Talk of Golden Dome Is Heating Up
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The Golden Dome project is hiring. GEN Michael Guetlein, head of the Pentagon project, said he is focused on quickly building a team, casting a vision for the homeland missile defense system, reports C4ISRNET. “We’ve been very, very selective on getting not only the right talent, but the right personalities that understand how to go fast,” Guetlein told the Innovate Space Global Economic Summit in Arlington, VA, last week. “Not everybody understands what it takes to move at that speed.” He said he has a list of 30 names, identified from across industry and academia, that he hopes will join the effort.
Guetlein faces a 60-day deadline to submit a blueprint for Golden Dome to DefSec Pete Hegseth, reports Space News.
Exec.Gov says the Golden Dome is the hottest topic of conversation for government contracting professionals. They want to know how they can best position their companies for contracts from the three-year, $175 billion effort that received a $25 billion downpayment in the president’s reconciliation legislation. The Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Air and Space Summit this week will be the premier GovCon event for contractors looking to find out more about partnership opportunities with Golden Dome, ExecGov says.
Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, told investors the company is already testing Golden-Dome-related technologies, reports The War Zone.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) has called out “the physics” of Golden Dome, pressing Hegseth to seek out viability analysis from scientists instead of defense and space firms, reports The Hill.
Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet renewed his call for an upgrade of the F-35 with technologies his company developed for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. Taiclet said the upgrade would be an important “bridge” to the newly designated F-47, which he said could be a decade away from service. There is a strong interest in new orders from five or more countries, including repeat customers, and for that reason, Taiclet said, the F-35 is “here to stay, in a big way, for a long time.” The Air Force had announced earlier this year that Boeing has been awarded a contract to build its next-generation fighter aircraft, Business Insider had reported at the time.
The US Navy has started working on the Service Life Extension Program of the T-45 Goshawk, reports Breaking Defense. The induction of the two aircraft into SLEP comes 13 months after the Navy identified the requirement. The T-45 Goshawk is a jet trainer fleet used by the Navy and Marine Corps to qualify new pilots.
A US defense official disputes an Iranian report of an encounter with US Navy warship in the Gulf of Oman, reports Military Times. The warship had a “safe and professional interaction” with Iranian naval forces on Wednesday, disputing claims in an Iranian state media report, according to a US official. Iranian state TV reported that an Iranian navy helicopter confronted a US warship attempting to approach Iranian territorial waters in the gulf.
The US Army has announced that six units will deploy to Europe and the Middle East in the fall, reports Army Times. Four units are headed to Europe to replace units supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve, launched in 2014 following Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine. Two other units will be sent to US Central Command in the Middle East.
Maryland has lost 12,700 federal jobs since the beginning of the second Trump administration in January, reports Maryland Matters. The cuts, which do not include federal contractors, are the largest of any US state, according to a spokesperson for the state Department of Labor.
The US Department of Agriculture’s reorganization plan was announced last week, reports Politico on MSN. The plan transfers most of the Washington-area staff to five locations around the country and closes a number of key USDA offices in the region, including the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Prince George’s County, MD. A spokesperson for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said the move threatens the “crown jewel of American agricultural research.” He echoed others’ concerns about a brain drain from USDA if offices are uprooted, reports Maryland Matters. “Clearly, the Trump Administration has not thought through the costs or consequences of this misguided decision,” wrote some Maryland lawmakers, who called on courts “to block this illegal and harmful reorganization.”
Raleigh, NC, tops the list of best U.S. cities for recent college graduates thanks to its job opportunities, comparatively affordable cost of living, and strong hiring, according to a study from payroll provider ADP, reports The Hill.
Artificial intelligence data centers are using more electricity and regular customers are footing the bill, reports Maryland Matters. Regular energy consumers, not corporations, will bear the brunt of the increased costs of a boom in AI that has contributed to a growth in data centers and a surge in power usage, recent research by Monitoring Analytics, an external market monitor for PJM Interconnection, shows.
Brainly has released a study on the States Most (and Least) Prepared for the AI Revolution after analyzing key factors including share of companies that use AI, AI-related degrees per capita, federal funding per $1 million of GDP, and high school foundational courses. Maryland scored particularly well in several categories, coming in at No. 4 in the rankings. Brainly is an AI education technology company.
The Pentagon has issued new rules that would prevent people currently treated for schizophrenia, congestive heart failure, having a donated organ, or some other issues from receiving a medical waiver to serve in the military, reports The Hill. The new rules update the list of conditions that prevent potential recruits from joining the armed forces.
BRIG GEN Matthew Braman, the Army’s head of aviation, will now be the chief of the Army Enterprise Marketing Office, reports Military.com. Braman’s new position comes before the National Transportation Safety Board holds hearings this week on January’s midair collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet that killed 67 people. An Army spokesperson said the plan to move Braman was in place last fall and had nothing to do with the tragedy.
John Bartrum, nominee to be Veterans Affairs under secretary for health, wants to see more “balance” in options for medical care, with an eye toward making private-sector appointments more easily available, reports Navy Times. He said the current rules regarding community care—situations where veterans can see private-sector doctors for their medical needs and have the department cover the costs—are complicated and preferential toward internal VA care options.
Matthew Lohmeier, the former Space Force lieutenant colonel who was relieved of command after publicly criticizing the military’s diversity programs, was confirmed by the Senate last week as the Air Force’s next undersecretary, reports Air Force Times. Lohmeier voluntarily left the military in September 2021.
The Pentagon plans to shift $200 million to seal off areas surrounding Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona, reports Navy Times. The area has long been used as a narcotics trafficking corridor, Military Times reported earlier this month.
US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea will retire after nearly four decades of service, reports Navy Times. During his tenure as the service’s top enlisted sailor, Honea worked alongside sailors and lawmakers to enhance the lives of enlisted personnel, advocating for better education and mental health support, among other subjects.
Contracts:
NTS Technical Systems LLC, Belcamp, Maryland (W91CRB-25-D-A004); and Oregon Ballistics Laboratories LLC, Salem, Oregon (W91CRB-25-D-A005), will compete for each order of the $13,021,816 cost-no-fee, firm-fixed-price contract to perform personal protective equipment ballistic and non-ballistic testing. This total cumulative face value is $26,043,634. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 23, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. LLC, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $554,464,830 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that provides contractor-owned and operated Type III high subsonic and Type IV supersonic aircraft to Navy fleet customers for a wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities, training, and certification events in support of training aircraft squadron aircrew and shipboard system operators on how to counter potential enemy advanced airborne threats, tactics, and electronic warfare. Work will be performed in Pt. Mugu, California (44%); Oceana, Virginia (37%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (14%); and Atsugi, Japan (5%), and is expected to be completed in August 2030. No funds will be obligated at the time of the award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competed; one offer was received. Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042125D0084).
Colby Co. LLC, Portland, Maine (W912WJ-25-D-0001); MJ Engineering, Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Land Surveying P.C., Halfmoon, New York (W912WJ-25-D-0002); and Dills Architects CDM Smith JV, Virginia Beach, Virginia (W912WJ-25-D-0003), will compete for each order of the $24,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for perform general engineering and design services for various locations. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 24, 2030. US Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, is the contracting activity.
MEB General Contractors Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for refueler truck pantograph fuel stands and a ground vehicle fueling station. The amount of this action is $19,766,000 with a cumulative total face value of $20,395,500. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in on Whiteman Air Force Base with an estimated completion date of Aug. 02, 2027. Fiscal 2025 military construction, defense-wide funds in the amount of $19,766,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-25-C-A010).
Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $17,581,762 modification (P00042) to contract W58RGZ-25-C-0003 for worldwide aviation maintenance. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $186,835,420. Work will be performed in Fort Drum, New York; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Winder, Georgia; and Shelbyville, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 28, 2025. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement; and operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $17,581,762 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
CORRECTION: The $231,878,229 contract (W9124J-25-F-A075) awarded on July 18, 2025, to Acquisition Logistics LLC, Henrico, Virginia, to establish and operate a 5,000 capacity, single adult, short-term detention facility for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in support of Presidential Executive Order 14159, has a total cumulative face value of $1,238,567,966.
M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas, has been awarded a $19,427,229 modification (P00139) to a previously awarded contract (FA4890-16-C-0012) for the T-38 Aircraft Maintenance Program. The modification will bring the total cumulative face value of the contract to $276,902,328. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Langley AFB, Virginia; and Whiteman AFB, Montana, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award. The Air Combat Command Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
CACI, Inc-FEDERAL, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,007,000 modification (P00033) to a previously awarded contract (FA8821-24-F-B001) for implementation of the Phased Array Project for the Satellite Control Network. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $392,608,522. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 22, 2027. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation appropriations funding in the amount of $3,900,000 is being obligated at the time of modification award. The Space Systems Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.
