For the Pentagon, the bill’s passage signifies some return to normal order after having operated the first six months of the fiscal year under a continuing resolution.
The SPACECOM list includes almost $704 million for three unnamed classified programs, as well as $90 million to fund a trio of classified Navy electronic warfare-based "counterspace" capabilities.
The Army has sent lawmakers a $2.2 billion unfunded priority list for FY25, while US Central Command says it would happily funnel an additional $450 million towards regional security.
With AI hype outrunning reality, DoD AI chief Craig Martell told lawmakers his office is "building what we're calling a maturity model" to assess what generative AI really can and cannot do.
More than a dozen sources tell Breaking Defense that tensions between the NGA and Space Force are rising on commercial ISR, with White House officials watching closely.
John Ferrari and Charles Rahr, in this op-ed, argue that instead of relying on the Hill to bail it out, the Pentagon may need to embrace its true needs and change where it invests.
After rancorous debate, a new engine for the stealth fighter was already in doubt, but legislation released by congressional appropriators today seemingly puts the issue to rest.
The bipartisan spending package, released early this morning, increases defense funding by $27 billion over the previous year’s enacted budget and includes a number of key provisions the department had requested.
US Southern Command laid out 20 different unfunded budget priorities for fiscal year 2025 in a 28-page list sent to Congress and obtained by Breaking Defense.
If lawmakers could free up $250 million in the FY25 budget, the service could use that to purchase two additional CH-53K helicopters, or $341 million could be used for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm Cannon (ACV-30) line.
US Indo-Pacific Command’s $11 billion unfunded priority list includes 44 programs, from missiles to maritime mines.
“We're still looking for the ability to translate and transition those innovation priorities into capabilities, into programs of record, into budget priorities,” said Rachel Hoff, Reagan Institute’s policy director and one of the authors of a new scorecard evaluating progress in defense innovation.
"So that's one thing I would encourage the [Australian] government to do, is be transparent as possible on what the plans ahead are so industry can can respond and be ready," Northrop Grumman executive Tom Wears said.
Sen. Jack Reed told reporters that should the bill fail, he would look to busting the price cap on next year's defense authorization legislation.
Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter noted potential troubles ahead for the KC-46A and said T-7A production could start "a little later" than previously anticipated, but he remained confident about the way forward for the two aircraft.