Defense News Digest: December 2025
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Welcome to IDGA’s monthly news roundup. For over two decades, IDGA has organized conferences designed to further the national security objectives of the current administration and to facilitate the acquisition priorities of the DoD, DHS, and other federal agencies. Now, through this weekly series, we look to educate the community on the latest research, program updates and news in the defense and government sector.
The last month of 2025 brought plenty of new developments to the defense and homeland security sector, including the AI implementation at the Pentagon, the next phase of the Air Force’s CCA Program, and more.
Pentagon Launches GenAI.mil, Expands AI Access Across the Force
Last month, the Department of Defense launched GenAI.mil, a new platform designed to provide generative AI tools to all three million military, civilian, and contractor personnel. The initial capability is the government version of Google’s Gemini, approved for handling sensitive but unclassified (IL-5) data, with plans to add additional “frontier AI” tools and eventually extend access to classified environments. DoD leaders emphasized the platform’s potential to support research, document production, intelligence analysis, logistics planning, and combat simulations. Pentagon officials framed the rollout as a major step toward rapidly scaling AI adoption across the department, aiming to accelerate innovation and operational effectiveness in the near term.
Air Force Advances Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program
The U.S. Air Force has selected nine vendors for the concept refinement phase of Increment 2 of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, advancing efforts to field drone “wingmen” that can operate alongside manned aircraft. The selected designs span a broad range, from lower-cost, attritable platforms to more advanced, high-end concepts, and will be evaluated before a future down select for prototyping and eventual production. Increment 2 follows ongoing prototype work by Anduril and General Atomics under Increment 1, as the Air Force continues to weigh cost, capability, and autonomy tradeoffs. The service is also coordinating closely with the Navy and Marine Corps to ensure interoperability across future unmanned combat aircraft efforts.
Army Advances Autonomous Launcher Concept with CAML RFIs
The U.S. Army issued multiple requests for information (RFIs) to industry to accelerate development of its Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) program, which aims to field uncrewed, mobile missile-launching platforms to increase firepower while reducing risk to soldiers. The Army is seeking commercially derived or near-commercial autonomous vehicles capable of convoy operations, waypoint navigation, and optional piloted control, as well as palletized launcher systems able to carry heavy payloads and autonomously reload without human intervention. Additional RFIs focus on munitions pallets, launcher electronics, and potential system integrators to bring the platform together. An industry day is planned for January, with a field demonstration targeted for late FY 2026 as the Army evaluates the maturity of candidate technologies.
Learn More About Armored Vehicle USA
Armored Vehicles USA 2026 returns to Detroit, Michigan on June 23–24, uniting over 400 senior military leaders, acquisition professionals, and industry experts for two days of strategic briefings, technical discussions, and solution-oriented collaboration.
Learn MoreBrian Fennessy Named Inaugural Director of U.S. Wildland Fire Service
Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy will retire in early January 2026 to become the first director of the newly established United States Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), a federal agency launching to consolidate and modernize national wildland firefighting efforts. A nearly 50-year fire service veteran, Fennessy brings extensive experience across federal, state, and local wildfire operations, aviation programs, and incident management. His appointment is seen as a significant step toward improving interagency coordination, firefighter safety, and operational capability as the federal government moves to elevate and unify its wildland fire response. Fennessy is a longtime speaker at IDGA’s Wildfire Technology Summit series, with this year's conference set to take place on April 21-22 in San Diego, California.
