Trump’s DoD Tech Picks Go Before SASC
Last week, amidst the Signalgate-that-keeps-on-giving, the Senate Armed Services committee held a whirlwind confirmation hearing for four of Trump’s critical DoD appointees.
Pentagon
Anduril Secures $86M to Help SOCOM Control Its Drones
Anduril ain’t stopping. This morning, the defense tech darling announced yet another contract with the DoD—this time, they locked in an $86M three-year award to help US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) develop and deploy software to manage its autonomous systems. Anduril will provide USSOCOM with its ready-made AI-powered Lattice mission autonomy software, which the command […]
Danti: GovBots Gone Wild
Looks like DOGE isn’t alone—the robots are coming for the government jobs, too. Last week, generative AI company Danti announced that its intelligence gathering LLM would be deployed across the US federal government, allowing US analysts to view synthesized government-gathered data on a handy-dandy platform. Think of it as ChatGPT, but for intelligence. “Think analysts […]
The DoD Goes Digital
In case you missed it, SecDef Pete Hegseth issued a memo last Thursday calling for major changes to how the DoD buys software. The “Directing Modern Software Acquisition to Maximize Lethality” directive calls for: This is a pretty big deal for commercial and nontraditional companies building the programs needed to win wars. “The way the […]
A Big Day for Anduril
Well, Anduril has had quite the 24 hours. Pairing up: Last night, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Alvin announced the mission design designation for the company’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), YFQ-44A. This makes Anduril’s drone, along with the YFQ-42A prototype by General Atomics, the first-ever unmanned aircraft to be given a […]
Build, Baby, Build
Shipbuilding is back, baby. Last Thursday, Trump SecNav pick and investor John Phelan went before the Senate Armed Services Committee and laid out a grim diagnosis of US maritime capabilities. “The US Navy is at a crossroads. Extended deployments, inadequate maintenance, huge cost overruns, delayed shipbuilding, failed audits, subpar housing, and sadly, record high suicide […]
Feinberg Vows to Spur Innovation as Deputy SecDef
The DoD shake-up continues. On Tuesday, Stephen Feinberg—Trump’s pick for Deputy Secretary of Defense—testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and, over the course of a three-hour hearing, vowed to overhaul how the Pentagon operates. The billionaire investor, major Trump donor, and co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, a $65B fund known for turning around failing […]
Cleaning House
The purge continues. On Friday, President Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the decorated fighter pilot “is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family.” Trump nominated Air […]
DOGE Comes for the DoD
Welp. Looks like DOGE has indeed made it to the DoD. Elon Musk’s efficiency czars arrived at the Pentagon on Tuesday and asked for lists of all of the military’s probationary employees. (The services were given until EOD Tuesday to provide them.) While it was previously unclear whether military employees would be part of the […]
DOGE vs. The DoD
Less than three weeks into Trump’s second administration, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has descended on Washington. The organization—which doesn’t seem to be acting on legal authority—is shuttering USAID and encouraging career civil servants to leave the government. Some are calling it a “constitutional crisis.” Others are saying it’s Musk in “demon mode.” It likely won’t […]