Breaking Defense is reporting that President Donald J Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, which Michael Cadenazzi, the assistant secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, described as a way to communicate and leverage industry. The outlet also said sources indicated Hegseth hosted a private meeting with emerging weapons makers, including Anduril, Castelion and Leidos, to discuss munitions production.
The Pentagon is under pressure to spend $152 billion in reconciliation funding by Oct. 1, according to Breaking Defense. A defense official told the outlet that program offices must ensure fair pricing and adequate oversight for these contracts. Separately, a Pentagon review is asking Congress to allocate $5 billion over five years to rebuild "deteriorating" labs, which the study said are often raided for other urgent needs, leaving researchers in unsafe facilities.
Breaking Defense also reported that L3Harris transformed a Qatari 747 into a new Air Force One plane in 10 months, with 400 employees working around the clock to meet a July 4 deadline. Additionally, changes to U.S. weapons sales practices are expected later this year, with Cadenazzi noting the challenge of time-phasing these adjustments amidst numerous concurrent demands.
Finally, Breaking Defense said two executive orders signed today will jumpstart the Pentagon's quantum sensor projects. The orders direct the Defense Department to field three new types of quantum sensors by 2028, support the Energy Department in building a quantum supercomputer, and advise other agencies on countering quantum hackers.