A New US National Security Strategy

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.

The White House released a new national security strategy last week that outlines a new US military focus on the Western Hemisphere and criticizes Europe, characterizing the US’ European allies as weak, reports Defense News. The NSS document condemns Europe’s migration and free speech policies, suggesting they face the “prospect of civilizational erasure.”

Reuters reports that the Kremlin said the new US security strategy accords largely with Russia’s view. Several current and former European officials have pushed back on the strategy, reports Time on MSN. Taiwan is pleased with the US strategy on China, reports The Hill, as it offers five key takeaways from the NSS. The document recognizes the protection of Taiwan’s sovereignty and security from external influence and likely reassures China hawks in Washington, DC, that the administration is not looking to abandon the island to Beijing.

The Trump administration will “rightly prioritize our homeland and hemisphere,” DefSec Pete Hegseth told attendees at the annual Reagan Defense Forum over the weekend, reports Politico. “Threats persist in other regions, and our allies need to step up, and step up for real.”

The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act is shaping up to be about $8 billion higher than the president’s budget, Washington Rep. Adam Smith (D) told Breaking Defense, during an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

Task Force Scorpion Strike was launched last week by US Central Command, reports Military.com. The new task force is designed to attain low-cost and effective drones and field them. A squadron of Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, drones are already based in the Middle East. The launch follows the Pentagon’s directive earlier this year to boost affordable drone technology.

Russia’s current strategy places heavy emphasis on suicide drones, reports The National Interest on MSN. Thus far in 2025, the Russian forces have launched more than 44,000 one-way attack unmanned aerial systems against Ukraine. That is a high number and an increase of more than 300 percent compared to 2024.

The Pentagon is deploying to the Middle East a new kamikaze drone copied from an Iranian version, turning to a crude but effective weapon, reports The Wall Street Journal. The move mirrors an Iranian tactic of recovering crashed American drones, such as the RQ-170 Sentinel, and reverse-engineering them to build their own versions.

A new Ronald Reagan Institute poll finds growing bipartisan support for NATO, sending weapons to Ukraine, and Golden Dome spending, reports Breaking Defense. “American people continue to favor peace through strength and active U.S. engagement in the world,” according to the National Defense Survey. “Majorities want the United States to take the lead in international affairs, believe American military superiority is essential, and support a force sized to deter and, if necessary, win conflicts against more than one major adversary at a time.” The poll also shows that 62% of Americans support the military action against suspected drug traffickers, reports Task & Purpose.

US Navy ADM Frank Bradley told lawmakers Thursday that there was no “kill them all” order from DefSec Hegseth but concerns remain as Congress scrutinizes a Sept.2 attack that killed two survivors of an initial strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters near Venezuela, reports Navy Times. Hegseth earlier last week cited the “fog of war” in defending the follow-up strike on the boat, Military.com reported.

Four men were killed in latest strike Dec. 4 on an alleged drug boat off Latin America in the eastern Pacific, reports CBS News. US Southern Command made the announcement of the strike on social media.

A formal challenge to US military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats has been filed by the family of a Colombia man killed in a strike Sept. 15, reports Navy Times. The petition from the family of Alejandro Carranza says the military bombed his fishing boat, when he was sailing off Colombia’s Caribbean coast, in violation of human rights conventions.

Pentagon Inspector General’s Office investigators have concluded that Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to send updates about strikes in Yemen broke rules for handling sensitive information and risked putting troops in danger, reports Politico. Read the IG report here. Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials allegedly discussed the details of a highly sensitive operation to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen in a group chat in March, CBS News reported at the time. The group chat on the encrypted commercial messaging app Signal inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar has said he will file two articles of impeachment against the secretary over the strikes and over the “Signalgate” scandal, the Independent reports.

Dutch company Damen’s new island-hopping vessel design has been selected by the US Navy and Marine Corps to be part of the Medium Landing Ship program, reports Breaking Defense. NavSec John Phelan said that he, Chief of Naval Operations ADM Daryl Caudle and Marine Corps Commandant GEN Eric Smith selected the LST-100 Landing Ship Transport, “a roughly 4,000-ton ship with a range of more than 3,400 nautical miles. That gives us the right balance of capability, affordability and speed to field.”

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in the District of Columbia, pleaded not guilty last week at his arraignment, held virtually, reports Maryland Matters. US Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died as a result of her injuries, and US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains hospitalized. Lakanwal was denied bond. “He came across the country 3,000 miles, armed with a specific purpose in mind,” Judge Renee Raymond said in her reasoning for denying him bond. “The government’s case is exceedingly strong.”

Four US Navy investigations into serious mishaps during the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group’s recent deployment point to inadequate training and poor performance by ship crews as well as their commanders, reports Breaking Defense. The investigations cover the Dec. 22 incident involving the cruiser Gettysburg firing missiles at friendly F/A-18s, a Feb. 12 collision with the commercial vessel Besiktas-M, and two incidents in the spring when F/A-18s fell off the ship into the ocean.

A fighter jet with the Air Force’s Thunderbirds demonstration squadron crashed in the Southern California desert on Dec. 3, but the pilot managed to eject safely, reports The Associated Press. The pilot was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

A Marine died at Camp Pendleton in California last week following a tactical training vehicle mishap, reports Navy Times. Pfc. Tanner F. Rubio, 21, died Dec. 3 in a training accident that was unrelated to the ongoing Exercise Steel Knight 25, which is taking place across installations in California and Arizona.

US Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) has introduced legislation that would raise VA compensation for severely injured vets and survivors, reports Military Times. The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act would significantly increase the amount of disability compensation awarded to veterans with catastrophic injuries and survivors, but lawmakers are sparring over how to cover the estimated $7 billion cost. The bill would raise the amount of disability compensation by $10,000 a year and increase payments for survivors by 1% each year for five years.

Beginning Jan. 1 — or sooner if penny supplies run out — cashiers at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores will round cash purchases up or down to the nearest nickel or dime, reports Navy Times.

The Blue Angels will return to Baltimore this summer as part of the Sail250 Maryland and Airshow Baltimore, taking place June 24 to July 1. The Blue Angels will perform an air show over the city, reports SouthBmOre.com. This will be the Blue Angels’ first visit to Baltimore since 2020.

President Donald Trump said he will be in Baltimore on Dec. 13 for the annual Army vs. Navy football game, reports CBS. The game will be played at 3pm. Saturday, Dec. 13, at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore. The military football rivalry started in 1890, and the academies have played 125 times. Navy holds a 63-55-7 all-time series lead.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $1,141,213,934 modification (P00005) to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive (firm-target), undefinitized, advanced acquisition contract (N0001925C0070). This modification  provides additional funding to previously awarded scope to procure long lead materials, parts, and components in support of 65 Lot 20 production aircraft and adds scope to procure long lead materials, parts, and components in support of 133 Lot 21 production aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, F-35 cooperative program partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed Fort Worth, Texas (59%); El Segundo, California (14%); Warton, United Kingdom (9%); Cameri, Italy (4%); Orlando, Florida (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (3%); Baltimore, Maryland (3%); San Diego, California (2%); and other various locations outside of the continental US (2%), and is expected to be completed December 2030. Fiscal 2026 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $188,000,000; fiscal 2026 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $115,786,000; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $16,234,934; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $38,893,000; FMS customer funds in the amount of $556,600,000; and cooperative program partner funds in the amount of $225,700,000, will be obligated at the time of award, none of which expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems, Nashua, New Hampshire, is awarded a $16,658,281 modification (P00007) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001924C0010). This modification adds scope to procure various special tooling and special test equipment in support of production and retrofit modifications for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense participants. Work will be performed in Loveland, Colorado (96%); Billerica, Massachusetts (2%); Austin, Texas (1%); and Elkton, Maryland (1%), and is expected to be completed in June 2029. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,087,514; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,368,138; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $5,132,661; F-35 Cooperative Program Partner funds in the amount of $3,638,600; and FMS funds in the amount of $4,431,368 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

MEB General Contractors Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $442,127,000 firm-fixed-price, award-fee-incentive with economic-price-adjustment contract for modernization of Dry Dock #3 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Work will be performed at Portsmouth, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by January 2031. The maximum dollar value, including unexercised options and potential award fee, is $467,181,292. The contract will be incrementally funded with fiscal 2025 and future fiscal year military construction (Navy) funds. Fiscal 2025 funds in the amount of $42,177,500, will be obligated at time of award. This contract was competitively procured via the System for Award Management website, with three offers received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-26-C-0001).

Trident Systems Incorporated LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $30,413,577 small business innovative research contract for enhanced regional situational awareness support. This contract provides for maintenance, software development, and technical analysis and refresh of the ERSA system. Work will be performed at Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 4, 2030. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2026 operational and maintenance centralized asset management funds in the amount of $2,326,283 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA2204-26-C-B001).