Defense Watch: F-47 Engine, Army News, Leidos Realigns, New SRM Facility

Why It Matters

These initiatives accelerate the U.S. defense industrial base, reduce technology risk, and improve acquisition speed, strengthening readiness against emerging threats.

Key Takeaways

• Pratt & Whitney fast‑tracks XA103 engine for F‑47 fighter
• Army activates three Capability Program Executives to speed acquisitions
• Yuma Proving Ground becomes primary C‑sUAS test range
• Stratolaunch secures $90.8 M for high‑cadence hypersonic testing
• Leidos reorganizes into five sectors aligning with growth pillars

Pulse Analysis

The F‑47 program marks the Pentagon’s most ambitious fighter effort since the B‑2 era, pairing sixth‑generation stealth airframes with adaptive propulsion. Pratt & Whitney’s decision to fast‑track the XA103 using digital‑engineering tools shortens the traditional development cycle, while GE Aerospace’s competing XA102 keeps the engine market competitive. By completing the detailed design review ahead of schedule and targeting a prototype by the late 2020s, the program aims to field an engine that can morph thrust, manage thermal signatures, and integrate with advanced sensor‑fusion suites, positioning the United States to maintain air‑dominance in contested environments.

The Army’s activation of three Capability Program Executives and the new Ammunition and Energetics CPE reflects a broader acquisition transformation designed to cut delivery times by up to 30 percent. Consolidating fragmented program offices under the Portfolio Acquisition Executive streamlines decision‑making and aligns resources with the Futures and Concepts Command, which now oversees concept validation for over 25,000 personnel. This structural shift enables faster fielding of next‑generation fires, ammunition, and integrated combat solutions, addressing long‑standing supply‑chain bottlenecks and ensuring that warfighters receive modernized capabilities ahead of peer‑competitor advancements.

Parallel investments underscore a systemic push toward high‑tempo, multi‑domain operations. The $90.8 million Stratolaunch contract fuels a schedule of 50 hypersonic test flights per year, while the $175 million SRM campus in Indiana seeks to eliminate rocket‑motor shortages that have constrained missile production. RTX’s thin‑film lithium niobate initiative secures a domestic photonics supply chain critical for secure communications, and startups like Breaker are introducing voice‑controlled AI for autonomous swarms. Together with Leidos’ sector realignment, these moves illustrate a coordinated effort to integrate cutting‑edge technology, sustain industrial capacity, and accelerate fielding across the defense ecosystem.

Defense Watch: F-47 Engine, Army News, Leidos Realigns, New SRM Facility

Render of Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion for the F-47. Image: RTX

F-47 Engine – On Feb. 18, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Boeing facilities in St. Louis where the company’s Phantom Works is developing the F‑47 sixth‑generation stealth fighter. The same day RTX’s Pratt & Whitney said that it was “fast tracking” its proposed XA103 engine for the fighter through the use of digital engineering. The statement included a computer‑generated video of what a future F‑47 could look like in flight. Pratt & Whitney said it completed the XA103’s “detailed design review in early 2025 and is now preparing to build a prototype that will continue to be tested and refined until the engine’s ground test, which is expected in the late 2020s.” Under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program to outfit the F‑47, Pratt & Whitney’s XA103 has been competing against GE Aerospace’s XA102, which that company said also finished detailed design review early last year.

Fires CPEs – The Army said on Feb. 18 it has officially activated the first three Capability Program Executives (CPE) under its newly restructured Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Fires organization. The new offices include CPE Defense Fires led by Col. Guy Yelverton III, CPE Offensive Fires led by Brig. Gen. G. Robert Mikesh and CPE Integrated Fires led by Miranda Oden, who also serves as PAE Fires’ executive director. “The activation of the Capability Program Executives underscores the Army’s commitment to accelerating its acquisition processes and delivering cutting‑edge capabilities to the warfighter. This initiative represents a key step in the Army’s broader acquisition transformation, fostering collaboration between the Army and industry to address emerging threats and challenges,” the Army said in a statement. The new PAE structure is part of the Army’s acquisition reform initiative, with the CPEs having been consolidated from previously existing program offices.

…Ammo Office – The Army on Feb. 20 said it has also formally established the new CPE for Ammunition and Energetics (A&E) at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., the new iteration of the organization formerly known as the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition. “The team of the new CPE Ammo and Energetics has been entrusted to modernize the munitions industrial base, deliver advanced armaments and ammunition at scale, strengthen supply‑chain resilience, accelerate capability from concept to production, and ensure sustainment is agile, data‑driven and ready for the next fight,” Maj. Gen. John Reim, head of PAE Agile Sustainment and Ammunition, said at the Feb. 12 activation ceremony. Col. Jason Bohannon said the new CPE A&E will aim to “deliver 30 percent faster.” “We’re going to do it by identifying risks while still applying the rigorous rules that are required for the safety of our Soldiers, joint warfighters, and allied partners. We’re going to find that balance and get it done right. When you get ammunition wrong, the lives of our soldiers are at stake,” Bohannon added.

…Futures and Concepts – The Army on Feb. 12 also officially activated its new Futures and Concepts Command (FCC), led by Lt. Gen. Michael McCurry. The FCC is a major subordinate command along with Army Recruiting Command and Combined Arms Command under the newly‑formed Transformation and Training Command, which was created after merging Army Futures Command with Training and Doctrine Command. “The three‑star command, FCC, with over 25,000 personnel worldwide, will build on the legacy of the Army Capabilities Integration Center and Futures and Concepts Center, serving as the Army’s primary organization for developing and authenticating concepts, experiments, requirements, integration and research underpinned by analytical rigor,” the Army said in a statement.

C‑sUAS Testing – The Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona has been designated as the Pentagon’s primary, dedicated test and training range for counter‑small unmanned aircraft system (C‑sUAS) capabilities, according to the service. The Yuma Test Center will primarily focus on systems that can defeat Group I and II drones, while technology to counter larger drones will mostly be tested at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. “This is a new designation to speed up this process and focus these test efforts in a single location to pull all of these stakeholders together across different services,” Ross Gwynn, Yuma Proving Ground’s technical director, said. “We anticipate a pretty significant increase in workload. As industry is asked to demonstrate capabilities that will solve gaps for the military, we’re going to see industry partners and contractors that want to come out and get opportunities to test their systems in restricted airspace.”

Stratolaunch MACH‑TB Value – Stratolaunch last week said a contract announced by the Defense Department in January for air‑launched test vehicles under the MACH‑TB 2.0 Task Area 3 is worth $90.8 million. Stratolaunch and Varda Space Industries were selected by the DoD Test Resource Management Center under Task Area 3 to help the department meet its goal of 50 hypersonic test flights annually (Defense Daily, Jan. 22). The award extends Stratolaunch’s work under MACH‑TB, providing its Roc carrier aircraft and autonomous Talon‑A2 reusable air‑launched hypersonic flight vehicle for high‑cadence testing of hypersonic technologies.

New Leidos Alignment – Leidos has realigned its operating structure to better position itself to implement its growth pillars. The company will continue with five operating sectors that align with four reporting segments, CEO Tom Bell said during Leidos’ fourth‑quarter earnings call last week. Cindy Gruensfelder is president of Defense, which includes Defense Department programs in force protection, mission software and logistics, defense technology, space and maritime systems. Homeland is led by Roy Stevens and consists of homeland security, air‑traffic management, commercial and international business. Jason O’Connor is president of Intelligence, which includes the company’s cyber capabilities and mission software for the intelligence community. Digital Modernization, one of Leidos’ growth pillars, is led by Steve Hull and provides IT modernization services and solutions, and houses the chief information and chief information security officers for the company. Finally, Liz Porter is president of Health, another of the company’s growth pillars.

Thin Film Supply – RTX last week said its Raytheon segment received a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a domestic production capability for thin‑film lithium niobate (TFLN) wafers, a material used in photonics for high‑speed, secure communications and advanced sensing systems. The award value was not disclosed. “Global access to TFLN has become increasingly constrained, with supply consolidation leaving U.S. companies vulnerable to international disruptions,” Colin Whelan, president of advanced technology at Raytheon, said. “Through this effort, Raytheon will stand up an independent U.S. supplier of next‑generation TFLN, building an open, third‑party source that can serve a broad range of defense and commercial customers.”

Breaker Raise – Breaker, a startup developing platform‑agnostic artificial‑intelligence technology to control teams of autonomous systems across air, land and sea domains using voice commands, has raised $6 million in a seed round. The Austin, Texas‑based company says its software runs on each unmanned system. “With our tech, a single human operator simply talks to the fleet of autonomous systems over the radios they already carry,” co‑founder Michael Buffa said. “The onboard AI agent in turn responds with real‑time, context‑aware responses, translating the operator’s intent into machine action, allowing operators to stay focused on their mission, whether driving a truck or flying a helicopter.” The seed round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

SRM Campus Groundbreaking – Prometheus Energetics, LLC, a joint venture between Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems, on Feb. 20 broke ground on its new solid‑rocket‑motor (SRM) manufacturing campus in Bloomfield, Ind. The two companies have committed a combined $175 million in capital to establish the joint venture, the facilities and workforce. “Following construction and certification of RAFAEL’s combat‑proven manufacturing processes, Prometheus is projected to begin SRM production in 2027,” they said. Rocket motors are a critical bottleneck in the supply chain to increase production of missiles and munitions.

…Drone Capacity Expansion – Swarm Aero, a California‑based company developing large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, last week opened an 80,000‑square‑foot Advanced Manufacturing Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The company said the new facility will accelerate the development and production of its large UAV.

Cutlass Express USV – The Navy earlier this month launched a Lightfish unmanned surface vessel from a partner nation’s vessel for the first time. The event was conducted by Commander Task Force (CTF) 66 during Exercise Cutlass Express 26 off the coast of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean on Feb. 9 as part of a training event with the Seychelles Coast Guard. The test examined the USV’s abilities in the open ocean with limited connection. CTF 66 is an all‑domain task force designed to integrate robotic and autonomous systems with naval, joint and NATO partners in the European and African areas of operations for 6th Fleet. CTF 66 maintains 22 USVs but the fleet said the task force expects additional assets as it moves toward operational readiness. The overall Cutlass Express exercise included 19 partners and allies in a series of shore‑based training events.

“Up Close” with the B‑21 – Rep. Pat Harrigan (R‑N.C.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a former U.S. Army Green Beret, posted on X last Wednesday that he visited Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., site and had an “up close” view of the company’s B‑21 Raider bomber now in low‑rate initial production. “It’s one thing to read about it,” Harrigan wrote. “It’s another to stand there, talk with the engineers and builders, and see the work happening in real time. Serious aircraft, built by serious people, for the men and women who carry the toughest missions on their shoulders.”

C‑130Js – An annual add‑item for congressional appropriators has been C‑130J airlifters by Lockheed Martin despite the lack of a U.S. Air Force request for them. That changed with a decision last year to curtail the buy of the Collins Aerospace NP2000 eight‑blade propeller upgrade for the C‑130Hs at 90 aircraft. As a result, last September the DoD reprogrammed $24 million of the $167 million C‑130 upgrade request in order to buy new C‑130Js, which are more lucrative for Lockheed Martin than the upgraded C‑130Hs. In 2010, DoD capped the buy of F‑22 Raptor fighters built at Lockheed Martin’s site in Marietta, Ga., at 187, but since that decision and the end of the F‑22 line in 2012, C‑130J production in Marietta has helped sustain the site.

…RAAF Training – Lockheed Martin said it has received a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract through Wright‑Patterson AFB, Ohio, to deliver C‑130J training devices and upgrades to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) starting in 2029. The deliveries will include two weapons‑systems trainers, an enhanced integrated cockpit‑systems trainer, a loadmaster part‑task trainer, and upgrades to the RAAF’s virtual simulation and virtual‑maintenance trainers. The RAAF has 12 C‑130Js fielded between 1999 and 2001. In addition, the RAAF bought 20 C‑130Js in 2023 “to replace and augment its existing fleet,” and the planes will begin delivery in 2028. The training devices under the new FMS contract “feature cutting‑edge graphics, motion cueing and high‑fidelity cockpit replication that mirror the operational C‑130J,” the company said. “The devices are built for concurrency with the RAAF’s upcoming C‑130J 30 acquisitions, enabling rapid fielding of new capabilities.”

Ghost Bat Payload – SRC, Inc., last week said its Generic Multi‑Function Array (GMFA) System was used in a Boeing‑built MQ‑28A Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft live‑fire demonstration that consisted of the unmanned aircraft launching an Advanced Medium‑Range Air‑to‑Air Missile against a target drone (Defense Daily, Dec. 9, 2025). The GMFA “integrates advanced electronic‑warfare functions into a single, compact architecture” that SRC said is “designed to provide agile, scalable and resilient sensing and effecting capabilities.” The array is complemented by a processor that leverages “advanced algorithms transforming raw data into actionable insights that ensure decisive responses to evolving threats,” SRC added.

People News – Austal USA last week said its president, Michelle Kruger, plans to retire on June 1 after more than two years heading the Gulf Coast shipyard. Kruger notably led the company as it transitioned from a focus on aluminum ship construction with the Independence‑variant LCS to ramping up a steel production line that includes the Navajo‑class towing, salvage and rescue ship, LCU‑1700 landing craft, Coast Guard Heritage‑class Offshore Patrol Cutters, and submarine modules for General Dynamics Electric Boat. Gene Miller, the company’s chief operating officer, is now interim president as part of the planned transition. BWX Technologies last week said it has appointed Dan Jablonsky to its board of directors. Jablonsky previously was chairman and CEO of rocket‑engine and motor developer Ursa Major, which announced his sudden departure last week.