Over the past several weeks, it seemed like much of the government tech media’s coverage focused on issues like downsizing and funding cuts at federal civilian agencies. This week, we noted an uptick in news coverage related to policy and organizational changes at the Department of Defense (DOD). Here’s a roundup of some of the Defense-related news of the week:
Cuts, DOGE Expected at the Pentagon
The DOD announced possible cuts in budget and personnel, while the unit known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) appears poised to help with that effort:
- The DOD is gearing up to cut $50 billion from its budget over the next five years to shift funding to projects that align with the President’s “achieve peace through strength” mandate, according to an article by Lisbeth Perez for MeriTalk. In Defense One, Audrey Decker quoted a Pentagon statement that said the cuts will target “unnecessary spending” like “so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy.” Breaking Defense reporters Aaron Mehta and Ashley Roque shared the Pentagon’s list of 17 recommendations for programs that should be targeted for cuts.
- Brandi Vincent of DefenseScoop reported on a Pentagon memo ordering defense agencies to review existing contracts for consulting services to determine which are “non-essential” and should be considered for termination in the near future. In Breaking Defense, Theresa Hitchens noted that the memo did not define what was meant by “consulting services,” so the extent of the order remains unclear.
- In a related development, several articles shared news related to Elon Musk’s DOGE turning its attention to the DOD. Patrick Tucker of Defense One spoke to observers who expressed concerns that DOGE might “expose critical national security data, endanger personnel and create unprecedented conflicts of interest.” Defense One Managing Editor Jennifer Hlad wrote that members of Congress are also concerned about the possibility of indiscriminate cuts by DOGE that could negatively impact critical DOD programs.
- At least one major tech acquisition program has been paused due to changes at the DOD. Nick Wakeman broke the news in Washington Technology that the Army has put a $10 billion software modernization acquisition on an indefinite hold.
- Another possible DOD shakeup: The Pentagon is looking at combining various DOD innovation offices into a new one focused on buying cutting-edge products from contractors, a “commercial-engineering version of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency),” according to an article by Tucker.
The Iron Dome Missile Defense Program
The newly proposed Iron Dome has emerged as a top Defense priority for the Trump Administration. This initiative would deploy a missile shield over the United States. Unsurprisingly, this has generated a lot of coverage in the Defense tech media:
- Funding for the Iron Dome for America missile defense initiative will be shielded from the aforementioned budget cuts being considered by the Pentagon, Sandra Erwin reported in space industry publication Space News.
- Hitchens had an exclusive in Breaking Defense on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “all-hands-on-deck memo for crafting an action plan to deploy a comprehensive missile shield over the United States, including readying a budget request for fiscal 2026.”
- Hitchens’ colleague Valerie Insinna reported comments by U.S. Northern Command head Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot that the Iron Dome should focus first on fielding a sensor architecture capable of tracking threats at great distances. In her coverage of those comments for Defense One, Meghann Myers noted that Guillot said a key part of the sensor integration could be done in less than a year with proper funding.
- Also in Breaking Defense, Roque wrote that program leaders are grappling with whether to include new technology to shoot down aerial drones under the Iron Dome umbrella.
- At least some industry executives are skeptical of the plan, according to a piece in Defense News by Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo. These observers said creating an Iron Dome defensive umbrella for the U.S. would be unsuitable against the threat of long-range missiles.
DOD Cyber News
Cybersecurity continues to draw media attention, and we saw reports on a number of DOD-related issues on that front this week:
- Justin Doubleday published the news in Federal News Network that Katie Arrington, who led the initial development of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, is returning to the Pentagon as the Defense Department’s chief information security officer. In coverage in Nextgov/FCW, David DiMolfetta noted that Arrington had been previously accused of leaking classified military intelligence information.
- In DefenseScoop, Mikayla Easley gave an update on efforts by the military services to apply the zero trust cybersecurity framework to protect their operational technology from attacks. In related news, Carley Welch reported in Breaking Defense that the DOD is 14% of the way to its goal of having all enterprise networks zero trust compliant by the end of fiscal year 2027.
I hope you are finding our weekly updates helpful as you sift through the flood of news coming your way each week. For even more insight into the government tech media landscape, I suggest you check out the W2 Communications’ “Gov & Beyond” podcast. The latest episode features an extensive interview with Rachel Jewett, senior managing editor at Via Satellite, and Jeff Hill, executive editor at Via Satellite. See you next week!