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31 Jul 25. Senate panel OKs plans for $852 bn in defense spending next year. Senate appropriators advanced plans for roughly $852 bn in defense funding next fiscal year, a significant boost over White House goals and House lawmakers’ outlines for military spending in 2026. The appropriations measure advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee by a bipartisan 26-3 vote, with both Republican and Democratic leaders praising the plan as meeting the emerging needs of the armed forces.
“This bill addresses major funding gaps across the board,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the panel. “It invests in ship building … it expands critical munitions production, including air and missile defense interceptors, long range missiles and next generation hypersonic weapons. It funds drone and counter drone technologies, which are increasingly changing the nature of the battlefield. Finally, the bill invests in our most precious asset, the men and women of our armed forces. It shows our continuing commitment to their readiness, well being and mission success.”
The bill includes plans for a 3.8% pay raise for troops next January and an increase in overall military end strength in 2026, similar to plans adopted by House lawmakers earlier in July. But the measure also includes a 2% increase in base defense spending next fiscal year, about $20 bn above House approved spending levels and the White House’s request for defense spending. The White House for months has advocated for a generally flat defense budget next year coupled with about $150 bn in one-time defense spending approved in a budget reconciliation measure earlier this summer. Democratic lawmakers have objected to that strategy, saying it undermines oversight and long-term planning. Republicans on the committee backed the reconciliation measure but also expressed concern over the reliance on one-time funding for critical defense programming.
“I think not only the prior administration, but this administration as well, have underestimated the level of challenge that we have in defense,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., chairman of the appropriations committee’s defense panel. “You’ve got authoritarian regimes coordinating with each other in North Korea, in Russia, Chinese and Iranian proxies. And one thing they have in common is that they hate us.”
Whether the plussed-up defense budget plan will survive congressional negotiations is unclear. The House has already recessed until September, and the Senate is expected to leave town at the end of this week. When both chambers return, they’ll have to approve funding for all federal spending past Sept. 30, either through a full-year appropriations package or a short-term budget extension. If neither is approved, the country could face a partial government shutdown starting Oct. 1, shuttering a host of federal offices and pausing some military paychecks. (Source: Defense News)
31 Jul 25. Use of military for immigration enforcement will raise supervision quality, domestic unrest risks. On 30 July, the Trump administration authorised the deployment of National Guard units at immigration facilities, marking an escalation in the use of the military as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informed field offices that the National Guard would assist with ‘alien processing’. The troops will be deployed in 20 states with Republican governors, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas. The Constitution limits the use of the military for civilian law enforcement, though state governments maintain authority to keep order within their borders. Also on 30 July, 12 Democratic lawmakers sued the Trump administration for blocking their access to migrant detention facilities. These developments underscore increasing supervision quality risks and public concern over the use of the military on domestic soil. We assess that the allocation of personnel towards detention processing signals that enforcement and deportation raids will increase in frequency in the near term. Such operations are most likely to occur in Democrat-led cities with high migrant populations, raising domestic unrest risks. (Source: Sibylline)
25 Jul 25. Risky companies fall through the cracks as US speed up defence procurement. The procurement database provides little visibility into where materials and parts are manufactured and sourced. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned against dependence on ambiguously sourced materials and parts from foreign suppliers. While the public spending watchdog acknowledged that the government has implemented measures to increase supply chain visibility in defence, the GAO recommends that the Department of Defense (DoD) coordinate these efforts in a report published on 24 July 2025. This geostrategic vulnerability comes at a time when the current administration is overhauling the defence apparatus in order to hasten the acquisition of lethal weapon systems. With a mandate to demolish all bureaucratic impediments, the GAO’s call for additional structures – including a new office – to increase visibility of the supply chain will doubtless go unheeded by the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose doctrine contradicts these recommendations in practice. Nonetheless, the GAO discovered that the primary government-wide database for procurement – the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) – contains summary level contract information on goods. There is limited information about the countries of origin for these goods. Typically, the system does not explore the contribution of subcontractors, for example.
“These efforts are uncoordinated and limited in scope and provide little insight into the vast majority of suppliers, including those that provide raw materials and parts,” the independent reviewer found.
Contesting the figures
It is worth noting that the GAO report does not explicitly point to any specific foreign suppliers as a risk to US national security and defence but instead emphasises the risks already seeping into defence procurement. The GAO pointed to the F-35 Lightning II programme in which the FPDS considers the US as the country of origin for 114 out of 115 contracts related to the far-reaching fifth generation combat aircraft programme in fiscal years (FY) 2020 to 2024. In reality, F-35 is a global product behind which there are more than 290,000 jobs and 1,900 suppliers (1,000 of which are small businesses), spanning more than ten countries outside the US. The UK alone claims that approximately 15% of every F-35 jet is built in Britain. Furthermore, the DoD, through Lockheed Martin, found that magnets included on some F-35s originated from China, an adversary and military competitor whom the government considers a strategic rival on the world stage. In this backdrop, the US is also struggling to untangle an intricate web of military-civilian fusion. This is an underlying, predatory policy in China that will enhance the People’s Liberation Army by deriving innovation and knowledge from inside the US defence industrial base. Implausibly, FPDS even considers the US as the country of origin for approximately 96% of obligations for goods that the DoD procured between FY2020-24 based on dollar value. Likewise, according to GAO analysis, the FPDS identifies the US as the palce of manufacture and country of origin for nearly 100% electronic microcircuits worth $1.3bn in the same time period. However, DoD officials insist that 88% of the production and 98% of assembly, packaging, and testing of all microelectronics are performed overseas—primarily in Taiwan, South Korea, and China.
Burning bridges
“DoD recognizes that there are serious national security implications for not knowing where components of the goods it procures are manufactured,” the report accepts. “This potentially includes losing access to critical materials for weapon systems.”
Nevertheless, the current administration has take up a policy of protectionism to its own detriment. Since April, President Donald Trump has made negotiations on different levels of tariffs with countries around the world. Even the UK has come through scathed by a 10% tariff with some limited exceptions, such as Rolls Royce engines needed for various American defence platforms. Some companies have mitigated the impact of global tariffs by having a footprint in the United States industrial base. BAE Systems, a British-based prime, expects minimal impact because it is embedded within the defence procurement system. Likewise, the tactless diplomacy of the current administration, with threats to annex Canada and Greenland, will only impede US efforts to strengthen its defence supply chain. There are numerous critical minerals sourced responsibly from countries such as Canada, for example, including materials such as tungsten, a metal used for its hardness and heat resistance. (Source: army-technology.com)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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