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3w ago

Pentagon Advances Mass-Produced Laser Weapons, Golden Dome Bids and Amazon-Style Drone Marketplace

Heightened congressional funding is propelling accelerated deployments in directed energy, missile defense, unmanned systems, hypersonics

DE M-SHORAD (Photo by U.S. Army) (Jim Kendall)
BlackSky has said its 12 small satellites have a revisit rate of 15 times per hour for some locations to provide high-resolution imagery (Black Sky Photo)
Golden Dome Industry Summit notice. (Image: Missile Defense Agency)
Artist concept of Next Generation Interceptors being placed in silos at the Fort Greely, Alaska site. (Image: Lockheed Martin)

Overview

  • Army officials are finalizing designs for mass-produced laser and directed-energy systems that include right-to-repair features for field maintenance by soldiers.
  • The Missile Defense Agency has kicked off Golden Dome bids, spurring partnerships like AeroVironment with Sierra Nevada Corporation and securing Northrop Grumman as a backup for NGI rocket motors to avoid schedule delays.
  • An Amazon-style UAS Marketplace is set to launch in early October, giving soldiers a digital storefront to acquire mission-specific drone capabilities more rapidly.
  • Rocket Lab’s VICTUS HAZE satellite, following a successful Systems Integration Review in May, is entering final integration and testing ahead of a planned Electron rocket launch this year.
  • Industry teams led by Leidos are exploring modular hypersonic designs with the goal of cutting per-weapon costs well below current $15 million estimates.