The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has finished a program that produced technologies for the rapid construction of logistics tunnel networks in denied environments.

Upon the completion of the Underminer program, the three participating teams transitioned matured capabilities that can dig tunnels for resupplying troops and rescuing personnel in a contested area to industry and government partners, the agency said Thursday.

The Colorado School of Mines, General Electric Research Center and Sandia National Laboratories introduced technologies involving fluid management, beacon-less drill localization and tunnel branching operations with a focus on diameter, distance, speed and accuracy.

“Tactical tunneling capabilities have tremendous opportunities to expand the combined arms maneuver trade space to include the vertical dimension in both natural and man-made subterranean environments,” explained Andrew Nuss, the Underminer program manager.

DARPA launched Underminer to help the Department of Defense utilize tunneling capabilities that are already present in the U.S. commercial market.

President Biden and his wife Jill Biden attended the commissioning of USS Delaware, a fast attack submarine carrying the name of the state that the President formerly represented as a senator, DOD News reported Saturday.

The ceremony took place the same day in Wilmington, Delaware, in a non-traditional fashion due to COVID-19 restrictions. The vessel remained submerged during the commissioning.

“I’ve seen the heart of this crew and it makes me proud and humbled to be your shipmate for life,” said First Lady Jill Biden, who also serves as the submarine’s ship sponsor.

As a Block III Virginia-class submarine, USS Delaware features a pair of 87-inch diameter launch tubes with the capability of holding larger payloads. The Navy accepted delivery of the submarine from HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division in October 2019.

Zipline, Flytrex, Alphabet’s Wing subsidiary and other companies have begun launching commercial drone delivery services across the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

San Francisco-based startup Zipline, for instance, uses fixed-wing drones to deliver packages and has authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly its drones provided that each flight operation is monitored remotely or kept in sight.

A spokeswoman for Zipline said the company is working to secure certifications that would allow its unmanned platforms to fly beyond visual line of sight.

In June 2020, Amazon announced that it secured FAA approval to perform tests of its drone delivery systems. The company plans to begin commercial tests in September in Texas and California and intends to run 145 launch stations for such drones and use such vehicles to deliver 500 packages on an annual basis, according to business publication Insider.

A spokeswoman for the FAA said the agency has unveiled plans to facilitate safe autonomous flight operations of drones to support goods delivery.

She noted that FAA announced in February that it would kick off field testing of an air traffic control system for unmanned platforms that fly under 400 feet by the spring of 2022.

Dan Tangherlini, former head of the General Services Administration, and Derek Kan, former deputy director at the Office of Management and Budget, appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday to discuss priorities and how they would oversee reforms at the U.S. Postal Service if confirmed to the USPS’ board of governors, Federal News Network reported.

Some of the priorities discussed are the procurement of more electric vehicles and implementation of a data dashboard designed to monitor the service performance of USPS.

Kan highlighted the need for the agency to have the needed charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

“If we buy 10,000 electric vehicles and we deploy them to Montana, or to some rural parts of the country, there may not be the electrification of the grid to support these vehicles. I think a major pitfall is ensuring that all of the components needed for a procurement are in place,” Kan said.

Tangherlini also mentioned the need for infrastructure.

“The actual cost wasn’t the vehicles itself, but the infrastructure, and then the need to make sure that the service ultimately that you’re responsible for is being delivered. At its core, it doesn’t matter what the vehicle is, as long as the mail is getting to people’s residences,” he said.

Tangherlini shared his thoughts on the data dashboard and its potential benefits to service delivery efforts.

“Creating clear expectations in terms of service delivery, creating clear expectations in terms of even delivering the tools that Congress has given the Postal Service, then, for people to evaluate and see that performance, is a fundamental responsibility of a governor, and should I be confirmed, that will be my highest priority,” he added.

In November 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Tangherlini and Kan to serve on the USPS board of governors.