May 29, 2026

Pentagon End-of-Year Contracts

Contracts

These US Department of Defense contracts were awarded in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, on December 22 and December 23, 2025.

Several Fall Ill After Suspicious Package Opened at Andrews

Andrews

Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, MD, received a “suspicious package” Thursday prompting two buildings to be evacuated after several people became ill.

Pentagon: More Drones Means Battery Strategy Update

drones

With the use of military drones on the rise, so is the need to power them. The Pentagon is in the process of 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.

FAA Issues Final Rule for Powered-Lift eVTOLs

Electric

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued its final rule for powered-lift aircraft, which creates the operating and pilot training basis for eVTOLs. This development is critical to the success of the advanced air mobility industry, says the FAA.

Contractors Get Half of DoD Budget

$1.3T Budget

More than half of the Pentagon’s yearly budget goes to private contractors. In 2021, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman received over $116 billion in Pentagon contracts while paying their top two dozen executives a total of $287 million. The CEOs of the top five contractors received compensation ranging from $18 million to $23 million each.

Future Unclear on Littoral Combat Ships

Littoral Combat Ships

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said he will offer an amendment to save five US Navy littoral combat ships from an early retirement. Three separate congressional committees have approved defense budget plans that would block the Navy from scrapping five vessels from the problem-plagued ship class.

Milley: Respecting Legacy of D-Day Soldiers

D-Day

US Army GEN Mark Milley, speaking Monday at the American Cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer in France, overlooking Omaha Beach, told a group of World War II veterans gathered for the 78th anniversary of D-Day that the ongoing war in Ukraine is about “honoring” them as the world has come together “against a determined invader.”

Audit: 41 Navy Subs Lacked Cybersecurity Inspections

Subs

A Naval Audit Service report finds that many submarines of Naval Submarine Force Pacific did not receive the required cybersecurity inspections in recent years. Inspections of 41 submarines and two tenders were not conducted as required from 2016 to 2018, and the Navy Fleet Cyber Command failed to document the reasons why the inspections didn’t take place.

DoD Adjusts Cash Flow to Contractors in Response to Coronavirus

military raise

DoD will raise progress payments to improve cash flow to contractors as the coronavirus continues to impact the economy. Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics have already cautioned investors; Boeing has closed its Puget Sound plants; and CAE, GE, and Airbus, government contractors with large commercial exposure, are taking various aggressive actions to rein in costs and staunch losses.

Hackers Reach DoD Contractors’ Data

hackers

Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, and SpaceX are among dozens of companies named as victims of compromised data. Visser Precision, a Colorado-based aerospace, automotive, and industrial parts manufacturer, was hacked by the ransomware group DoppelPaymer.