Defense News in Brief: Events Marking 80th Commemoration of End of World War II Offer Time for Reflection, Gratitude

Source: United States Navy

Access to Ford Island and other areas on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickman are usually off limits to the general public, but from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, Hawaii residents had an opportunity to visit the base to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The open base event included ceremonies and activities on Ford Island, at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum and on the Battleship Missouri Memorial.

Defense News in Brief: Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC)

Source: United States Navy

The Navy is experimenting with the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) which are small unmanned surface vehicles in support of naval operations. This craft provides additional warfighting capabilities to the Fleet, augmenting the traditional combatant force with autonomous systems. To provide this capability to the Fleet, the Navy leveraged rapid procurement avenues such as Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT), which provides funding to small, non-traditional businesses to support the warfighter with advanced technology. The Navy has accepted all GARCs that were awarded through APFIT.  The APFIT GARCs have been used by multiple customers supporting experimentation with various payloads and concepts of employment.