WASHINGTON - In a break from tradition, Congress passed a full-year continuing resolution (CR) to fund the Department of Defense for Fiscal Year 2025, a move that provides new-start authority but hinders long-term planning. While the legislation delivers $892.5 billion for national security, including modest gains for procurement, it imposes significant cuts to research and development and operations accounts, resulting in a constrained fiscal environment even as the administration talks of higher spending levels.

The topline figure in the CR represents a $6 billion increase over FY24 enacted levels, but the Pentagon ultimately loses buying power compared to last year when adjusted for inflation. The final budget is also $3 billion less than requested by then-President Biden, despite bipartisan calls for higher spending, particularly in the Senate.

Topline Procurement Remains Flat; Research & Development Loses Ground

The FY25 CR provides $168.2 billion for procurement, about $688 million (+0.4%) above the request. Despite the flat procurement topline, several procurement accounts saw steep cuts, including those for the Marine Corps and Space Force. The bill also trims $1.9 billion (-1.3%) from Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) accounts overall. Meanwhile, operation and maintenance funding takes a particularly hard hit, with a $5.7 billion reduction compared to the request. Military construction is also reduced by $818.4 million.

For additional information on how Pentagon acquisition programs were impacted in the CR, read the full story on Forecast International's Defense & Security Monitor using the link below.

Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/2025/04/24/congress-scales-back-ambitions-in-final-fy25-defense-deal/
Author: s. mcDougall, Defense Analyst 

HERNDON, Va. - HawkEye 360 has partnered with General Atomics - GA-Integrated Intelligence, Inc. (GA-i3) to integrate its advanced RF data capabilities into GA-i3's Optix platform. This collaboration establishes HawkEye 360 as a channel partner and value-added reseller of the Optix platform. This groundbreaking solution delivers HawkEye 360's all-domain RF data out of the box, while enabling correlation with other disparate intelligence sources.

Integrating HawkEye 360's evolving suite of RF analytics, including archived RF data and analytics, augments the Optix platform to fill critical gaps in situational awareness. Optix enhances workflows by providing a combined multi-INT data picture, enabling users to ingest, visualize, and analyze multi-domain activity with unparalleled efficiency and insight. Optix supports advanced analytics for identifying suspicious behavior, such as dark activity and rendezvous patterns, providing a more comprehensive understanding of operations in complex environments.

Source: Hawkeye 360
Associated URL: https://www.he360.com/

WASHINGTON - BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Nashua, New Hampshire, was awarded a $46.4 million modification (P00023) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract HR001121C0068 for an engineering change modification for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research project.

Work will be performed in Merrimack, New Hampshire (51%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (44%); Burlington, Massachusetts (3%); and Atlanta, Georgia (2%), with an expected completion date of October 2026. DARPA, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Source: U.S. DoD
Associated URL: http://www.defenselink.gov