From U.S. Central Command

May 11, 2024 

TAMPA, Fla. – At approximately 8:45 p.m. (Sanaa time) on May 10, Iranian-backed Houthis launched an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) over the Gulf of Aden from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. A coalition aircraft successfully engaged the UAS. There were no injuries or damages reported by U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels. 

Later, between approximately 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 11, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed three UAS launched by Iranian-backed Houthis over the Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. There were no injuries or damages reported by U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels. 

It was determined that these UAS presented an imminent threat to both coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. 

May 12, 2024 

TAMPA, Fla. – At approximately 3:30 a.m.(Sanaa time) on May 12, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) launched by Iranian-backed Houthis over the Gulf of Aden from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. There were no injuries or damages reported by U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels. 

It was determined the UAS presented an imminent threat to both coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. 

By Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor 

ARLINGTON, Va. — SAIC’s counter-unmanned aerial system (CUAS) concepts will be further tested in a June 2024 demonstration, a company official said. The company has two types of CUAS systems deployed and is in competition for two Department of the Navy programs. 

“We’re really excited about the [June] counter-swarm demo that we’ve been selected to participate in,” said Greg Fortier, SAIC’s senior vice president for Army aviation, fires, and C2 in the Army business group, in an interview with Seapower. 

SAIC, which has been developing CUAS systems for more than a decade, already has two CUAS systems fielded with U.S. agencies.  

The company’s Valkyrie CUAS System is “operational in a few parts of our country,” Fortier said, with “[O]perational forces in the U.S. Army right now on a pilot type of effort. The predecessor of our system [the Medusa] is also active across the CENTCOM AOR [U.S. Central Command area of responsibility] in certain capacities, and that’s mostly with the Department of the Air Force.” 

Fortier said that SAIC has “continued to evolve our solutions, continued to understand the different requirements from all of the services — frankly all of the agencies in our nation — and then really have driven for the past couple of years into a modular, 100% open system that is a scalable approach to meeting all the different threats within counter-UAS. That’s not just in the all-domain warfighting imperative but it’s also things like the border of the future as well as the general overall citizen experience for our country. 

“SAIC is pivoting on five national imperatives: all-domain warfighting, undersea dominance, citizen experience, border of the future, and next-gen space. CUAS applies to four of the five across multiple agencies,” he said. “The company has multiple lines of effort with these imperatives. We go at it in terms of four phases: detect, track, identify, and mitigate. There are multiple technologies that apply across the board—kinetic and non-kinetic solutions. Every customer, every requirement is a little bit different.” 

“It’s all about our open architecture that allows us to integrate very quickly to any of the different modalities that support detect, identify, track, and mitigate,” said Jeremy Davidson, SAIC’s counter-UAS lead, also speaking during the interview. “Multi-functional capability within each of those mission domains from detect to mitigate — including all of your different non-kinetic and kinetic modalities as well, including lasers, but also traditional small arms, rockets, ATM [air traffic management], drone interceptors, things like that. 

“We bring all of the sensors that feed into that, from radars, to RF [radio frequency], to EW [electronic warfare], and of course the last one is the eye, which is identify where you  get into your EO/IR [electro-optical/infrared] sensors,” Davidson said. 

“We are a tech-agnostic integrator,” Fortier said. “We feel like we are a world-wide leader in technology agnostic integration. That makes our systems more powerful in that we can take multiple technologies as we’ve already done in the past couple of years, integrate and learn, understand, and then pass that along [and] make that connection among the multiple agencies within the United States.” 

He stresses that the company’s integration of technology is not just with hardware but also with software, and that cost reduction and operational effectiveness are achieved through open architecture. 

“When you have an open system, and you have an obsolete part, you can pull that part off, and if the technology or the threat changes, you can plug and play new technology at pennies on the dollar because you’re not re-integrating or re-configurating an entire system,” Fortier said. 

SAIC continues to participate in multiple demonstrations for the Joint Capabilities Office and for the Department of Homeland Security on the border, he said. 

“There are two offices right now in the Department of the Navy, both of which we are pursuing,” Fortier. “We were down-selected in one of those opportunities to continue in the competition, but that competition is still active.” 

The two Department of the Navy competitions are the MADIS-CES (Marine Air Defense Integrated System-CUAS Engagement System) Lethality Upgrade and Marine Corps Installation CUAS. 

SAIC has 25 partners and integrates more than 45 technologies. Most of its current integration work is performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The company has had discussions with foreign countries in Europe and elsewhere about its integration technology. 

Centennial, Colo., May 8, 2024 – ULA announced that it has signed agreements with Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana and Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. in Bristol, Rhode Island, to design, oversee and build a new ship to transport Vulcan rockets from the factory in Decatur, Alabama to the launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. 
  
“We are pleased to be partnering with two of the best companies in the business to build our second transportation ship,” said Chris Ellerhorst, ULA’s vice president of the Kuiper Program. “Over the next year, ULA will be doubling its launch rate capacity in support of our Amazon customer and to ensure timely deliveries of the rockets to the launch site, we needed to build a second ship to support our transportation needs.” 
  
ULA awarded Bollinger Shipyards a contract to build a second roll-on/roll-off vessel classed for both ocean-going and river service. Construction has just begun on the 356-ft-long ship at Bollinger’s shipyard located in Amelia, Louisiana with delivery to ULA expected in January 2026. 
  
“We’re proud to continue our partnership with ULA in support of their increasing capabilities and launch capacity,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “Bollinger’s skilled workforce is second to none when it comes to designing, engineering and building complex vessels to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, and we look forward to beginning work on SpaceShip to ensure delivery of Vulcan rockets from the factory to the launch pad.” 
  
“ULA currently has its first ship called RocketShip that has been in service for decades and with this second ship called SpaceShip our maritime fleet will enable enterprise transportation capacity of four Vulcan launch vehicles across two voyages to either the East or West Coast,” said Ellerhorst. 
  
In addition, ULA has also hired Bristol Harbor Group, Inc., a well-respected naval architecture and marine engineering firm to oversee the design and build phases of the project with Bollinger. 
  
Vulcan is ULA’s next generation rocket, and it saw its successful inaugural launch in January 2024. Vulcan will provide high performance and affordability while continuing to deliver superior reliability and orbital precision for all our customers across the national security, civil and commercial markets. 
  
For Amazon, ULA’s new Vulcan rocket is contracted for 38 launches to support the majority of the deployment for the Project Kuiper constellation, which will provide fast, affordable broadband service to unserved and underserved communities around the world.   
 
All rockets are not created equal. ULA is the nation’s most experienced, reliable and accurate launch service provider delivering unmatched value, a tireless drive to improve, and commitment to the extraordinary. Vulcan’s inaugural launch marked the beginning of a new era of space capabilities and provides higher performance and greater affordability while offering the world’s only high energy architecture rocket to deliver any payload, at any time, to any orbit. 

From HII 

MCLEAN, Va., May 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — HII, the leading manufacturer of underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs), announced the recent sale of three REMUS 100s and five REMUS 300s to the Royal Navy. 

This transaction marks a significant milestone in the longstanding partnership between HII and the United Kingdom military to support the Royal Navy’s capabilities in underwater exploration, countermine and surveillance programs. 

Over the past 20 years, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence has acquired a mix of REMUS 100s, Remus 300s and REMUS 600s for mine countermeasure operations. 

The Ministry of Defence’s first two REMUS 100s, acquired in 2001, are still in operation today, demonstrating the resilience and modernization capabilities of the HII-built UUVs. 

The REMUS 100s and 300s, known for their versatility and reliability, are set to enhance the Royal Navy’s operational efficiency for a variety of maritime missions. These UUVs are equipped with advanced sensors and systems, enabling them to perform a wide range of tasks, from reconnaissance to mine countermeasures. 

Duane Fotheringham, president of Mission Technologies’ Unmanned Systems business group, stated, “We are honored to support the Royal Navy in their mission to maintain maritime security. The trust placed in our REMUS vehicles by the United Kingdom and other allies is a testament to the quality and reliability of our technology. We look forward to further strengthening our partnerships and contributing to global maritime safety.” 

A photo accompanying this release is available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-royal-navy-REMUS-unmanned-vehicle-acquisition/. 

The sale of REMUS 100s and 300s to the Royal Navy follows a history of successful collaborations between HII, the U.S. Navy, and U.S. allies around the world, with REMUS UUVs being widely used by NATO members. 

HII has sold more than 600 UUVs to 30 countries worldwide, including 14 NATO member countries like the U.K. 

Recent HII REMUS milestones: 

• March 2024: HII announced the sale of a REMUS 620 UUV to an international customer in the Indo-Pacific Region. 
• December 2023: The U.S. Navy announced the first end-to-end submarine torpedo tube launch and recovery of a REMUS UUV using the Yellow Moray system. This capability to deploy a drone through a torpedo tube creates new opportunities for surveillance, reconnaissance and other missions. 
• October 2023: HII announced the award of a contract to build nine small UUVs for the U.S. Navy’s Lionfish System program. The contract has since grown to 42 vehicles and has the potential to grow to as many as 200 over the next five years with a total value of more than $347 million. 
• September 2022: HII delivers three REMUS 100 UUVs to the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy. The new systems provide enhanced endurance and the latest generation of sensors and payloads, allowing for increased data quality and mission efficiency. 
• August 2022: The Royal New Zealand Navy received delivery of four REMUS 300 UUVs for use in mine countermeasure and survey operations. 

ARLINGTON, Va. and LONDON, U.K. — BlueHalo, the company transforming the future of global defense,  and Kraken Technology Group, a maritime technology leader specializing in disruptive high-performance platforms, today announced a strategic partnership to integrate BlueHalo’s cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)-backed autonomous mission systems into Kraken’s littoral security platforms to develop next-generation uncrewed surface vehicles (USV) and uncrewed surface/sub-surface vehicles (USSV) along with multi-domain, ‘marsupial’ capabilities. 

Through this partnership, the entities will work together to integrate BlueHalo’s industry-leading autonomous innovations within a range of Kraken vessels–including the K3 SCOUT USV, the K4 MANTA USSV and the K5 KRAKEN Gunship–to yield significant innovations in maritime autonomy and develop new littoral capabilities addressing critical national security priorities. BlueHalo will also integrate its Titan and SkyView Radio Frequency (RF)-based counter-uncrewed aircraft system (C-UAS) technologies as payload within the K3, K4, and K5 portfolio for mobile, maritime UAS detect and defeat capabilities. 

“This expansion into the maritime domain is one of several initiatives we have been planning as part of our long-term strategic vision. The ability to rapidly and seamlessly adapt current leading technologies to adjacent domains allows us to out innovate adversaries and extend BlueHalo’s ring of protection,” said Jonathan Moneymaker, BlueHalo Chief Executive Officer. “Kraken’s innovative spirit and passion for customer success align directly with our DNA and we are excited to be bringing these disruptive offerings to the mission.” 

“Partnering so closely with BlueHalo on the integration of K3 has demonstrated clear synergies in both vision and expertise. With this combined effort, Kraken and BlueHalo are working together to expand these innovations across our other vessels and pursue even more opportunities to meet critical customer needs,” said Mal Crease, Founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group. “Game-changing capabilities deployed at pace is our sole objective, and this partnership will ensure our ability to deliver against exponentially growing  
market demand.” 

The BlueHalo AI/ML-backed autonomous platform will serve as the primary core of autonomous operations and functions within the Kraken USV and USSV–leading mission-focused operations, maintaining situational awareness, signaling directions to the autonomous maritime controller, enabling multi-vessel swarming, and supporting hybrid maritime and land “marsupial” operations. 

BlueHalo has extensive technical experience delivering state-of-the-art autonomous capabilities, including R&D, engineering, systems development, fabrication and prototyping, manufacturing, integration and sustainment activities. These capabilities enabled the development of HaloSwarm–a transformational, autonomous drone swarming technology with unmatched mission efficiency and performance previously unavailable to the warfighter. The company also offers an entire ecosystem of uncrewed solutions purpose-built for any environment, including the Intense Eye UAS, which is part of the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Blue UAS Cleared List for rigorously vetted, policy-compliant, commercial UAS. 

Kraken has a successful record of rapidly developing and manufacturing disruptive, scalable littoral platforms at high-volume. K3 SCOUT is a low-cost, low-signature, high-performance autonomous multi-mission USV for use both commercial and military applications. K4 MANTA is a unique, innovative scalable platform under development which will bring multi-mission payloads over large distances, before submerging for covert infiltration, persistent recce or loitering roles. K5 KRAKEN will be the definitive built-for-purpose, high-performance littoral gunship, capable of rapid solo or swarmed precision engagement in defense of littoral or afloat assets.  

MAY 6, 2024 

Exemplifying the Department’s focus on harnessing the value of commercial technology to solve critical operational challenges, the first iteration of the Replicator initiative has reached an execution milestone. 

Deputy Secretary Hicks announced today some of the capabilities and one of the systems selected for accelerated fielding as part of the first tranche of the Replicator initiative, which is focused on fielding all-domain attritable autonomous (ADA2) systems. 

The Department has secured its needed funding of about $500 million for FY24, to include approximately $300 million from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 defense appropriations bill supporting the Department’s reprogramming request and additional funding identified using existing authorities and Defense-wide sources. In PB25, the Department has requested a roughly equal amount to the FY24 total and will work with Congress to support this request.  

These investments bring together the capabilities of a broad range of traditional and nontraditional technology companies, including systems vendors, component manufacturers, and software developers.  

“I am pleased to announce that the Department will begin investing in scalable production for these critical capabilities,” said Hicks. “We are taking an important step toward strengthening our defense and technology industrial base. And, we are demonstrating the Department’s ability to break down barriers to scaling innovation at speed not just for ADA2 systems, but in our ability to develop new capabilities and processes for the Department and key stakeholders, including Congress.” 

The first tranche of Replicator capabilities include uncrewed surface vehicles (USV), uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and counter-uncrewed aerial systems (c-UAS) of various sizes and payloads from several traditional and non-traditional vendors.  

In the air domain, the Department will accelerate fielding of the Switchblade-600 loitering munition, produced by Simi Valley, CA-based AeroVironment Inc. U.S.-supplied Switchblade drones have already demonstrated their utility in Ukraine, and this system will provide additional capability to U.S. forces. 
  
“This is a critical step in delivering the capabilities we need, at the scale and speed we need, to continue securing a free and open Indo-Pacific” said Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “The entire Department has come together to help make this a reality.” 

In the maritime domain, the Department is diversifying the vendor base for USVs through the recently announced Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO). The CSO process allows U.S. and international companies to pitch technologies to the Department in a fast-track process for a prototype contract. Launched on January 30, 2024, the PRIME CSO received over one hundred applications from commercial technology companies. With FY24 funding secured, the Department is on track to award several contracts this summer. 

The first tranche of Replicator also includes certain capabilities that remain classified, including others in the maritime domain and some in the counter-UAS portfolio.  

“Meeting the strategic imperatives facing the nation requires that we harness the very best of America’s commercial technology in non-traditional partners, alongside our traditional sources of defense capabilities,” said Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). “Replicator is doing just that, and that is why we at DIU are proud to work with our partners from across the Department of Defense to make it a reality.” 

Since Deputy Secretary Hicks’ announcement of the Replicator initiative and its initial focus on ADA2 systems just over seven months ago, the Department-wide effort has systematically aligned senior leaders around a common vision to identify and validate key joint operational gaps and rapidly field solutions in 18-24 months. The Department is also preparing the next tranche of capabilities to add to the ADA2 portfolio. 

“This is just the beginning,” said Admiral Christopher Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Replicator is helping us jumpstart the delivery of critical capabilities at scale. We will build on that momentum with industry partners to deliver what the warfighter needs, and remove barriers to doing so again and again.” 

April 29, 2024 | By Matthew Olay, DoD News  

A temporary pier the Defense Department is constructing off the Gazan coast to deliver humanitarian aid is on track to establish initial operations soon, the Pentagon announced today.   

“We’re scheduled on track to meet our goal of early May,” said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during a news media gathering.  

DOD originally announced its mission to construct the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, capability on March 8, with a goal of beginning initial delivery operations about 60 days from that date.  

DOD officials announced on April 25 that construction of the pier had begun, and recent satellite imagery from Gaza’s coastline has shown construction activity in the area.  

The components of the JLOTS include a floating pier, an approximately 1,800-foot-long causeway that will be attached to the shore, and a group of logistic support vessels and barges that will transport the aid from the pier to the causeway.  

“Right now, you’re seeing construction of that floating, temporary pier, and then, you’ll start to see construction of the causeway,” Singh told reporters. “Eventually, that causeway will be … pushed into the coastline and secured by the .”  

Since announcing the temporary pier would be used in the humanitarian aid mission, DOD officials have repeatedly emphasized that the IDF will provide force protection on and around the JLOTS. No U.S. boots will be on the ground as part of pier operations in Gaza.  

“There is an integrated cell with the IDF and our U.S. military to ensure that there is deconfliction happening,” Singh said. “And that also helps with the coordination of JLOTS and the pier itself. So, we are confident that we are in a good place.”  

When the pier is completed, officials anticipate it will initially facilitate the delivery of an estimated 90 daily truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Once fully operational, that number should jump to about 150 truckloads, or roughly 2,000,000 meals per day. 

ORLANDO, Fla., April 1, 2024 – The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a follow-on production contract for Joint-Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) and HELLFIRE missiles with a Program Year 3 (PY3) award total value of $483 million.  

This contract will provide JAGM and HELLFIRE procurement and production support for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and international customers. This contract is the third follow-on award that is a part of a multiple-year award that was initially awarded in March 2023. The total contract award value is for up to $4.5 billion through 2025.  

“This follow-on contract signals the Army’s continued confidence in both the JAGM and HELLFIRE systems as premier defense capabilities when it comes to ensuring customer readiness worldwide,” said Joey Drake, program management director of Multi-Domain Missile Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.   

HELLFIRE currently has more than 30 FMS customers with new HELLFIRE international customer Poland included in the PY3 contract. This contract provides maximum flexibility to facilitate the procurement of both systems to multiple domestic and international customers, especially as the JAGM program anticipates a significant increase in international demand for the weapon system in coming years.  

“We will be able to continue to provide procurement and production support for both systems, which is important because both are critical multi-domain combat solutions that protect and defend our armed forces and allies against ever-changing global threats,” said Drake.  

Both the JAGM and HELLFIRE systems are designed and developed in Orlando, Florida. The weapon systems are manufactured across various Lockheed Martin facilities in Dallas, Texas; Orlando and Ocala, Florida; Archbald, Pennsylvania; and Troy, Alabama. With more than 140,000 missiles produced, JAGM and HELLFIRE continue to be the weapon of choice in critical, precision engagement opportunities. 

RESTON, Va. (March 29, 2024) – Two Leidos-designed uncrewed and autonomous-capable low-profile vessels (LPVs) recently participated in the Project Convergence Capstone 4 military exercises in California. Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a Fortune 500 innovation company, delivered the vessels to the U.S. Marine Corps last year.  

“Leidos once again designed and delivered innovative solutions with these LPVs, and it was great to see them participate in Project Convergence,” said Dave Lewis, Leidos senior vice president, Sea Systems Business Area. “The prototypes we’ve delivered will help create new disruptive logistics capabilities for the Marine Corps. Its low profile and long range are intended to help the vessels achieve a higher mission success rate supporting dispersed Marine fire units than conventional methods.” 

The LPV’s low-to-the-water visual profile helps to reduce probability of detection. The vessels are intended to transport a logistics payload of up to five tons over a range of 2,000 nautical miles, and have been built to experiment with different autonomous control systems. The two LPV prototypes were delivered last year to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory for testing and technical assessment. Their participation in the joint and multi-national Project Convergence Capstone 4 exercises represents the next stage of testing and experimentation with the vessels’ capabilities alongside warfighters. 

Leidos designed the LPVs under contract with MilTech, a Montana State University research lab and an authorized National Government Partnership Intermediary. 

The delivery of the LPV prototypes complements Leidos’ extensive maritime autonomy portfolio. Leidos-designed and built autonomous vessels recently completed joint naval exercises in the western Pacific as part of the Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem 23.2. Last year, Leidos was awarded a U.S. Navy task order to manage, operate and maintain the Navy’s Overlord and medium unmanned surface vessels.  

LONDON, U.K., and ARLINGTON Va. — Kraken Technology Group, a maritime technology leader specialising in the disruptive design and manufacturing of high-performance platforms, and Auterion, the company building the software-defined future for mobile robotics and powering the world’s leading drone manufacturers, have announced a strategic partnership to exponentially develop autonomous capabilities in the high-performance littoral security boat sector. 

The partnership is focused around the development and implementation of modular, low-cost autonomy software and UxV systems for the maritime domain. The agreement will initially focus on integrated autonomy architecture for Kraken’s K3 SCOUT and K4 MANTA uncrewed platforms.  

Auterion’s Skynode X, AuterionOS and numerous capability ‘Apps’ have already been developed and integrated into Kraken’s K3 SCOUT USV, which is currently undergoing open water sea trials. AuterionOS’ open software architecture unlocks the ability to create new apps as needed, continuously expanding Kraken’s ability to serve the wide variety of use cases necessary in maritime domains.   

“We are thrilled to be able to extend our expertise into the maritime domain alongside like-minded pioneers and littoral platform experts Kraken. The work done and the progress achieved to date on the development of K3’s uncrewed capability has been impressive and visionary,” said Lorenz Meier, CEO at Auterion.  

Mal Crease, Founder and CEO of Kraken Technology Group, said: “Collaborating with Auterion on the rapid development of the K3 SCOUT USV has opened our eyes to the size and scale of the technical transformation already underway and has already delivered unique capabilities in record time. We very much look forward to an exciting future transforming littoral manoeuvre with Auterion.”