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US Army Activates Transformation Decision Analysis Center

Saturday, March 21st, 2026

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The U.S Army officially activated the Transformation Decision Analysis Center during a ceremony held Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The event marked the inactivation of the DEVCOM Analysis Center and The Research and Analysis Center, combining their expertise to strengthen the Army’s ability to plan and achieve future force capabilities.

Lt. Gen. Michael McCurry, commanding general, Futures and Concepts Command, served as the virtual host of the event, while Brig. Gen. Robert Born, commanding general, Combat Capabilities Development Command, provided local hosting onsite support.

The activation ceremony underscored the importance of TDAC’s role in the Army’s transformation efforts and its alignment under FCC, a three-star command under the Army’s newly established Transformation and Training Command.

“This is about delivering credible analysis, faster, and with greater impact,” said Larry Larimer, director of TDAC. “Together, DAC and TRAC give the Army unmatched ability to evaluate both the systems we build and the ways we will fight with them. By bringing DAC and TRAC together under FCC, we’re creating a single, authoritative source of analysis for the Army.”

DAC, headquartered at APG, has long provided systems-level analysis, modeling, and simulation capabilities to support acquisition and materiel decisions. TRAC, with centers across the country, specializes in formation-based research, combat simulations, and operational scenario development. The activation unites these complementary capabilities, enabling TDAC to connect materiel analysis with operational concepts more directly than ever before.

During the ceremony, McCurry emphasized the critical role TDAC will play in shaping the Army’s future.

“If Futures and Concepts Command is the architect of the future Army, then TDAC is the rational part of our brain,” McCurry said. “You are the scientists, the war gamers, the critical thinkers who will provide the intellectual horsepower and unvarnished truth required to turn our concepts and requirements into combat-credible reality.”

McCurry highlighted TDAC’s mission: “to ensure the Army’s most critical decisions are underpinned by objective evidence-based analysis. They are, in essence, our institutional safeguard against wishful thinking.”

Larimer echoed McCurry’s sentiments, emphasizing the deliberate choice of the word “decision” in TDAC’s name.

“The word ‘decision’ in Transformation Decision Analysis Center was deliberate. You didn’t see that word in any of our historic organizations, but when you boil it all down, that’s what we do. We inform decisions that are made from the Chief of Staff of the Army all the way down to product managers and others on the system side,” Larimer said.

The activation of TDAC marks a significant step in the Army’s transformation journey, ensuring that future force design and operational planning are informed by rigorous and sophisticated analysis.

As the Army continues to adapt to evolving threats and technologies, TDAC will serve as a cornerstone of its transformation efforts, providing the logic and evidence needed to shape the force of tomorrow.

By Kyle Bond, TDAC Public Affairs

Posted in Acquisition, Army, Guest Post | No Comments »

A Legacy Cemented: 91st Civil Affairs’ Fox Company Stands Down

Thursday, March 19th, 2026

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – With a final roll in front of family, friends and alumni, the guidon of Fox Company, 91st Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), was cased on March 6. This marked the formal inactivation of a unit whose work was pivotal to U.S. Army missions across Africa, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.

The ceremony, steeped in military tradition, symbolized the end of the company’s mission as part of a broader transformation within U.S. Army Special Operations.

The strategic realignment is designed to maximize adaptability to the complex and evolving security environments across Africa, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, where Fox Company’s Soldiers have been continuously deployed for the past 15 years.

While the unit’s guidon will no longer fly, the missions it supported are ongoing. The inactivation is not an end, but a transformation, with the company’s operational lineage and its Soldiers being integrated into Special Operations restructure.

“From day one, the mission was clear and the tempo was high. Fox Company didn’t just meet the standard; it set the standard. By 2012 its Soldiers were spread across a vast expense of Trans-Sahara, from Somalia to Nigeria,” said U.S. Army Maj. Kristopher Levy, the 91st Civil Affairs Battalion executive officer and former Fox company commander, as he reflected on the unit’s history. “The following year they were in the mountains of Afghanistan.”

Operating in environments where trust is the ultimate currency, Civil Affairs Soldiers from Fox Company served as the essential link between military commanders and the civilian populations around them. Their primary role was simple; understand and engage the human terrain. This included advising local and national leaders on governance, facilitating humanitarian assistance, and coordinating with non-governmental organizations to support regional stability.

“To the Soldiers of the 91st, this is a moment not just to remember Fox Company’s history, but the immense responsibility entrusted to all of us as you witness constant change in the world and challenges on the horizon. We are reminded of a stark truth that we do not choose the time or place of the next call,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Micheal Veglucci, commander of the 91st Civil Affairs Battalion, as he addressed the Soldiers and alumni of Fox Company. “It is for this reason that we must remain ready, professional, prepared, and deeply committed to the mission.”

These Soldiers worked alongside U.S. forces, partner forces, allies, and local leaders, often in remote and austere locations. Civil Affairs Soldiers help villages secure a clean water source, advise local officials on public services, or simply building rapport with community elders. Their efforts were critical to mitigating conflict and fostering long-term security. This work behind the scenes was fundamental to creating the conditions necessary for broader mission success, helping to counter malign influence and deny sanctuary to extremist organizations.

For the Soldiers attending the ceremony, it was a moment of reflection.

“It’s true, Fox Company was established in October 2010, however the official history fails to mention how the company was initially a collection of freshly minted Civil Affairs NCOs and officers straight out of the qualification course mixed with groups from other organizations,” said Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Angelo Gutierrez.

Although their company is now part of history, the skills of the Soldiers of Fox Company remain in high demand. The Fox Company Soldiers will be reassigned, bringing their invaluable experience and regional expertise to other Special Operations units supporting U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command.

As the guidon is cased, it marks the conclusion of a long chapter of Civil Affairs history. Yet, the legacy of Fox Company remains etched in the strengthened partnerships and stabilized communities it left behind, a testament to the quiet professionals who lived up to their commander’s charge.

Fox Company’s guidon may be rolled up and stored away, but to those who served under it, one thing remains, the essence of the 91st Civil Affairs Battalion and its never-ending legacy.

Story by SGT Lee Heaton

3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)

Posted in Army, Forces Focus, Guest Post, SOF | No Comments »

Soldiers Assist Air Force Squadron With Drone Warfare Training

Wednesday, March 18th, 2026

More than 200 airmen training with the Air Force’s 368th Training Squadron spent Feb. 27 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, learning about unmanned aerial systems during an exercise designed to cultivate Air Force airmindedness and the warrior ethos.

The training squadron, based at Fort Leonard Wood, provides initial skills and advanced level training in the areas of ground transportation, engineering, emergency management and pavements and construction equipment.

According to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher Moss, a specialty code instructor assigned to the training squadron, airmen at various specialty schools on base usually train separately, but this day was unique because it brought them all together.

“It allows them to integrate with our other schoolhouses, bringing them together as one force instead of each person learning just their craft,” Moss said. “Producing more well-rounded airmen for the force.”

Air Force Capt. Nathan Elking, 368th Training Squadron director of operations, said the unique training event is called Bracer Forge and is an operational readiness exercise.

“It is a continuation of the training airmen receive at basic training,” Elking said. “Both exercise initiatives are designed to instill airmindedness and warrior ethos in our airmen.”

The squadron’s exercise topics vary, but the current unmanned aerial system focus was driven by the unit’s specialty codes, which according to Elking play a key role in airfield damage assessment and rapid airfield damage recovery.

“Before each iteration of Bracer Forge, we provide the participating airmen with an operation order for the day and reporting instructions with a training scenario to recover a damaged airfield,” he said.

Squadron instructors prepared four stations for the airmen to rotate through.

At the airfield damage assessment challenge, Elking said teams conducted an assessment on a simulated airfield and relayed the information to their teammates in an emergency operations center.

“The airmen in the EOC were tasked with creating a map of the airfield using the details their counterparts called in over the radio,” he said.

While at the UAS reporting challenge, teams established defensive fighting positions and reported UAS activity to their teammates in the EOC by consolidating the information into a report to send up.

The other two stations were a high intensity physical fitness event and a UAS capabilities overview. Soldiers assigned to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Combat Training Company gave the UAS portion of the training.

“We are not subject matter experts on counter-UAS and UAS employment. Being able to leverage our Army partners at [center of excellence] played a significant role in the exercise’s success,” Elking said.

According to Army Sgt. 1st Class Austin Priebe, Combat Training Company UAS chief, his mission was to introduce small UAS threats, and teach the basics of identifying, reacting to and reporting small UAS threats.

Priebe said most trainees he instructs have watched or controlled a simulated UAS in video games, but being able to experience a UAS in person, see and hear a drone up close, is “essential to prepare service members for what they will see in current and future conflicts.”

“We conducted practical exercises on scanning for [small] UAS, completing a report and showed the airmen what they look like from an elevated viewpoint,” Priebe said.

This was the training company’s first time facilitating interservice UAS training.

“I’ve largely been focused on enabling training and instruction to the Army units here on Fort Leonard Wood since the inception of our UAS program this past fall,” Priebe said.

As the battlefield changes rapidly, so does our training requirements. If our organization can provide more realistic and in-depth training to our brothers and sisters in other branches, we only stand to benefit as a military.”

Priebe said his team is looking forward to conducting more interservice training events in the future.

At the end of the day, the exercise was a catalyst for innovation, Elking said.

“By exposing airmen to the dual nature of UASs — both as a threat to counter and a tool to master — we challenge them to rethink their mission sets and pioneer new solutions for the modern battlefield,” he said.

By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Army, Drone, Guest Post, Training | 1 Comment »

SpiderOak Selected by the Program Office for US Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PMO UAS) to Support Drone Dominance Program

Tuesday, March 17th, 2026

Blue UAS Recognized Assessor to deliver supply chain and cybersecurity evaluations for participating UAS vendors

RESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 – SpiderOak, a leader in zero-trust cybersecurity solutions and services for space, aerospace, and defense, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Program Office for U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PMO UAS) to perform supply chain analysis and cybersecurity assessments for multiple vendors participating in the U.S. Army’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP).

SpiderOak, a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Blue UAS Recognized Assessor, will apply its Advanced Cyber Threat & Resilience Assessments (ACTRA) methodology to evaluate participating platforms for supply chain integrity, cyber resilience, and compliance with U.S. Government security requirements. The effort supports the Army’s push to rapidly field secure, low-cost, unmanned aerial systems at scale.

The Drone Dominance Program, launched in February 2026, is a multi-phase initiative designed to accelerate the evaluation, selection, and production of next-generation small UAS capabilities. The program’s initial “Gauntlet” event at Fort Benning, Georgia, brought together 25 vendors for live operational testing, with the goal of selecting up to 12 performers to produce tens of thousands of systems in the near term and scale to hundreds of thousands of units by 2028.

“As unmanned systems scale across modern operations, the integrity of their cyber and supply chain foundations becomes mission critical,” said Kip Gering, CEO of SpiderOak. “We are honored to support PMO UAS and the Drone Dominance Program by delivering independent, technically rigorous assessments that help ensure these platforms can be trusted in contested environments.”

Through this contract, SpiderOak will conduct deep technical evaluations across hardware, firmware, software, and component provenance. The assessments are designed to identify vulnerabilities, validate compliance with NDAA and NIST requirements, and help program stakeholders make informed risk decisions before systems are fielded.

Advanced Cyber Threat & Resilience Assessments

SpiderOak’s Advanced Cyber Threat & Resilience Assessments (ACTRA) delivers comprehensive, threat-informed platform vulnerability assessments for tactical systems and components. For UAS initiatives, SpiderOak provides independent, technically rigorous evaluations across hardware, firmware, software, supply chain provenance, and ownership structures. These assessments support compliance with standards such as NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, and Executive Order 14028, enabling defense stakeholders to deploy cyber-secure autonomous systems with confidence.

Posted in Army, Contracts, Press Release | No Comments »

US Army Contracts Elbit America for Rotorcraft Heads Up Displays

Tuesday, March 17th, 2026

Air Warrior HUDs improve aircrew situational awareness, safety, and survivability in flight

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – March 16, 2026 – Elbit Systems of America (Elbit America) was recently awarded a $49.9 million Firm-Fixed-Price, Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity contract from the Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama to produce Heads Up Displays (HUDs) as part of the United States Army’s Air Soldier System. Work for the contract will be done through December 2030, subject to receipt of purchase orders, and includes post-production support.

The colorized HUD is part of the Army’s Air Soldier System, an assemblage of gear and equipment used in rotorcraft that is lightweight, integrated, and designed to enhance situational awareness and survivability. The HUD’s role in this system is to present key information to aircrew, so users are always positioned head-up and eyes out.

The Air Warrior HUD is a critical flight display in operation on U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawks and CH-47 Chinooks.

“Since our inception, Elbit America has been dedicated to improving situational awareness through sophisticated displays that enhance a user’s understanding of the conditions outside their aircraft or vehicle,” said Scott Tumpak, Senior Vice President of Electronic Systems at Elbit America. “The Air Warrior Heads Up Display allows aircrew to focus on the mission because it’s designed to ensure safety, efficiency, and comfort for aircrew.”

“In high-stakes environments, you don’t have time for uncertainty. Elbit America delivers combat-proven Heads Up Displays that provide aircrew the confidence to see first, act first, and win,” said Elbit America President & CEO Luke Savoie. “This contract is a testament to the faith the U.S. Army places in us to keep delivering key solutions to our soldiers and we’re proud of our continued partnership.”

Posted in Army, Aviation, Contracts, Optics, Press Release | No Comments »

Army Forges Partnership with Pennsylvania Companies to Create Next Generation Small Arms Gun Barrel

Tuesday, March 17th, 2026

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. – Army armament engineers here partnered with a pair of Pennsylvania companies, one with alloy expertise and the other with forging metals, to deliver a capable barrel for the Army’s next generation of small arms.

Carpenter Technology developed the alloy and Geissele Automatics (also known as GWYNEDD) developed the production techniques for the barrels, while the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center provided the expertise in gun technology to deliver an innovation that is key to meeting the required capability.

This novel barrel design, created as part of two separate CRADAs (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) between the Armaments Center, Geissele and Carpenter, relies on the alloy, GNB 200, which provides Army small caliber next generation weapons with higher tensile strength and, with it, better wear resistance.

This advancement came after several projects focusing specifically on barrel technology over the past decade.

According to general engineer Daniel Cler, the design’s principal investigator, DEVCOM had tested several “high alloy barrel materials” over the decade, seeking to help alleviate pressure buildup, corrosion and mechanical wear as next-generation weapons maintain significantly higher-pressure than their legacy counterparts, this could in turn worsen barrel wear.

In the past several years, the U.S. Army has attempted to shift away from using hazardous heavy metals such as hexavalent chromium coatings, which is still renowned for its longevity, but is known to cause significant health problems in production when hexavalent chromium is in solution.

Seeking to replace hexavelant chrome coatings with barrel materials that provide good wear and corrosion performance without coatings, the Army has performed research into a plethora of different metals. However, many of these materials were too hard to cold hammer forge, a method that is the current manufacturing technology for most military small arms. Because of this, the Armaments Center was refocusing on hammer forging and materials that were compatible with the process when it signed both CRADAs in 2022.

GNB 200 is, per Carpenter Technology’s website, a “premium remelted alloy steel specially formulated for high temperature wear resistance.” According to Cler, GNB 200 is near the upper limit of what can reliably be cold-hammer forged.

Carpenter Technology was already highly familiar with GNB 200, and as such provided samples for testing, along with several other materials. The Armaments Center gave guidance, processed information, provided support for analysis and result documentation and carried out accelerated wear testing for proposed alloys.

Work with Geissele focused on manufacturability and feasibility. Geissele cold hammer forged the barrels themselves, provided input and direction for coating alternatives and specifications, performed testing on barrels, and processed parameters on manufacturability. In this stage, the Armaments Center gave its expertise on barrel technologies, provided ammunition for testing and performed project oversight.

The parties involved tested the barrels in an M240L machine guns over the project’s third and final year, which ended in spring 2025. The material showed much better performance than the standard M240L barrel and now informs future Army next generation weapons.

GNB 200 continues to inform the next generation of Army small caliber weapons.Though the CRADA with Carpenter Technology has expired, DEVCOM renewed its CRADA with Geissele for another three years to continue development of barrel coatings.

A CRADA is a written agreement between one or more federal laboratories and one or more non-federal parties to work together on research or development.

The GNB 200 hammer forged barrel is not the only project made in collaboration with Geissele. The pair also collaborated on developing a new rifle profile which has been shown to further reduce wear and improve dispersion. This profile received United States Patent 12,203,716 B2 on Jan. 21, 2025.

Cler said he was most proud of seeing a project he worked on informed next generation systems. He also noted how important it is to have some influence upon the industry in the correct direction, though he lamented not being able to get involved earlier.

“CRADA’s are a good way to influence industry so that as systems are developed to meet Army requirements, industry is ready to jump in with better solutions that are more aligned with the Army,” he said.

By Tyler Barth

Posted in Army, Guest Post, Manufacturing, Materials, Weapon Accessories | 2 Comments »

US Army Files Trademark Application for M8 Carbine

Tuesday, March 17th, 2026

In late January the US Army filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the term “M8” for all categories of firearms. As SSD revealed yesterday, the US Army issued an experimental type classification of XM8 to the Carbine version of the M7 Rifle.

The XM8 Carbine has been making the rounds. Above you can see a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit coaching a VIP on the range. In case you were wondering, this one is outfitted with the Vortex “Eleanor” AMG 1-10x optic and the B.E. Meyers’ MAWL-X1 aiming laser. In the background you can see an M7 equipped with the XM157 Next Generation Squad Weapons – Fire Control.

Posted in Advertiser, Army, weapons | 2 Comments »

US Army Designates Carbine Version of M7 NGSW Rifle as XM8

Monday, March 16th, 2026

Last month, the US Army designated the XM8 and issued a national stock number: NSN 1005-01-737-3402. Featuring an 10″ barrel, the XM8 (bottom carbine) weighs 7.3 lbs versus the 8.3 lbs of the M7 carbine with 13.5″ barrel (top rifle). These weights are weapon only and do not include suppressor and optic.

Developed by SIG SAUER as part of the Product Improvement Effort, it is a carbine version of the M7 Rifle. Along with the M250 Automatic Rifle, these weapons are being issued to the US Army’s close combat forces (think infantry, etc) as part of the Next Generation Squad Weapon program. They are chambered to fire 6.8 x 51mm composite case ammunition.

Although the main changes to the XM8 carbine are the shorter, tapered barrel, it also eliminates the side folding buttstock for a fixed, telescoping stock like the M4, and features a few changes in the upper receiver group to eliminate weight.

Many had anticipated the PIE variant to be designated as the M7A1 but this move falls more in line with the M16 and M4 as distinct weapons. Perhaps we will see an M7A1 yet.

Considering the Carbine has been given an M designation it looks like there’s a good chance that it will be adopted for issue to at least some of the force.

Posted in Army, weapons | 49 Comments »