🔥 General Atomics unveils Wildfire to replace its own Reaper

Lake Kickapoo, Texas, is the Space Force's preferred site for the third and final Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) station, pending final planning approvals.

Shared with the UK and Australia, the three-site network will watch geosynchronous orbit around the clock in all weather, including daylight, when most current radars cannot.

Construction is expected to begin in 2027 after contract award and required approvals, including FAA certification, with operational acceptance planned for 2030.

KNDS unveiled CELERIS 8x8 at Poland's MSPO 2026 defense expo, a mobility platform meant to take new armored vehicles from program launch to local rollout in under a year.

Customers choose armor and firepower packages on a common 8x8 chassis, though KNDS has not disclosed engine, weight, payload, or protection specs.

The model could give local manufacturers larger production, maintenance, and upgrade roles as European nations push to reduce reliance on external supply chains.

Northrop Grumman's next-generation Precision Guidance Kit, PGK E5, adds anti-jam technology and improved guidance, fuzing, and control to 155mm rounds in the existing M1156 form factor.

It delivers first-round accuracy under 30 meters circular error probable and reportedly exceeded threshold and objective requirements in GPS-degraded trials.

Production is underway in Plymouth, Minnesota, with initial deliveries expected in early 2028; the kit fits existing howitzers with minimal modification or retraining.

Pentagon Chief Information Officer (CIO) Kirsten Davies told the Billington Cybersecurity Summit the department must meet cyber threats with automation, machine learning, and AI rather than more manpower.

A six-to-18-month capability approval process shrank to 17 seconds on a tested platform, though Davies questioned whether a 17-second output actually reduces risk.

A 60-day review of paused Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) phase two requirements ends Friday, and DoD is reportedly moving to codify the pause.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) will release a solicitation within weeks offering venture-backed and nontraditional firms fast-tracked Facility Security Clearances (FCLs) held under its new Bridge Program.

Applicants share product roadmaps or similar artifacts; if the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) approves, DIU holds the clearance likely beyond one year.

DCSA says its rapid FCL model already cuts clearance times five-to-sixfold, letting startups join classified requirements discussions before competing for major Pentagon contracts.

General Atomics formally unveiled Wildfire, a clean-sheet drone pitched for the Air Force and DIU's Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) program to replace its own MQ-9A Reaper.

General Atomics claims Wildfire tops 8,000 nautical miles of ferry range and carries two Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, meeting or exceeding every MMA requirement.

The Air Force accelerated MMA after Reaper combat losses against Iran and wants air vehicles near $10 million each, versus up to $50 million for a Reaper.

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