An Amphibious Combat Vehicle, with a TV mounted to its side, sits at the BAE Systems booth at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
An Anduril Altius-600M loitering munition is suspended from the ceiling at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Stephen Donald, deputy commander of the 10th Fleet, said at the 2023 Sea-Air-Space conference that there is a need for cloud capabilities aboard ships that can withstand jarring jumps online and offline. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
A miniature missile launches from a model fighter jet at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
A model of the Stryker Leonidas, a venture involving Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems, is seen at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Space Force Gen. David Thompson, the vice chief of space operations, closed the Sea-Air-Space conference with a keynote speech April 5, 2023. His hand-held notes included the phrase: “See, sense, observe, track.” (Colin Demarest/Staff)
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin displays a scaled-down version of the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
An attendee of the Sea-Air-Space conference walks behind a Northrop Grumman model of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range weapon on April 5, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mike Studeman, an intelligence expert, said cameras may be the best tool to counter Chinese or Russian misbehavior in faraway regions of the world. Studeman, seen April 5, 2023, at the Sea-Air-Space conference, cited the downing of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone near Ukraine as an example. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. David Walsh takes notes on April 4, 2023, after answering a question about the service's use of uncrewed systems, now and in the future. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
L3Harris Technologies slings a model of the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 from the ceiling at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
English bulldog Pfc. Chesty XVI, the U.S. Marine Corps mascot, receives some well-deserved attention at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 4, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro speaks at a Sea-Air-Space conference luncheon in National Harbor, Md., on April 4, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
Rear Adm. Tracy Hines answers a question about U.S. Navy cybersecurity during a panel discussion at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 4, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Doug Small pauses to think during a panel discussion about command and control for distributed maritime operations. Small is the leader of Project Overmatch, the Navy’s contribution to the Pentagon’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control vision. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
Bill LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, looks at the audience during a morning event at the Sea-Air-Space conference in April 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Adm. Chris Grady, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, listens to another speaker at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 4, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
The assistant commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, gestures as he speaks onstage at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 4, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Jeffrey Trussler, seen at the Sea-Air-Space conference on April 3, 2023, said the Indo-Pacific experience of his potential successor, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, makes him the “perfect replacement.” Thomas currently commands 7th Fleet. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear gestures as he answers a question at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 3, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger, speaking here at the Sea-Air-Space conference on April 3, 2023, said over-classification of information can hamper collaboration with U.S. allies and partners. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday speaks at the Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Md., on April 3, 2023. (Colin Demarest/Staff)
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — U.S. military and defense industry officials flocked to the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference south of Washington, D.C., this week. And so did Defense News, C4ISRNET, Marine Corps Times and Navy Times reporters.
From breaking news about an unmanned technologies hub within U.S. Southern Command to industry collaboration on the Navy’s next command-and-control aircraft to be used if nuclear war breaks out, here’s what you may have missed:
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are nearing an agreement on the requirements and cost of the Landing Ship Medium program, formerly called the Light Amphibious Warship, after the services previously diverged in their visions for this program. Click here to read all about it.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will need a more resilient supply chain to ensure the military can keep it flying in a future, highly contested war, according to a U.S. Air Force officer in charge of the program. Get all the details.
The U.S. Navy is testing technology developed as part of its secretive Project Overmatch using the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group in the waters off California, a move one official described as the “starting gun.” Find out more.
U.S. Marines may soon use uncrewed systems and robots to gain an upper hand in faraway places like the Indo-Pacific region. Here’s what that could look like.
Nearly 200 of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle’s basic variant were already fielded to the U.S. Marine Corps, with several other variants coming soon. Find out what the service has planned.
Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.
The contracts will detail the level of commercial capability the service needs in peacetime and provide a means to access more capacity during conflict.
