🥽 Indra goggles let tank crews see through armor

Requirements, classification, and operational integration are the three barriers blocking commercial technology from reaching daily Space Force operations, the head of Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office said.

The gap widened as the service rushes to obligate $18.8 billion in fiscal 2026 investment funds plus $5.9 billion from the 2025 reconciliation package.

Officials describe buying kit without planning for training, funding, or concepts of operation, leaving purchased capability unused as the service prepares for a larger fiscal 2027 request.

The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation removed all public reports from its website, now requiring a Defense Department common access card to reach material available for years.

A defense official cited concern that adversaries could use AI tools to build detailed profiles of US military vulnerabilities from the archive.

DOT&E staff was cut roughly 74% and its budget nearly 80% last year, and lawmakers have asked the department to explain the removal.

ChatGPT Mil went live on GenAI.mil alongside Google Gemini, clearing security testing that began in February for use with controlled unclassified information.

The department built the tool to support planning, policy, logistics, and administrative work at a scale covering more than 3 million personnel.

Officials say the platform is not intended for combat use, with separate tools under evaluation for operational and targeting applications.

Indra unveiled an augmented reality system that projects imagery from a vehicle's external cameras into the crew's field of view, replacing reliance on periscopes and interior screens.

The goggles deliver a continuous 360-degree view enriched by mission system data, tailored to each crew role and to the phase of the operation.

Indra is positioning the technology for Europe's next generation of main battle tanks and for modernizing armored vehicles already in service.

The Army will deliver nine Spectrum Situational Awareness Systems to prioritized units within three weeks, with 46 systems expected by July 2027.

Built by 3dB Labs under a $6.1 million prototype contract, the two-node system measures command post signatures and flags rogue emissions from friendly units.

Ukraine has shown that detectable emissions draw fast, lethal targeting, pushing the Army to verify that its signature reduction tactics actually work.

REGENT closed a $240 million Series B split evenly between equity and debt, co-led by Mare Liberum and AE Ventures with debt from Erebor Bank.

The round brings total funding to $340 million and precedes the first human flight of the Viceroy prototype and production start at a 255,000-square-foot Rhode Island facility.

Military demand is building around an expanded $15 million Marine Corps contract for Viceroy and interest in the autonomous Squire platform.

Joint Task Force Southern Border used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser to defeat three hostile unmanned aircraft on the nights of August 25 and 26.

AeroVironment confirmed the system came from its non-kinetic counter-drone line but declined to name the specific model used.

The engagement marks the first operational use of AMP-HEL against an actual aerial incursion rather than a test range target, validating directed energy for tactical counter-drone missions.

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