The Marine Corps awarded Sikorsky and Robinson Unmanned a contract under the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL) program for the R66 TURBINETRUCK, which pairs Sikorsky's MATRIX autonomy system with the Robinson R66 airframe and is designed to carry 1,300 to 2,500 pounds of logistics payload to a combat radius of 100 nautical miles, operated entirely via digital tablet.

A competing design, Near Earth Autonomy's "Uncrewed 505" based on the Bell 505, also received a contract under MARV-EL Increment 2, placing two autonomous rotorcraft platforms into a 36-month development and demonstration phase; both aim to bridge the gap between small tactical drones and larger crewed aircraft currently handling forward resupply.

The program sits squarely within the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations concept, providing a modular logistics capability that can sustain dispersed island-hopping forces in contested Indo-Pacific environments without exposing rotary-wing crews to forward threats.

Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley told the Senate Armed Services Committee that AI and autonomy are being integrated "at every level" within U.S. Special Operations Command, calling them "critical" to battlefield sensing, continuous target surveillance, and the ability to project violence when required, while also flagging their value for training and equipping international partners.

Bradley framed SOCOM's adoption advantage in structural terms: smaller, more agile organizations derive greater return on AI investments than larger, more institutionally encumbered services, a dynamic illustrated by Ukraine's drone-driven battlefield adaptations and the surging valuations of AI-focused defense startups relative to traditional primes.

SOCOM has issued a broad industry solicitation covering maritime autonomy, human performance, command-and-control technology, and "scalable effects" including directed energy, electronic warfare, and precision engagement, while Bradley noted that access to realistic electromagnetic spectrum testing environments remains a key constraint for validating new autonomous systems.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, who took over after John Phelan was fired by the Trump administration, used his first public appearance at the Modern Day Marine expo to outline acquisition priorities including a high-low ship mix of destroyers, frigates, battleships, and unmanned systems under the Golden Fleet initiative, with the FY2027 budget requesting $65.8 billion for shipbuilding.

Cao described near-term fielding priorities as the sixth-generation F/A-XX carrier fighter, the Navy Medium Landing Ship, and additional amphibious transport docks, noting that the service was navigating trillions of dollars worth of capability requirements within constrained budgets, though President Trump's proposed FY2027 defense request of $1.5 trillion creates potential headroom.

Cao also described the type of service members he wanted to attract and retain, calling for "alpha males and alpha females" and "meat eaters," framing his vision around a demanding warrior ethos as the service undertakes its largest modernization push in decades.

A production model Boeing MQ-25A Stingray, the Navy's carrier-based autonomous refueling drone, completed a successful two-hour first flight on April 25 over southern Illinois, autonomously taxiing, taking off, landing, and responding to multiple commands; Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said he anticipates no additional cost adjustments to the program.

Navy budget documents released this week show the program's initial operating capability (IOC) has slipped to February 2029, a delay from the previously revised 2027 target and five years past the original 2024 IOC deadline, with contributing factors over the years including COVID-19 supply chain impacts, aircraft design issues, and quality problems at Boeing.

The program of record covers 76 aircraft; the Navy is requesting $771 million in FY2027 to procure three of the drone refuelers, with current flight testing continuing at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport before progressing to carrier qualification testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

True Anomaly closed a $650 million Series D round co-led by Eclipse and Riot Ventures, bringing total capital raised to over $1 billion, with funding earmarked for headcount growth from roughly 300 employees today to 500 by the end of 2026 and 1,000 by the end of 2028, alongside expansion of its 140,000-square-foot footprint.

The Colorado-based company develops the Jackal autonomous orbiting vehicle, capable of maneuvering in low-Earth orbit to conduct persistent surveillance of adversary spacecraft, replicate adversary spacecraft for training and testing, and respond to tactically responsive space needs; its Mosaic software platform enables both autonomous and human-commanded operations.

True Anomaly has rapidly expanded its government footprint, recently receiving contracts under the Space Force's $3.2 billion space-based interceptor program and the Andromeda space domain awareness program, underscoring demand for commercial platforms capable of projecting presence and gathering intelligence in contested orbital environments.

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