The Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) last Friday kicked-off a $30 million prize challenge that seeks to make better use of the Pentagon’s fleet of manually-operated non-tactical vehicles (NTVs) used in the daily, but infrequent, movement of personnel and logistics by leveraging commercially-available autonomous vehicles and modern fleet management practices. Proposals are due by June 8 for the Robotic Operation for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment (ROADS) prize challenge, and DIU wants “commercially competitive” solutions that upfront can demonstrate at… Recommended House Appropriators Pass Energy And Water Bill With Less NNSA Funds Than Requested Trending Congress Updates Navy Looks To Eventually Assemble Battleship At HII Newport News; Faces More Dem Opposition The Navy told lawmakers this week it found a dry dock at HII’s [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard it thinks can use for final assembly of the new Trump-class battleship […] Navy Leaders Downplay Looking At Foreign Navy Shipbuilding Amid Lawmaker Objections The Navy’s top leaders this week seemed to downplay and back down on the service potentially using foreign shipyards to build U.S. Navy ships or buying foreign designed warships overseas […] Senate Defense Appropriators See ‘Risk’ With Army’s Reconciliation Plan To Fund Munitions Increase The Senate’s top defense appropriators cited concern this week with the Army’s request to fund the majority of its large increase to munitions procurement in fiscal year 2027 through the […] Army Relooking At Its ‘Whole Aviation Transformation’ Plan, Acting Chief Tells Lawmakers The Army is relooking at its “whole aviation transformation initiative,” the service’s acting chief of staff told lawmakers on Tuesday, to include its approach for future procurement of “enduring” platforms. […]