🧠 CIA unveils new acquisition framework to speed tech adoption

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

🧠 CIA unveils new acquisition framework to speed tech adoption

✈️ Natilus raises $28M to complete blended-wing aircraft prototype

🌊 Lockheed reveals “Lamprey” undersea drone concept

🎯 L3Harris’ Red Wolf munition teams with Sky Warden aircraft

📡 China explores microwave weapon concepts to disrupt Starlink

🎱 Plus 15 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🧠 CIA unveils new acquisition framework to speed tech adoption — Read More

• The CIA announced a new acquisition framework designed to accelerate how quickly emerging technologies move from concept to operational use. The framework emphasizes simplified contracting, faster vendor onboarding, and greater flexibility for program managers to experiment with non-traditional suppliers.

• According to NextGov, the effort is aimed at shrinking timelines that often stretch into years, particularly for software, data analytics, and AI-enabled tools. Agency officials say speed is now a core requirement as intelligence challenges evolve faster than legacy procurement cycles.

• The framework reflects a broader intelligence-community shift toward agile acquisition models, mirroring Pentagon efforts to attract startups and commercial tech firms. Leaders argue that without structural reform, the IC risks falling behind adversaries who iterate and field capabilities at commercial speed.

✈️ Natilus raises $28M to complete blended-wing aircraft prototype — Read More

• Natilus secured $28 million in new funding to finish construction of its blended-wing aircraft prototype, a design aimed at improving fuel efficiency and payload capacity compared to traditional tube-and-wing aircraft.

• The company says the blended-wing configuration could significantly reduce operating costs for cargo and potentially military logistics missions. Defense planners have long shown interest in such designs for their range, efficiency, and reduced radar and infrared signatures.

• The funding round underscores renewed investor confidence in alternative airframe concepts as both commercial aviation and defense logistics seek efficiency gains. If successful, Natilus could open a pathway for blended-wing designs to transition from experimental concepts to operational platforms.

🌊 Lockheed reveals “Lamprey” undersea drone concept — Read More

• Lockheed Martin unveiled details of its “Lamprey” undersea drone concept, designed for long-endurance, autonomous operations in contested maritime environments. The system is intended to support surveillance, reconnaissance, and potentially payload delivery missions.

• NextGen Defense reports Lamprey emphasizes low observability, endurance, and modularity, allowing it to adapt to different mission profiles without redesigning the core platform. Such attributes are increasingly valued as navies prioritize persistent undersea awareness.

• The concept aligns with growing U.S. and allied focus on autonomous undersea systems to counter peer naval threats. As undersea competition intensifies, platforms like Lamprey are seen as force multipliers that can operate where crewed assets face higher risk.

🎯 L3Harris’ Red Wolf munition teams with Sky Warden aircraft — Read More

• L3Harris highlighted integration of its Red Wolf loitering munition with the Air Force’s Sky Warden aircraft, positioning the pairing as a flexible strike and ISR option for permissive and semi-contested environments.

• Red Wolf is designed as an attritable, networked weapon that can extend sensor reach or deliver precision effects. When launched from Sky Warden, it provides commanders with a low-cost option to hold targets at risk without deploying high-end aircraft.

• The combination reflects a broader shift toward modular, plug-and-play weapons that can be paired with multiple platforms. Defense officials see such integrations as a way to rapidly scale capability while keeping costs and logistics manageable.

📡 China explores microwave weapon concepts to disrupt Starlink — Read More

• Chinese researchers are examining microwave weapon concepts aimed at disrupting satellite constellations like Starlink, according to reporting highlighted by NextGen Defense. The work focuses on non-kinetic methods to degrade space-based communications.

• Analysts note that microwave systems could offer a reversible or deniable means of interference, appealing to states seeking to counter satellite-enabled military operations without creating debris or escalating to kinetic attacks.

• The research underscores the growing vulnerability of proliferated LEO constellations in modern conflict. As reliance on commercial satellites grows, protecting space-based communications is becoming a central concern for U.S. and allied defense planners.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• GE Aerospace supports RSAF F110 engine program — Read More

• UK military explores jet waste reduction initiatives — Read More

• Europe watches closely as U.S. returns to Munich Security Conference — Read More

🛡️ Land

• India tests laser-armed UGV sniper concept — Read More

• Turkey rolls out Kaplan armored personnel carrier updates — Read More

• U.S. strike on suspected narco-boat leaves two dead, one survivor — Read More

🌊 Sea

• Aselsan promotes integrated approach to undersea naval defense — Read More

• Ultra Maritime expands undersea warfare capabilities — Read More

• Space Force buys second Otter spacecraft for on-orbit satellite support — Read More

🏭 Industry

• Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in Perseus Materials for large-format composite 3D printing — Read More

• Los Alamos confirms University of Michigan data center role in nuclear weapons research — Read More

• Saudi firm INTRA unveils counter-EW platform, eyes full production of Shalfa munition — Read More

🏛️ Policy

• DoD restructures foreign military sales to prioritize speed and efficiency — Read More

• Pentagon seeks more time to finalize defense firms on restricted list — Read More

• New UN forum aims to break barriers to space traffic cooperation — Read More

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