X-Plane program, but that’s a good thing! The wording is apparently a positive turn of DARPA phrase that indicates Bell Textron, Inc will move forward in the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane program and complete their design for a demonstrator. They’ll go as far as construction, ground testing, and certification of the aircraft eventually, hopefully giving their client an aircraft that can hover in place and still pull off a 450-knot cruise.

Eurofighter Manufacturing Awaits New Orders, As Skilled Techs Are Assigned Elsewhere

Over in the United Kingdom, tempers flare over BAE Systems’ handling of Eurofighter Typhoon production, with one group calling upon the government to place orders for a 4th tranche of fighters to keep the whole thing afloat. “Workers at BAE and across the whole UK defence and manufacturing industry will be looking at the ending of the Typhoon final assembly production at Warton and asking how a government promising to turn defence spending into ‘British growth, British jobs, British skills, British innovation’ could let it happen. I have repeatedly told government ministers how much is at risk in terms of jobs, skills, and national security if we stop assembling our own fighter planes. But instead of future planning and ensuring skilled workers are ready to produce the next generation of fighter jets (Global Combat Air Programme, or GCAP), they still seem content to sit on their hands while those skills begin to wither and die."

Gets Funding For SPRINT Demonstrator Next Steps

Bell Textron announced it has been selected to advance to Phase 2 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane program with funding provided to complete the design, construction, ground testing, and certification of an X-plane demonstrator.