💰 Pryzm Raises $12M Led by Andreessen Horowitz to Transform Federal Procurement with AI

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

💰 Pryzm Raises $12M Led by Andreessen Horowitz to Transform Federal Procurement with AI — Read More

🛰️ Space Force Awards Muon Space $44.6M in SBIR Funding for 3-Satellite Mission — Read More

🎮 US Introduces Simulator That Recreates FPV Drone Ops in Detail — Read More

🤖 More AI tools coming in days or weeks, Pentagon R&D chief says — Read More

🏛️ Pentagon acquisition chief pledges new ‘program czars’ will cut red tape, not add to it — Read More

🎱 Plus 12 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

💰 Pryzm Raises $12M Led by Andreessen Horowitz to Transform Federal Procurement with AI — Read More

• Pryzm, an AI-native public procurement platform founded by former Palantir and Lockheed Martin leaders, has raised $12 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism practice. The company says federal buyers and vendors are stuck in slow, fragmented acquisition cycles that can’t keep pace with modern threats or technology cycles.

• The startup is building what it calls an “AI procurement OS” to unify market research, program data, and budget information in one environment. The idea is to help government program offices rapidly identify relevant suppliers while giving industry a clearer view of real demand, cutting down on blind RFP chasing and duplicated effort.

• Pryzm pitches its platform as an operating layer for the broader defense ecosystem, aiming to reduce manual paperwork and disconnected spreadsheets that slow awards. By surfacing opportunities and matching them to vendors through AI-driven analysis, the company argues it can shorten acquisition timelines and make it easier for emerging tech firms to break into federal markets.

🛰️ Space Force Awards Muon Space $44.6M in SBIR Funding for 3-Satellite Mission — Read More

• The U.S. Space Force has awarded Muon Space $44.6 million under a SBIR Phase III Other Transaction Authority to demonstrate a space-based environmental monitoring capability. The deal tasks Muon with building and launching a three-satellite constellation for Space Systems Command, focused on dual-use missions that combine defense weather support with global wildfire detection and monitoring.

• The SBEM prototype will serve Department of Defense meteorology and oceanography users while also feeding civilian wildfire-monitoring needs. It builds on Muon’s FireSat work with the Earth Fire Alliance and a prior SBIR Phase II effort to evolve the company’s Quickbeam multispectral infrared instrument, now adapted into an enhanced Quickbeam-SBEM payload for this mission.

• Each of the three satellites will carry the upgraded Quickbeam-SBEM sensor, which adds broader spectral coverage and onboard processing tailored to DoD theater weather operations. Program officials see the mission as a demonstration of dual-use design efficiency, using a commercial wildfire-monitoring foundation to rapidly deliver operational value while demonstrating scalability for future defense space-weather architectures.

🎮 US Introduces Simulator That Recreates FPV Drone Ops in Detail — Read More

• MVRsimulation has rolled out an FPV Drone Operations Simulator that blends its VRSG image generator with detailed flight dynamics to replicate first-person-view quadcopter missions. Built around a gaming laptop and handheld twin-stick controller, the system is designed to feel like fielded FPV gear while running on high-fidelity terrain and sensor models already used in broader simulation networks.

• The simulator places operators in realistic environments built from real-world imagery, letting them practice low-altitude flying, target identification, and attack runs using FPV-style video feeds. Instructors can introduce cluttered urban areas, obstacles, and moving targets, giving pilots repeatable reps on tasks that are expensive or risky to rehearse with live hardware at the front.

• A built-in scenario editor allows units to script custom missions, including complex routes, multi-ship coordination, and degraded-video conditions that mimic jamming or interference. Because it plugs into existing VRSG-based networks, the FPV trainer can be integrated with other simulators for larger exercises, enabling combined-arms teams to rehearse how FPV drones fit into broader operational concepts.

🤖 More AI tools coming in days or weeks, Pentagon R&D chief says — Read More

• Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said the Pentagon will begin widely deploying new AI tools for logistics, intelligence analysis, and combat planning in “days or weeks,” calling broad AI use his top technology priority. The department has selected Google’s Gemini for Government as the platform for its first department-wide AI rollout.

• Michael noted that the Defense Innovation Unit and Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office have been consolidated under his portfolio to speed the fielding of AI and other technologies. He plans to narrow the list of critical technology areas his office pursues from 14 down to six, arguing that a smaller set of focus areas is necessary for real progress.

• Pointing to Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s rapid military buildup, Michael described a “robot on robot frontline” and stressed that the Pentagon is underutilizing AI compared to the general population. He said his office will pair rapid deployment with training and embedded engineering support, and signaled upcoming acquisition changes aligned with broader November reform announcements.

🏛️ Pentagon acquisition chief pledges new ‘program czars’ will cut red tape, not add to it — Read More

• Pentagon acquisition chief Melissa Duffey defended the new Defense Portfolio Review Managers—dubbed “program czars”—as tools to streamline oversight of significant efforts, not new bureaucratic layers. Reporting directly to the deputy defense secretary, these managers will oversee priority portfolios, including the Golden Dome contracting vehicle and other big-ticket modernization efforts.

• Duffey said the goal is to give senior leadership a clear point of accountability who can cut across services and agencies, tackle cross-cutting problems, and resolve issues that stall programs. She emphasized that DPRMs will work alongside existing program offices rather than replace them, with an explicit mandate to remove duplicative reviews and outdated process requirements.

• The initiative is part of a broader acquisition reform push following recent speeches and guidance on speeding weapons fielding and shoring up the munitions industrial base. Duffey highlighted ongoing multi-year procurement strategies and regular acceleration reviews as mechanisms to lock in production stability, stressing that cultural change and pruning old rules are as important as new organizational charts.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Aussies buy seven more MQ-28 Ghost Bat CCAs following live-fire demo — Read More

• Northrop Grumman to deliver CEESIM to fighter lab — Read More

• Compromise NDAA protects Wedgetail, greenlights Black Hawk multiyear buys — Read More

• Ukraine Brings Shotgun Combat to the Air, Equips Drones With 12-Gauge Ammo — Read More

• Small but mighty: DARPA’s new LIFT competition wants drones to carry much, much more — Read More

• Ukraine’s New Counter-Drone Tech Uses Acoustic Targeting to Hunt Shaheds Silently — Read More

🌊 Sea

• Norway to buy two more subs, Denmark buys new surveillance ship in Nordic maritime push — Read More

• Navy retools Landing Ship Medium program around Dutch LST-100 vessel, construction manager to lead design process — Read More

🏛️ Policy

• Trump admin should ‘go farther’ on rewrite of acquisition regulations: Industry org — Read More

• Adam Smith details NDAA deal, blasts Pentagon secrecy at Reagan National Defense Forum — Read More

• Despite Pope visit and new talks, analysts predict Israeli escalation coming in Lebanon — Read More

🏭 Industry

• General Dynamics wants to turn competitors into teammates — Read More

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