Army picks Austin startup's drone-killer for frontline deployment
Allen Control Systems won a $1.5M Army contract plus South Korea and UAE deals to scale Bullfrog, an autonomous weapon station that costs $10 per kill and requires zero emissions to detect targets.
US Desalination, IDE Technologies Launch $1B Texas Plant
US Desalination and IDE Technologies announced a $1 billion seawater desalination plant for South Texas that will produce 50 million gallons daily, marking the largest privately financed U.S. water infrastructure bet in a decade.
Army Funds Three Autonomy Startups to Field Combat Vehicles by May
The U.S. Army awarded $15.5M in OTA agreements to Forterra, Overland AI, and Scout AI to integrate commercial autonomy onto Infantry Support Vehicles for soldier evaluation in May 2026—a live-fire test that will determine which startup gets the production contract.
Pentagon Locks Maven to Army, Sets Sept 30 Deadline for Program Status
Deputy SecDef Feinberg's March 9 directive to make Palantir's Maven Smart System an official DoD program of record is now confirmed across four combatant commands, with a Sept 30 hard deadline that experts call aggressive and a $10B Army backstop contract already in place.
Army Orders Ghost-X Drones With Named Sensor Payload, $16.8M
The U.S. Army awarded Anduril Industries a $16.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for Ghost-X small drones paired with Trillium HD45LP imaging payloads, signaling the platform's shift from directed requirement to production procurement.
Corpus Christi votes on $978.8M seawater desalination plant this month
Corpus Christi City Council is poised to approve a final design-build contract for a $978.8M seawater desalination plant by Acciona Agua and MasTec, needed by November 2026 to avoid a Level 1 water emergency—marking the largest water infrastructure commitment in South Texas in a generation.