GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (4/8–12)

This week's Weekly Debrief covers defense and space.

Defense

DefenseScoop – Air Force sees opportunities for AI to improve wargaming

• "The Air Force has been using wargames to flesh out how future AI-enabled platforms could best be employed on the battlefield. But officials are also eyeing another use case — leveraging artificial intelligence to improve wargaming itself."

DefenseOne – Three firms will vie for Marines' $249M loitering-munitions buy

• "The Marine Corps has chosen three companies to compete for a potential eight-year, $249-million contract to build new loitering munition systems for dismounted soldiers in infantry rifle squads. AeroVironment, Anduril Industries, and Teledyne FLIR will compete for delivery orders to manufacture, test and deliver the non-developmental items that are designed to give Marines precision strike capability beyond their lines of sight."

Yahoo! Finance – This Is Huge News for Palantir Investors

• "An up-and-coming name in the red-hot artificial intelligence (AI) arena is Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR). For much of its history, Palantir worked closely with the U.S. government and its Western allies. However, over the last couple of years the company made a conscious effort to expand outside of the public sector. Indeed, this strategy is paying off as Palantir witnessed impressive growth in the private sector in 2023."
  

Space

SpaceNews – Space investors question the merits of vertical integration

• "The benefits of buying space companies to pursue vertical integration are becoming less apparent in the current economic climate. Buying out suppliers can give a company more control over prices and capabilities, enabling it to scale faster than others relying on a network of partners. SpaceX’s ability to build and launch its own Starlink broadband satellites — and provide services directly to customers — has helped fuel the company’s rapid global expansion."

DefenseNews – Space Development Agency satellites poised to track first missile test

• "The U.S. Space Development Agency expects its constellation of missile detection satellites to track its first missile launch in the coming weeks. The eight spacecraft, built by SpaceX and L3Harris Technologies and launched in three batches over the last year, make up the agency’s so-called Tranche 0 Tracking Layer. The systems will demonstrate the ability to observe and collect information on missiles launches."

NASA.gov – NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover

• "NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon. Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface."

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