🔷 Saved Rounds 12.17.24

This is our final Saved Rounds of the year. We’ll drop our Xmas special on Sunday, 12/22, then see you in 2025!

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They Said It
“I know we can’t be second.”

— Jared Isaacman, on US competitiveness in space

He’s the entrepreneur, civilian fighter pilot, and commercial astronaut nominated to lead NASA.

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Word

APFIT: Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) is a pilot program run by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to help selected technologies from small and non-traditional companies cross the ‘valley of death’ and get into production.

Why it Matters: The companies were not announced but are set to each receive $10m for the following efforts (which have virtually no other online info):

• SOCOM’s Advanced Tactical Flotation Systems

• The Air Force’s Athena – Counter Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) Fused Air Picture

• The Air Force’s Small Unmanned Aircraft Defense (SUADS)

• The Army’s Coral Drift

• The Marine Corps’ Software-defined Tactical Optical Modem for Performance and Ruggedization (STOMPeR)

Saved Rounds

• Babcock & PteroDynamics are partnering for tactical drones in Australia and New Zealand

• The Air Force is shifting away from eVTOLs in favor for hybrids due to range limitations

• Denmark received 4 more F-35s (8 to date, 3 more coming soon)

• The Boeing 757 flying test bed for UK-Japan-Italy’s GCAP 6^th-gen fighter completed its first mods

• France’s 1^st E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is under construction

• The Pentagon launched the AI Rapid Capabilities Cell with $100m for generative AI tool pilot programs

• The Army conducted another integrated air defense test between Patriot missile, LTAMDS radar, and IBCS battle management systems (gotta love those acronyms)

• Russia is prepping to send Su-27 and MiG-29 jets to North Korea

• Russia SU-57 Felon's new thrust vectoring nozzles were revealed

• Lockheed Martin demoed the first F-35 data-sharing with a non-US C2 system (UK Nexus)

• Merlin received a 19-month contract extension to bring flight autonomy to KC-135 tankers

• Australia successfully test-fired its first Tomahawk missile

• Anduril’s autonomous submarine is preparing for a 1,000-nautical-mile demo

• Poland test-fired HOMAR-K MRLS (more range than US HIMARS)

• Lockheed Martin’s new ‘TacSat’ is preparing to launch (ISR and the first 5G.MIL payload in orbit)

• Northrop Grumman secured a 10-year Air Force contract to provide CAF DMO services (distributed air combat training in simulation)

• BAE won a $12m DARPA contract to develop a high-temperature pressure sensor (for hypersonics, etc.)

• Airbus & Aerostar tested satellite backhaul technologies on stratospheric ISR platforms

• Estonia established a framework to tap multiple vendors for loitering munitions

• Viavi Solutions acquired navigation solutions company Inertial Labs

• Leidos secured a $987m contract to sustain Taiwan’s F-16 fleet

• Boeing was awarded a $451m contract to upgrade Japanese F-15s

• The Space Force is testing automation software on satellite C2 systems

• The Air Force is still looking for solutions to reprogram the F-35 faster

• Australia test-fired its first locally made Naval Strike Missile launcher

• DIU is looking for a C2 solution for large-scale counter-drone applications

• Rolls-Royce announced the future B-52 engine passed critical design review

• Slovakia selected Embraer’s C-390 Millennium as its new military transport aircraft

• BAE won a $168m contract for a new helmet for Eurofighter fighter pilots

• The Army test-fired a pair of Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 weapons from a HIMARS launcher

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