
Ryan McCarthy, undersecretary of the U.S. Army, has explained further details on the Futures Command headquarters location in Austin, Texas.
McCarthy and a tasked team visited the cities of Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Raleigh-Durham and Philadelphia before ultimately deciding on Austin as home of the Futures Command, the Defense Department reported Friday.
The team selected Austin for the city’s proximity to science, technology, engineering and math; STEM investment; and inclination to private sector investment, among other criteria.
The Army is sending a six-member team to establish initial operating capability at the command’s location in Austin.
McCarthy said they plan to have the headquarters reach full operating capability within a year.
Related Articles
The Senate on Thursday confirmed by voice vote Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton as the U.S. Space Force’s vice chief of space operations. According to a congressional notice, Bratton, who was nominated to the role in mid-July, will also be promoted to the rank of general. With his confirmation, Bratton replaces Gen. Michael Guetlein, who was named program manager for the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense shield initiative. The GovCon Golden Dome conversation will be in full force at the 2025 Navy Summit in the lunch panel: “Supporting the Shield: Navy’s Role in the Golden Dome Architecture.” This industry-focused panel
Katie Arrington, a previous Wash100 awardee who currently performs the duties of the Department of Defense’s chief information officer, has released a memorandum to help DOD better manage risks facing its information and communications technology supply chain. In the June 5 memo, Arrington said she called for an update of the Requirements for the Acquisition of Digital Capabilities Guidebook concurrent with the Software Fast-Track, or SWFT, initiative development timeline. DOD Software Fast-Track Initiative In April, the acting CIO directed the establishment of the SWFT initiative to advance DOD’s adoption of best practices to transform the way it acquires, tests, authorizes
Naval aircraft, unmanned systems and munitions, not just shipbuilding, are set to benefit from the $150 billion appropriated for DOD spending in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” reconciliation legislation signed into law. The U.S. Navy could receive $288 million of the $400 million provided for Lockheed Martin’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile if lawmakers get what they want, according to Breaking Defense. LRASM is a precision guided munition capable of being deployed from aircraft or surface platforms that can penetrate sophisticated air defense environments and stop surface threats at long range. The One Big Beautiful Bill provided $400 million for LRASM, but didn’t specify