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September 15, 2025, brief. From Kyiv to the Pentagon, the week showed how fast the defense landscape is shifting. Ukraine pressed Washington for long-range weapons, the Army doubled down on counter-drone and nuclear resilience programs, and funding lanes stayed open even amid a federal freeze.
Power, production, and positioning for 2026.
Ukraine’s Push for U.S. Arms Deals
A Ukrainian soldier walks amid the ruins in Kostiantynivka, a frontline town where some 5000 people still stay without water, electricity, and gas supply, on Oct. 13, 2025. | Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP
A senior Ukrainian team met with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in Washington on October 15, just two days before Zelenskyy’s White House meeting with President Trump.
Kyiv is front-loading its pitch for advanced weapons and co-production deals before the summit.
Led by Andrii Yermak with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and Security Chief Rustem Umerov, the group represented Ukraine’s political, defense, and diplomatic core. U.S. officials skipped the contractor sessions, though Svyrydenko separately met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss critical minerals cooperation.
What they asked for:
Tomahawk cruise missiles – long-range precision strikes.
Patriot air-defense systems – additional batteries to blunt missile barrages.
HIMARS + ATACMS – extended-range fires to complement cruise missiles.
Drone co-production – tech-sharing for a proposed $50 billion “mega-drone”.
Zelenskyy plans to press Trump for Tomahawks and long-range approvals. Trump’s team is linking arms packages to U.S. investment access in Ukraine’s energy and mineral sectors, marking a shift from aid to transactional deals.
Industry impact:
Could open $10 B+ in new Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
Puts RTX and Lockheed at the center of Ukraine’s rebuild and co-production network.
Reinforces the emerging “arms-for-access” model, defense sales tied to economic incentives.
Ukraine is moving from beneficiary to business partner. If the summit delivers a green light, expect early FMS notices and RFPs by Q1 2026.
AUSA 25: Drone Countermeasures Take Center Stage
Image Credit: AUSA.org
This year’s AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition drew over 30,000 attendees and 800+ exhibitors, turning the spotlight squarely on one theme: countering cheap killer drones. The motto “Transforming in Contact” set the tone for an Army that knows adaptation on the battlefield can’t wait.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George called for relentless transformation in a world “flooded with cheap drones and lethal tech.” Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, head of the Joint Interagency Task Force for Counter-sUAS, announced new doctrine and recurring competitions for adaptive defenses. Cost-effective countermeasures are the focus $500 drones can’t keep beating $5 million interceptors.
Over 50 live demos ran on the floor. cUAS systems dominated, alongside autonomy, energy resilience, and AI-driven command-and-control.
System | Developer | Edge |
|---|---|---|
Iron Beam Laser | RAFAEL | $2 Shot Direct Energy Weapon |
EAGLS Robot Scouts | Edge Autonomy | Ground robots using AI to detect & cue cUAS |
Ralar Payload Systems | Target Arm | Launched & recovers drones from moving vehicles |
Flycat Drone | Venator | Low-cost deep strike UAV |
Counter-Swarm System | Honeywell Aerospace | EW + kinetic blend for base defense |
cUAS Missile | AeroVironment | Low-cost intercept missiles |
SBIR/STTR discussions dominated the side panels, with awards of up to $2M for low-cost rocket and sUAS detection research. Despite a lapse in authorization, DoD officials hinted at $500M+ in FY 2026 funding for counter-drone and microreactor projects.
Expect new OTAs and SBIR 25.3/STTR 25.C calls by August 2025.
Why it matters:
Reinforces the Army’s low-cost lethality pivot.
Expands opportunities for primes (RTX, Lockheed) and startups alike.
Shows C-UAS is now as critical as air defense.
Signals the U.S. intends to mass-produce 10,000 small UAS/month by 2026.
AUSA 2025 wasn’t about showcasing gadgets; it was a roadmap for a new reality: mass drones, mass defense, and modular power. For industry watchers, the next signal will be post-AUSA RFIs and Q4 RFPs focused on swarm-defense integration.
Army Launches “Janus” Microreactor Program for Base Resilience
At AUSA 2025, the Army and Department of Energy unveiled the Janus Program, a plan to deploy commercially owned nuclear microreactors on U.S. bases.
The goal: end reliance on diesel and secure power for radar, C-UAS, and AI-driven ops.
Secretary Dan Driscoll and Chris Wright called it “unprecedented energy access for future fights,” especially in the Indo-Pacific, where fuel convoys are high-risk. Reactors in the 1–5 MW range will run for years without refueling, delivering resilient, on-site power independent of fragile supply chains.
Modeled on NASA’s COTS approach, the Army acts as host while private firms build, own, and operate the reactors. Early leaders include BWXT, Antares, Kairos Power, and Oklo, all of which are pre-qualified under DIU’s Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations. BWXT’s prototype alone could exceed $500M in milestones toward a $1B deployment.
Prototype RFPs open within weeks; first criticality (Antares) by July 2026, followed by the first base installation in 2027 and operational rollout by 2028.
The Janus Program answers the Pentagon’s call for energy independence and contested-logistics resilience, blending commercial speed with military oversight. For the industry, it signals $1 B+ in contracting opportunities across nuclear, fuel-cycle, and security subsystems.
Janus marks the Army’s return to nuclear innovation, a new era of small, secure, and exportable reactors powering the next fight.
Defense Funding Opportunities
Information Innovation Office – Long-term call for AI, cyber, and decision-support R&D. Deadline: Oct 29 (rolling)
Defense Sciences Office Pitch Day – Rapid-cycle ideas in materials, biotech, and physics. Ongoing since Oct 7.
Fundamental Challenges in AI/ML – Seeking white papers on scalable, ethical AI models. Exec summaries due: Oct 15.
Young Faculty Award (YFA) – Early-career researchers + contractors in quantum/biotech. Rolling cycle.
FY 25 Long-Range BAA – Open-topic S&T proposals for Navy / Marine Corps needs. Due: Sept 30, 2026
Ocean Explorer (OEX) Large UUV Demo – Underwater-vehicle prototypes. White papers: Oct 24 | Full: Jan 2, 2026.
FY 26 DoN HBCU/MI Program – Partner with universities on cyber & engineering R&D. Due: Dec 12, 2025.
FY 25 STEM Education & Workforce – Training / tech-transfer programs. Due: June 30, 2026.
Toxic Exposures Partnership Award – Therapeutic development for veterans. Due: Oct 16, 2025.
ONR + DoE: Janus Program (coming soon) – Microreactor prototypes; OTAs & SBIR ties, $500 M+ expected.
Future SBIR/STTR Topics (via DSIP) – On hold pending reauthorization; monitor SAM.gov and dsip.dod.mil.