💥 DOD Draft Memo Points to Sweeping Acquisition Reform

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

💥 DOD Draft Memo Points to Sweeping Acquisition Reform — Read More

🤖 Palladyne AI’s Edge & U.S. Air Force Patent Push for Robotics Autonomy — Read More

🛩️ General Atomics Launches Gambit 6 Drone “Wingman” for Air-to-Ground Operations — Read More

⚡ Indian Army Demonstrates Hand-Held Directed-Energy Weapon — Read More

🚢 UK Warships Trial Uncrewed Boat Escort Fleet 500 Miles Offshore — Read More

🎱 Plus 11 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

💥 DOD Draft Memo Points to Sweeping Acquisition Reform — Read More

• A leaked draft memo obtained by Breaking Defense shows the Pentagon preparing to overhaul its acquisition system, prioritizing speed and accountability over bureaucratic process. The reforms would penalize contractor delays, reward timely delivery, and encourage private-capital investment in defense innovation.

• The memo introduces “Portfolio Acquisition Executives” with authority to shift funds and make performance trades, focusing on fast, “good-enough” capability delivery rather than perfection. It also ties incentive pay to delivery time and competition outcomes.

• Other directives include moving toward “commercial-first” contracting, updating DoD 5000 policies, creating portfolio scorecards, and forming an “Economic Defense Unit” to fund startups. Experts say the changes mark a decisive pivot from cost-centric reform toward speed-driven modernization.

🤖 Palladyne AI’s Edge & U.S. Air Force Patent Push for Robotics Autonomy — Read More

• Palladyne AI received a U.S. patent for its “Closed Loop Tasking and Control of Heterogeneous Sensor Networks,” enabling drones, robots, and sensors to act as a single coordinated system. The architecture allows each unit to share feature-based insights instead of raw data, conserving bandwidth and enhancing collaboration.

• The system’s feedback loop continually updates assignments and actions based on environmental changes, creating a dynamic, self-adjusting network.

• CEO Ben Wolff said the technology represents the “brain and nervous system” of machine collaboration, positioning Palladyne AI at the center of swarm-autonomy efforts across defense and commercial markets.

🛩️ General Atomics Launches Gambit 6 Drone “Wingman” for Air-to-Ground Operations — Read More

• General Atomics unveiled the Gambit 6, a new Collaborative Combat Aircraft optimized for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and deep-strike missions, expanding the company’s unmanned “wingman” portfolio. The aircraft features modular architecture, internal weapons bays, and a shared systems core to reduce cost and speed variant development.

• International sales are slated to begin in 2027, with European “missionized” versions to follow in 2029.

• Executives say Gambit 6 will enable scalable human-machine teaming, with future iterations advancing toward fully distributed autonomy by the 2030s—flying cooperative ISR, jamming, and strike missions alongside crewed aircraft.

⚡ Indian Army Demonstrates Hand-Held Directed-Energy Weapon — Read More

• The Indian Army successfully operated a portable, hand-held directed-energy weapon during a live-fire exercise, destroying small drones and showcasing the system’s precision and speed.

• Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the laser weapon is part of India’s broader DEW program, which includes the higher-power 300-kilowatt Surya system expected by 2027.

• The demo underscores India’s drive toward indigenous counter-UAS solutions, highlighting DEWs’ potential for low-collateral, rapid-response defense and future integration into mobile, layered air-defense networks.

🚢 UK Warships Trial Uncrewed Boat Escort Fleet 500 Miles Offshore — Read More

• In a historic 72-hour trial, five autonomous Rattler boats escorted Royal Navy warships 500 miles from their controllers, marking a major leap in maritime autonomy. Operators aboard HMS Patrick Blackett managed the swarm from southern England, using real-time camera and sensor feeds via laptops.

• The uncrewed craft performed protective escort missions alongside HMS Tyne and other assets, validating endurance, networking, and formation control.

• The test, led by the Disruptive Capabilities and Technology Office, demonstrates rapid fielding of deployable uncrewed systems—a key milestone toward the Royal Navy’s “Hybrid Fleet” of crewed and autonomous platforms.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Guardsman learns to fly autonomous Black Hawk in less than an hour — Read More

• Platinum F-15C/D/E Eagles pivot to homeland defense missions — Read More

🛡️ Land

• Army looking for adaptable electronic-warfare tech — Read More

• Counter-drone effort: Abrams & Bradley systems get upgrades to fight UAS — Read More

• Algorithmic drones tested for heavy-payload delivery missions — Read More

🛰️ Space

• U.S. firm develops “Base Box” for resilient, mobile space-ops — Read More

• China-built hypersonic missile raises PLA threat concerns — Read More

🧠 C2 & AI

• U.S. Navy unveils new app to transmit policies to sailors’ families — Read More

• Hanwha Defense USA invests in Firehawk Aerospace to accelerate propulsion innovation — Read More

🏭 Industry & Policy

• Senate confirms new leader for Army Cyber Command — Read More

• Goodbye Boeing/Jeppesen: ForeFlight now a standalone company — Read More

Thanks for reading today’s Defense Brief. If you found it useful, consider forwarding it to a friend or colleague who'd appreciate staying sharp on defense tech and military news.