🌊 REGENT Unveils Squire Hybrid Seaglider for Contested Maritime Logistics

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

☢️ Departments of War and Energy Airlift First Transportable Nuclear Reactor via C-17

🚀 U.S. Army Tests Next-Gen Rocket-Assisted Projectile to Double Artillery Range

🤖 Air Force Validates A-GRA Architecture for Scalable Wingman Drone Autonomy

🔓 Dutch Defense Minister Suggests F-35 Software Could Be ‘Jailbroken’ if U.S. Cuts Support

🎱 Plus 12 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🌊 REGENT Unveils Squire Hybrid Seaglider for Contested Maritime Logistics — Read More

• REGENT Defense has introduced "Squire," an autonomous hybrid-electric seaglider designed to provide high-speed, low-signature transport in contested maritime environments. Unveiled during a briefing with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Squire platform utilizes wing-in-ground-effect technology to fly just meters above the water's surface, combining the speed of an aircraft with the efficiency of a vessel to bypass traditional radar and sonar detection.

• The Squire is a quarter-scale autonomous variant of the company’s flagship Viceroy model, specifically optimized for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and medical evacuation missions. By utilizing a hybrid-electric powertrain, the craft significantly extends its operational reach compared to all-electric versions, offering a versatile solution for the U.S. Marine Corps’ strategic shift toward distributed operations in the Indo-Pacific theater.

• Defense officials emphasized that the Seaglider’s ability to operate from existing pier infrastructure without requiring runways makes it an ideal "middle-mile" logistics asset. REGENT is currently scaling its manufacturing capabilities in Rhode Island, with a new 255,000-square-foot facility slated to begin production this year to meet urgent demands for "affordable mass" in naval transport and autonomous strike roles.

☢️ Departments of War and Energy Airlift First Transportable Nuclear Reactor via C-17 — Read More

• In a landmark logistics demonstration, the Departments of War and Energy successfully airlifted a Ward 250 nuclear microreactor aboard a C-17 Globemaster III from California to Utah. This mission, part of Operation Windlord, marks the first time a next-generation transportable reactor has been moved by military aircraft, proving the feasibility of rapidly deploying carbon-free, high-density energy to remote or grid-compromised military installations.

• The Ward 250 reactor, developed by Valar Atomics, is a 5-megawatt modular unit capable of powering approximately 5,000 homes or a standard military base independently of civilian infrastructure. The transport was conducted without nuclear fuel to validate the safety and weight distribution of the eight modules within the C-17's cargo bay, ensuring the system can be flown anywhere in the world within hours.

• Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey and Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined the flight, framing the initiative as a cornerstone of the "American nuclear renaissance." The reactor is now headed to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for operational validation, with the administration aiming to have three such units in stable operation by July 2026 to support energy-intensive assets such as AI centers and directed-energy weapons.

🚀 U.S. Army Tests Next-Gen Rocket-Assisted Projectile to Double Artillery Range — Read More

• The U.S. Army has initiated intensive live-fire testing of the Next Generation Rocket Assisted Projectile (NGRAP) at Yuma Proving Ground. Designed to replace the legacy M549A1 rounds from the 1970s, the NGRAP features a significantly larger rocket motor and a new one-piece joint design intended to push the effective range of standard 155mm howitzers well beyond the current 30-kilometer threshold.

• During the trials, engineers subject the projectiles to extreme "characterization tests" by using over-weighted propellant charges to reach the maximum permissible barrel pressure. These stress tests ensure the round can withstand the violent forces of launch without compromising structural integrity, while high-speed cameras and radar tracking systems capture detailed data on the rocket's ignition and flight stability at speeds exceeding one mile per second.

• Army modernization officials view the NGRAP as a vital bridge for the Long Range Precision Fires portfolio, providing existing units with enhanced standoff capabilities against pacing threats. If successful, the projectile will provide a cost-effective way to increase the lethality of the M777 and M109 fleets, ensuring they remain relevant alongside emerging high-velocity cannon systems currently in development.

🤖 Air Force Validates A-GRA Architecture for Scalable Wingman Drone Autonomy — Read More

• The U.S. Air Force has achieved a major milestone in its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program by successfully integrating the government-owned Autonomy Government Reference Architecture (A-GRA) across multiple airframes. This "software-first" approach was validated during flight tests where third-party autonomy suites from RTX Collins and Shield AI were seamlessly swapped between General Atomics’ YFQ-42A and Anduril’s YFQ-44A platforms.

• The A-GRA architecture is designed as a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) to prevent "vendor lock," allowing the service to rapidly update mission software without redesigning the aircraft hardware. During a recent four-hour demonstration, a human operator transmitted high-level commands to a YFQ-42A, which the aircraft's autonomous "brain" executed accurately, proving that mission logic can be decoupled from the underlying vehicle flight systems.

• Air Force leadership noted that this open architecture is the key to fielding at least 1,000 CCAs in the coming years, creating a competitive ecosystem where traditional and non-traditional vendors can contribute. By standardizing the "language" drones use to communicate and navigate, the military can ensure that various robotic wingmen can operate cohesively alongside manned F-35 and F-22 fighters in complex, high-threat environments.

🔓 Dutch Defense Minister Suggests F-35 Software Could Be ‘Jailbroken’ if U.S. Cuts Support — Read More

• Dutch State Secretary for Defense Gijs Tuinman sparked international debate by suggesting that the F-35’s highly restricted software could be "jailbroken" like an iPhone if the United States ever withheld critical upgrades or activated a "kill switch." The comments, made during a podcast, reflect growing anxieties among European allies about their operational independence and the vendor lock-in of the world's most advanced stealth fighter.

• The F-35 program is notoriously software-dependent, relying on over 8 million lines of code and cloud-based systems like ODIN for mission data and logistics. Tuinman argued that in an extreme crisis, nations might find ways to bypass these proprietary locks to integrate indigenous weapons or update threat databases independently, though he acknowledged that such a move would be technically difficult and legally perilous.

• While the Dutch minister reaffirmed his broad support for the F-35, the "jailbreak" rhetoric highlights a deepening rift in the transatlantic relationship under the current U.S. administration. Analysts warn that while software could theoretically be cracked, foreign operators would still remain vulnerable to "parts denial," as the physical supply chain for engines and hardware spares remains firmly under American export control.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Shield AI selected as mission autonomy provider for USAF CCA program — Read More

• Saab and UDI collaborate on advanced airborne surveillance solutions — Read More

• German-developed "Attack Drone" variants headed for Ukraine field trials — Read More

• C-17 transports second Ward 250 reactor for military energy resilience tests — Read More

🛡️ Land

• South Korea expands tank production to meet rising European defense demand — Read More

• CISA warns of major workforce furlough amid impending DHS shutdown — Read More

• U.S. conducts strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria — Read More

🌊 Sea

• NATO launches Arctic Sentry in High North to counter Russian activity — Read More

• U.S. forces board oil tanker in Indian Ocean that fled Caribbean blockade — Read More

🏭 Industry

• Keir Starmer urges U.K. to accelerate defense spending timelines — Read More

• Army additive manufacturing reveals flaws in current readiness pricing models — Read More

• Munich Security Conference highlights widening U.S.-Europe defense rift — Read More

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