All articles tagged with #defense contracting
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched 'Project Meridian,' a 120-day initiative to define future military capabilities, placing Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich as co-leads. The move grants major defense contractors and political donors direct influence over U.S. war strategy, raising concerns about conflicts of interest as their companies hold billions in federal contracts.
The U.S. Army awarded $192 million in production contracts to Palantir ($127M) and Anduril ($65M) to move the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) to production. Eight systems (four basic, four advanced) will be delivered over 18 months, with Palantir leading overall production and Anduril supplying rugged hardware and integration. Basic variants will be vehicle-mounted for mobility on JLTV/ISV-U; advanced variants target corps-level theater intelligence. The Army will continue prototyping and incorporate soldier feedback to speed sensor-to-shooter timelines.
Oracle has won a 10-year U.S. military software contract worth up to $6.99 billion if all option years are exercised, with a base value of about $3.31 billion over the first five years. The deal covers Oracle software in on‑premises data centers across the armed forces, Coast Guard and intelligence agencies, and also enables purchases of cloud services, software applications, support and professional services via specific orders. Officials say the consolidated procurement could save taxpayers at least $441 million by reducing fragmentation and increasing interoperability, as part of the Department of War’s Enterprise Software Initiative. Oracle shares rose in after-hours trading on the news, though the pace and size of orders will be watched closely.
MS NOW reports Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have become backers or investors in at least 10 defense- and drone-focused companies, including Unusual Machines, Xtend, Powerus, and others, with these firms receiving about $3.7 billion in federal defense funding since Trump’s second term began. The piece notes executives and the White House deny they influence contracts, while critics argue the investments create potential conflicts of interest as the administration accelerates military modernization and drone programs. Lawmakers are calling for more scrutiny of such ties, and the article points to other 1789 Capital-backed firms like Anduril and Palantir as part of the broader pattern of defense spending and access to government funds.