Latest news with #DoD
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Why the US military wants troops to be able to fix their own stuff
Troops often find themselves surrounded by gear they cannot legally fix. A bipartisan push is trying to allow troops to turn to their own wrenches to repair military equipment rather than relying on civilian contractors. Service members are allowed to fix a lot of military equipment on their own, with many troops specializing in mechanical repair for guns, aircraft, and even weapons optics. But some equipment contracts come with strict provisions that stipulate that repairs can only be performed by contractors and limit the technical data and intellectual property that can be shared with troops for repairs. Some lawmakers say these stipulations are problematic for troops in need of urgent repairs and take advantage of DoD funding. "When you're deployed in the field and you have a mission to complete and you have people's lives to protect, it just doesn't make sense to be constrained by some commercial agreement that you have with the manufacturers," said Greg Williams, the director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight. Now, a bipartisan push from senators Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican, is calling for a change amid new movement on the National Defense Authorization Act. These lawmakers highlight instances of the Navy ferrying contractors to sea for simple fixes, Marines in Japan forced to send engines to the US for repair instead of repair on site, and one contractor that "charged $900 a page for upgrades to its maintenance manuals for an Air Force aircraft." These moves mark the latest in a string of actions to overcome right-to-repair barriers. A 2023 California bill, for example, spurred Apple to endorse the ability for consumers to repair and modify their own devices. Medical device manufacturers came under fire during the pandemic for troublesome restrictions on ventilator repair. And US farmers have criticized farming equipment manufacturer John Deere, now embroiled in a federal lawsuit, for what they see as prohibitively restrictive controls on repair part access and burdensome diagnostics tech tools. President Donald Trump's tariffs could strengthen the right-to-repair movement throughout the nation, as some consumers grow increasingly reluctant to toss out high-priced goods that are damaged and seek to repair them instead. Top Pentagon brass have pushed for comprehensive changes to repair policies since January. Amid major transformation initiatives within the Army, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each called for the inclusion of right-to-repair provisions in all new and existing Army contracts. Navy Secretary John Phelan told lawmakers in June that when visiting the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, he discovered six of the ship's eight ovens, essential tools required to feed thousands of sailors, were out for repair, adding that crewmembers aboard the vessel were legally prohibited from performing repairs. "It is crazy. We should be able to fix this," he said. Such high-level advocacy comes as other military leaders have observed that future warfare will require more innovative fixes from troops on the front lines. "The force of the future will fix on the spot," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said during a congressional hearing on military spending last month. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars saw robust base build-ups for troops, where equipment could be sent for intensive maintenance needs with the near-assurance of US air supremacy. Such guarantees are almost certainly a thing of the past, experts say, at least for high-end fights. Right now, "it all comes down to the particulars of the contract involved," Williams explained. "Different contractors have arrived at different arrangements with the Defense Department about when they have a chokehold on repairs and when they don't." "And so it needs to be negotiated on a contract-by-contract basis," he said. Williams pointed to a near-miss naval incident and subsequent relief of USS John McCain's captain as a clear example of what can happen when repairs go unaddressed. The destroyer nearly collided with another vessel during a refueling operation when the ship's lingering steering problems arose unexpectedly. It's unclear whether the right to repair would have prevented that outcome, but the argument for it is that it eliminates the unnecessary tension that exists today. As things stand now, Williams said, "it comes down to a push and pull between the manufacturer and the consumer."
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Veeam Kasten Assessed "Awardable" for Department of Defense work in the P1 Solutions Marketplace
Veeam Kasten is the first enterprise-ready data protection solution to be hosted on Iron Bank, a major milestone for US federal cloud-native security SEATTLE, July 15, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeam® Software, the #1 global leader by market share in Data Resilience, today announced that Veeam Kasten has achieved "Awardable" status through the Department of Defense (DoD) Platform One (P1) Solutions Marketplace. The P1 Solutions Marketplace is a digital repository of post-competition, 5-minute long readily-awardable pitch videos, which address the Government's most stringent requirements in hardware, software and service solutions. As organizations increasingly rely on Kubernetes for containerized applications and VMs, the need for robust data resilience – including backup and disaster recovery solutions – becomes critical. The dynamic nature of containers complicates traditional backup strategies. Without proper backup and recovery processes in place, organizations risk data loss, service disruption, financial impact, and adverse mission outcomes, making backup and disaster recovery essential for mission continuity and data integrity. Veeam Kasten provides comprehensive backup and disaster recovery, application mobility and ransomware protection for mission critical Kubernetes workloads. Whether managing large-scale migrations, ensuring resilient operations, or automating data protection and recovery, Veeam Kasten delivers unmatched reliability, security and usability. Veeam Kasten is the first enterprise-ready data protection solution to be hosted on Iron Bank – the vetted repository of assessed containers, purpose-built to enable the rapid, scalable, and secure deployment of applications across the DoD. Veeam Kasten images are available for P1 users to deploy on their Kubernetes clusters with confidence and ease, reducing deployment times from months or years to just weeks. "As the DoD accelerates the adoption of emerging technology, the inclusion of Veeam Kasten in the P1 Marketplace demonstrates our commitment to delivering secure, data resilience for Kubernetes," said Gaurav Rishi, Vice President of Product Management at Veeam. "This milestone allows us to better support government agencies and contractors with a comprehensive solution for their Kubernetes application workloads, maximizing operational efficiency and enhancing data resilience in today's complex IT landscape. "While most backup tools retrofit container support, Veeam Kasten was built for Kubernetes from day one, with native APIs, hardened images, and zero-trust architecture. Veeam Kasten is uniquely purpose-built – combining the industry's first FIPS 140-3-validated Kubernetes protection, P1 Iron Bank-hardened images, and automated SBOM generation – to enable federal agencies to meet stringent cyber resilience mandates without compromising innovation. We're excited to continue supporting the defense community with our industry-leading solutions and further strengthening Veeam Kasten's capability to secure Kubernetes data and support the DoD mission." Veeam Kasten's video, Veeam Kasten for US Fed in Five Minutes, is now accessible by government customers on the P1 Solutions Marketplace. It presents an actual use case in which the company provides the what, why, and how of Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes and highlights how Veeam Kasten can help US Federal agencies and organizations protect their cloud native VM and container workloads. Veeam Kasten was recognized among a competitive field of applicants to the P1 Solutions Marketplace whose solutions demonstrated innovation, scalability, and potential impact on DoD missions. Government customers interested in viewing the video solution can create a P1 Solutions Marketplace account at Federal agencies can request access or schedule a product demo via For more information on Veeam, visit About Veeam Software Veeam®, the #1 global market leader in data resilience, believes every business should be able to bounce forward after a disruption with the confidence and control of all their data whenever and wherever they need it. Veeam calls this radical resilience, and we're obsessed with creating innovative ways to help our customers achieve it. Veeam solutions are purpose-built for powering data resilience by providing data backup, data recovery, data portability, data security, and data intelligence. With Veeam, IT and security leaders rest easy knowing that their apps and data are protected and always available across their cloud, virtual, physical, SaaS, and Kubernetes environments. Headquartered in Seattle with offices in more than 30 countries, Veeam protects over 550,000 customers worldwide, including 67% of the Global 2000, that trust Veeam to keep their businesses running. Radical resilience starts with Veeam. Learn more at or follow Veeam on LinkedIn @veeam-software and X @veeam. About the P1 Solutions Marketplace The P1 Solutions Marketplace is a digital repository of post-competition, readily awardable pitch videos that address the Department of Defense's (DoD) most significant challenges in hardware, software and service solutions. All awardable solutions have been assessed through complex scoring rubrics and competitive procedures and are available to Government customers with a Marketplace account. Government customers can create an account at For more information or media requests, contact: support@ Supporting Q&As Why do you need Kubernetes protection? Veeam Kasten protects the unique characteristics of modern, cloud-native development in Kubernetes including data, configurations, metadata and dependencies. Kubernetes manages key data, configurations, and dependencies for modern apps. Veeam Kasten helps by safeguarding all these elements, ensuring Kubernetes workloads remain resilient, available, and secure. What does "Awardable" mean in the Department of Defense Platform One Solutions Marketplace? "Awardable" status means Veeam Kasten has passed DoD vetting and is pre-approved for procurement, allowing agencies to quickly acquire and deploy the solution without lengthy review processes. What platforms and environments are supported by Veeam Kasten? Veeam Kasten supports all major Kubernetes distributions, including Amazon EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, Red Hat OpenShift, VMware Tanzu, and on-premises Kubernetes clusters. View source version on Contacts For Veeam media inquiries, contact Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
US defense department awards contracts to Google, Musk's xAI
OpenAI, Alphabet's Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk's AI firm xAI have won contracts aimed at scaling up adoption of advanced AI capabilities in the U.S. Department of Defense, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said on Monday. Each of the contracts has a $200 million ceiling and will enable the DoD to develop agentic AI workflow and use them to address critical national security challenges, the office said. 'Establishing these partnerships will broaden DoD use of and experience in frontier AI capabilities and increase the ability of these companies to understand and address critical national security needs,' it said. The Pentagon last month announced OpenAI was awarded a $200 million contract, saying the ChatGPT maker would 'develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains.' The White House's Office of Management and Budget released new guidance in April, directing federal agencies to ensure that the government and 'the public benefit from a competitive American AI marketplace.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
US rare earth pricing system is poised to challenge China's dominance
US efforts to break China's dominance of the rare earths market and to drive investment in its own industry have moved up a gear with a Washington-backed plan to create a separate, higher pricing system. The West has struggled to weaken China's grip on 90 per cent of the supply of rare earths, in part because low prices set in China have removed the incentive for investment elsewhere. Miners in the West have long called for a separate pricing system to help them compete in supplying the rare earths group of 17 metals needed to make super-strong magnets of strategic importance. They are used in military applications such as drone and fighter jets, as well as to power motors in EVs and wind turbines. Under a deal made public last week, the US Department of Defense will guarantee a minimum price for its sole domestic rare earth miner MP Materials , at nearly twice the current market level. Las Vegas-based MP already produces mined and processed rare earths and said it expects to start commercial magnet production at its Texas facility around the end of this year. Analysts say the pricing deal, which takes effect immediately, should have global implications - positive for producers, but may increase costs for consumers, such as automakers and in turn their customers. "This benchmark is now a new centre of gravity in the industry that will pull prices up," said Ryan Castilloux, managing director of consultancy Adamas Intelligence. The DoD will pay MP the difference between $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths and the market price, currently set by China, but if the price rises above $110, the DoD will get 30 per cent of additional profits. Castilloux said other indirect beneficiaries of the pricing system may include companies, such as Belgian chemicals group Solvay, which launched an expansion in April. "It will give Solvay and others the impetus to command a similar price level. It will give them a floor to stand on, you could say," Castilloux added. While Solvay declined to comment, other rare earth miners, developers and their shareholders welcomed the news. Aclara Resources is developing rare earths mines in Chile and Brazil, as well as planning a separation plant in the United States. Alvaro Castellon, the company's strategy and development manager, told Reuters the deal added "new strategic paths" for the company. MP's gradual output increase MP Materials, which suffered a net loss of $65.4 million last year largely because of China's low pricing, will build up magnet production at its Texas plant initially to 1,000 metric tons a year, later expanding to 3,000 tons a year. Under last Thursday's deal, the DoD will become its largest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake and MP will construct a second rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in the US, eventually adding 7,000 tons per year. In total, production would be 10,000 tons a year - equalling US consumption of magnets in 2024. That does not include, however, the 30,000 tons imported by the United States already installed in assembled products, Adamas consultancy said. It predicts global demand for rare earth permanent magnets will more than double over the next decade to about 607,000 tons, with the US seeing the strongest percentage annual growth rate in coming years at 17 per cent. The world's reliance upon China for much of this demand was brought into focus by China's curbs on its exports as trade negotiations continue between the United States and China. So far Western governments have had little success in trying to help their own industries to compete. Attempts to agree stronger pricing have been confined to piecemeal deals that set premiums for magnets. Dominic Raab, a former deputy prime minister and former foreign secretary for the United Kingdom, said he was not surprised the Trump administration had concluded that tax breaks alone would not create the level of investment required. "The next step is, can they scale it up?" asked Raab, now head of global affairs at Appian Capital Advisory, a private equity firm that invests in mining projects. The $110 level for neodymium and praseodymium, or NdPr, guaranteed by the DoD is slightly above a $75-to-$105 per kg range that consultancy Project Blue reckons would be needed to support enough production to meet demand in coming years. It compares to a current level of about $63. David Merriman of Project Blue said it was unclear how commercial industrial consumers would respond to higher prices and whether it would make them invest in rare earths as they have more diverse supply sources. "Major non-government backed consumers are less likely to follow this same investment pattern, however, as they are not so clearly aligned to a particular regional supply route," he said. A spokesperson for German auto giant Volkswagen declined to comment on pricing when asked about the DoD floor level but said, "We welcome all efforts to strengthen long-term stability and diversification in global supply chains for critical materials."
Mint
16 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Elon Musk's xAI, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic win $200 million Pentagon AI contracts: Details here
OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI have each been awarded a contrct of up to $200 million by the US Department of Defence in a bid to scale up adoption of AI capabilities in the US. The new contract will help DoD develop agentic AI workflows and use them to address critical national security challenges, DoD's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Ofice said as per Reuters. "The adoption of AI is transforming the (DoD's) ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries," DoD's Chief Digital and AI Officer Doug Matty stated. US government agencies have reportedl been expanding their use of AI owing to a White House order in April which promoted the use of new technology. President Donald Trump has also looked to soften the regulation around AI by revoking a 2023 executive order which looked to reduce risks of AI by mandating data disclosures. In a separate announcement on Monday, xAI announced a new range of products called 'Grok for Government' which made its advanced AI models including the recently launched Grok 4 model available to local, federal, state and national government. Prior to xAI and Google, Pentagon had announced last month that it was awarding a $200 million contract for OpenAI, noting that the company would "develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains" The new contract also comes at a time when there has been rising distance between President Trump and Elon Musk. Trump's biggest backer during the 2024 elections had turned against him on the issue of government spending and later started his own American party. Meanwhile, Musk's xAI has also been embroiled in a recent controversy with the company's Grok chatbot spewing anti-semitic sentiments and even going on to praising Adolf Hitler last week. Since then, xAI has apologized for Grok's 'horrific' conduct and blamed it on a 'deprecated' code along with the extermist views of its users.
