Pentagon: More Drones Means Battery Strategy Update

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Military use of drones is booming—and so is the need to power them, says Defense One. The Pentagon now is updating its strategy for how it sources and buys batteries, including the critical minerals the batteries require. Officials expect to have the plan addressing the battery challenges ready next year.

Last week, the Trump administration proposed nearly $1 billion in funding to speed the development of US critical minerals and materials, reports Reuters.

ADM Tony Radakin, the United Kingdom’s chief of the defense staff, said drones alone will not be enough to secure victory in future conflicts, but the aircraft offer an opportunity to “adjust the way that we’ve traditionally fought” today, reports Breaking Defense. Radakin was speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank last week. He said that he worries of “drone-tastic” thinking and urges caution from those who believe “every future fight is going to be just drones.”

The US Navy plans to cut at least a third of its civilian public affairs staff, reports Defense One. The service is also centralizing all PAO hiring and contracting. The Navy’s reorganization comes from a January review that found that the department “lacks a centralized communications strategy, resulting in individual commands and offices developing messaging without incorporating broader priorities,” Navy Secretary John Phelan wrote in a memo. There are currently about 400 civilian PAOs working for the Navy.

The military’s public communications have been deliberately apolitical, focused on information about troops and preserving public trust—under both Republican and Democratic administrations of the past. But they could soon be increasingly shaped by partisan considerations, according to multiple military public affairs officials who spoke to Military.com and expressed concerns over the move.

The planned layoffs at the US Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that oversees federal contractors will no longer take place, reports Government Executive. Instead, the employees who were slated to be removed will be reassigned to other Department of Labor agencies.

National Guard troops from six states are in Washington, DC, to assist with the crime crackdown in the nation’s capital, reports CNN. The troops are assisting the DC National Guard and are from West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

US Navy Fleet Master Chief John Perryman will be the service’s new master chief petty officer, reports Navy Times. Perryman is currently serving as the senior enlisted leader for US Fleet Forces Command. He will succeed Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea, who has served as the Navy’s top enlisted sailor since Sept. 8, 2022. Honea is retiring after nearly four decades of service.

LT GEN Michael Borgschulte became the first Marine Corps officer to be superintendent of the US Naval Academy in its 180-year history last week, reports Navy Times. Borgschulte was deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs in Quantico, VA, before being nominated to be the 66th superintendent of the military academy in Annapolis.

GEN. David Allvin, the Air Force’s chief of staff, will retire in November after two years as the service’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, reports Military Times. Allvin plans to continue serving as chief of staff until his successor is nominated and confirmed.

White House officials said the crackdown on mail-in ballots shouldn’t affect overseas and out-of-state military ballots, reports Navy Times. They said that the administration is committed to making sure those ballots are still counted in upcoming elections, though what protections will be put in place weren’t shared. There are more than 1 million active-duty service members who vote each election cycle.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 1, has returned to its homeport of San Diego, following a nine-month deployment to the US 3rd, 5th, and 7th Fleet areas of operations, reports Seapower Magazine. The strike group joined the US Central Command in March, providing support to Operation Rough Rider, launching air and naval strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, reports Navy Times.

USNI fleet tracker weekly reports the approximate positions of the US Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world. Here is the August 18, 2025, Fleet and Marine Tracker.

The Lockheed Martin F-35A completed a first-of-its-kind strike test last month with the help of a Performance Drone Works C100 drone, reports Aerospace Global News. The drone guided four bombs to target, showing how small unmanned systems can enhance stealth aircraft without risking pilots or ground forces. The July trial showcased how a small UAS can work directly with a fifth-generation fighter to deliver long-range strikes from standoff distances.

The US Army is set to take on a broader role in defending the US homeland, reports Army Times, expanding from a focus on countering intercontinental ballistic missiles to address a wider variety of threats, from drones to cruise missiles to hypersonic weapons.

The Army is planning to accelerate and scale the use of 3D printing, several officials said at a ground vehicles conference last week, reports Breaking Defense. The service has become more aware of the advantages the 3D printing capabilities can provide to logistics and sustainment. “We started looking at new, higher volume types of equipment that would get us to be able to produce at much larger scales, talking in the scale of 10,000 drone bodies per month,” one official said.

An investigation into the December 2024 crash of a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper into the Mediterranean Sea determined the drone’s propeller became decoupled and stopped working, reports Air Force Times. The MQ-9, worth $13 million, belonged to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, likely suffered a mid-flight failure of a critical ring that kept the propeller functional.

A more than 80-year-old logbook containing the initial descriptions of US vessels after the Japanese attack on Navy Yard Pearl Harbor in 1941 has been recovered, reports Air Force Times. The logbook covers the 16 months before and after the attack that was the catalyst for the US entry into World War II. The National Archives has a digital copy available online.

The National Air & Space Museum now has its first F-15C Fighter to display, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. The F-15C Eagle flown by Cesar “Rico” Rodriguez when he downed two Iraqi MiGs in the 1991 Gulf War was delivered last week to the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, where it will go on permanent display in the coming weeks.

An Oregon man has turned a retired Boeing 727 into his home, reports ABC10 in Sacramento, CA. Bruce Campbell, an aviation enthusiast, purchased the jetliner in Greece, and brought it to the US. He thinks others should consider turning decommissioned jets into places to live. “They’re readily available,” he said. “About three retire from service every day. Mostly they’re just flown to a scrap yard and shredded, and it’s a shame because they make great homes, aerospace class homes.”

The night sky will play host to an unusual lunar event known as a Black Moon on August 23 at 2:06am (EDT), reports Space.com on MSN. The moon will officially pass through its new moon phase. At that moment, it will be positioned in the constellation Leo, sitting just 1 degree north of the sun in the sky.

Contracts:

General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a $40,394,279 Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee contract for bioeffects research of directed energy exposures. This contract provides for research relevant to directed energy-based devices and systems to deliver accurate, evidence-based information to Department of Defense and industry stakeholders, national and international health and safety standards committees, and the public. Work will be performed at Joint Base San-Antonio, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 25, 2028, with two additional option years. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $846,000 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Warfighter Readiness and Interface Contracting Section, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting Activity (FA2384-25-C-B045).

General Dynamics Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $15,331,729 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed fee, and cost only contract for shipset production, engineering, and installation support to perform software and hardware systems development, production, and platform installations. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $91,140,416. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (30%); Groton, Connecticut (25%); Las Vegas, Nevada (25%); Port Orchard, Washington (10%); Chesapeake, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); and Kings Bay, Georgia (2%), and is expected to be completed by August 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue through August 2030. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $999,715 (83%); and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $208,306 (17%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(5). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-25-C-6260).

Metron Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $48,652,798 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research, development, test, and evaluation of artificial intelligence and machine learning-enabling technologies for expeditionary maneuver and air/ground reconnaissance. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2029. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation, defense-wide funds in the amount of $3,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W911QX-25-C-0005).

Envisioneering Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $12,737,342 cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) contract for research and development (R&D) for improved off-board electronic warfare capability. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $67,665,581. Work will be performed at the US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, and is expected to be completed by August 2026. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) in the amount of $50,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Defense); fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy), fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation (Army); and working capital, funds (Navy) in the amount of $2,400,272, will be obligated at time of award and do not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured as a total small business set aside with two offers received via Contract Opportunities on SAM.gov. The US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N0017325C2447).

ACG Systems Inc., Annapolis, Maryland, was awarded a $12,311,202 firm-fixed-price contract for the Ground to Air Transmit Receive (GATR) system and test equipment for the Egyptian Air Force. This contract provides for the purchase of two GATR systems. Work will be performed at Annapolis, Maryland; the United Kingdom; and Egypt, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2031. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Egypt. This contract was a sole source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $11,960,184 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA2330-25-C-B006).

UPDATE: McKesson Medical-Surgical Government Solutions LLC, Henrico, Virginia (SPE2DH-25-D-0022, $18,000,000) has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronic Catalog, issued against solicitation SPE2DH-21-R-0002 and awarded Feb. 10, 2022. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Acts Group Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (FA4419-25-D-0002); New Dominion Construction LLC, Dumfries, Virginia (FA4419-25-D-0003); COHO Construction Management LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (FA4419-25-D-0004); Marrero, Couvillion & Associates LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (FA4419-25-D-0005); Gideon Red JV LLC, Kenner, Louisiana (FA4419-25-D-0006); and PAM WCI JV LLC, Midwest City, Oklahoma (FA4419-25-D-0007), were awarded a multi-year $95,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity construction contract. This contract provides for a broad range of maintenance, repair, and minor construction projects on real property at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Vance AFB, Oklahoma; Sheppard AFB, Texas; and Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, and is expected to be completed August 2030. This contract was a competitive acquisition with 14 offers received. Fiscal 2025 military construction funds in the total amount of $7,603,102 will be obligated at the time of award. The 97th Contracting Flight, Altus AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $15,331,729 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed fee, and cost only contract for shipset production, engineering, and installation support to perform software and hardware systems development, production, and platform installations. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $91,140,416. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (30%); Groton, Connecticut (25%); Las Vegas, Nevada (25%); Port Orchard, Washington (10%); Chesapeake, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); and Kings Bay, Georgia (2%), and is expected to be completed by August 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue through August 2030. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $999,715 (83%); and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $208,306 (17%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 3204(a)(5). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-25-C-6260).