Microsoft Corp. activist employees and supporters were arrested after returning to the company’s headquarters for a second day to demand that the software maker sever business ties with the Israeli military.
The demonstration followed a protest Tuesday, when participants were warned to leave or face trespassing charges — and quickly did so. When protesters gathered again Wednesday afternoon at the Redmond, Washington, headquarters, they set up tents and chanted slogans.
As KPop Demon Hunters continues to grow into a full blown cultural phenomena, Netflix is preparing to put a sing-along version of film into theaters this weekend.
EJAE, the singing voice of Rumi and one of the songwriters responsible for some of the film’s biggest hits, stopped by an advanced screening of the sing-along at Netflix’s Hollywood headquarters Tuesday night. The 33-year-old was met much fanfare from the intimate crowd.
“I’m speechless. This has all been insane. I’ve been crying a lot,” she jokingly told the crowd, which included her Rumi voice actor counterpart Arden Cho, co-director Chris Appelhans and Ken Jeong, who voices Bobby in the film. She thanked the crowd for loving the film on behalf of the entire film.
EJAE, who spent a decade as a K-pop idol trainee, is credited as a co-writer on three of the film’s songs – “How It’s Done,” “Golden” and “Your Idol.” The latter two currently sit at No. 2 and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s no surprise, given EJAE’s experience in the realm of K-pop, having written songs for some of the industry’s biggest talents including Twice, Aespa, Le Sserafim and Red Velvet.
Last week, EJAE and the rest of the fictional girl group Huntrix (Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami round out the vocal cast), ended Alex Warren’s long-running No. 1 streak to take the top spot on the chart. A moment the singer calls “absolutely crazy.”
Before Tuesday night’s screening, EJAE spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the success of “Golden” and its journey to No. 1 and bringing her K-pop knowledge to the film.
What did it feel like hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Golden?”
Hitting No. 1 is absolutely crazy. I cried all day, literally, and the first thing I thought about was me as a kid. I’m just so happy I made little 11-year-old Ejae’s dream come true.
Obviously it’s exciting as a singer to have this song be a success, but what does it mean to you as one of the songwriters?
That’s the part that is so validating. Writing songs is very personal. It can feel like you’re showing people your diary or even melodically or anything. It feels really, really gratifying to have people really connect with something I co-wrote. That song, the melody came out so fast, so it’s so cool seeing people sing it and hearing my voice on the radio is so odd.
What has been the craziest part of this whole journey?
Everything’s been crazy. It’s literally just happening so fast. I think the craziest is truly when I’m on TikTok, and I see a person I don’t know in their house and they’re singing “Golden.” The kids just loving it. That’s just crazy. It’s so interesting.
The voice actors for Huntrix told me that you and the rest of the singers didn’t actually hear their voices before recording.
No.
What was the process like trying to match to a voice you didn’t actually know?
I was on the project for a long time, and I remember when the directors told us that they found Mira, Zoey and Rumi. They were so excited, so I was really curious. I did know generally, talking to the directors, what their voices would be like. It was really cool to see it in the movie and exactly be what I imagined. That was very exciting, and they did an incredible job. Seriously.
What is the one thing that you hope people take away about you after the success of this film?
That I am honestly just so humbled and grateful and honored to have people actually love the songs that I worked hard on. Lots of sleepless nights and allnighters. I’m just really, really grateful.
You’re well versed in the world of K-pop songwriting. Others on the project were as well, but from what I udnerstand you were a bridge into this world. What was it like bringing that experience to the film?
I think the fact that I’m Korean-American, being bilingual, was truly helpful. I did write all the Korean lyrics in the movie except for “Soda Pop.” That was really helpful. When I was writing the “[Hunter’s] Mantra,” knowing the old school Korean kind of speak and being able to weave in Korean and English there seamlessly. I grew up half in the States, half in Korea, so having that knowledge was super key in finding a sound that can work in both ways and also lyrically. I think that was important. Also, me training as a K-pop idol for over a decade was very, very helpful. Just being a K-pop writer myself, I definitely incorporated that knowledge. Interestingly, K-pop is really, really maximalist, so it translated very naturally into cinematic songs and sound. I think those were the two very helpful things I think I brought.
The Schumpeter Project for Competition Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and technology, appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Proposed Decision on its Strategic Market Status (SMS) Investigation Into Apple’s Mobile Platform as part of its enforcement of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act of 2024 (the Act), and specifically the CMA’s provisional view that Apple has SMS in the provision of its mobile platform.
ITIF’s Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy promotes an understanding of antitrust law and economics that is designed to maximize dynamic competition and innovation, with a particular focus on promoting sound antitrust enforcement in the digital economy and other high-tech industries. ITIF draws heavily from the work of the Austrian-American economist Joseph A. Schumpeter, who famously described how competition takes the form of “creative destruction” by large firms that have both the incentive and the ability to engage in risk-taking and research and development which are necessary to drive innovation.
ITIF understands that mobile operating systems, native app distribution, and mobile browser and browser engine are three platforms that constitute core parts of a user’s mobile experience and which, in their own way, connect consumers with various types of content and functionalities.
For the purpose of analyzing competition in a particular market, sometimes a group of otherwise distinguishable offerings are “clustered” together. This may occur for products that many customers prefer purchasing together, or if there are considerable economies of scope that make it considerably more efficient to sell the products together, and if entering into competition with the “cluster” is difficult.[1] These conditions do not appear to be met in this case, and competitive dynamics differ substantially depending on whether one is evaluating mobile or tablet operating systems, app distribution, or mobile browser and browser engine.
ITIF does not agree with the provisional finding that Google poses only a limited competitive constraint on Apple in the mobile space when it comes to competing for end users and content providers given the vigorous competition that occurs between them, and particularly in terms of differentiated platform design and other feature-based competition. Indeed, courts in the United States have explicitly found that Apple competes directly with Google, which is it’s “main competitor.”[2]
Mobile platforms typically benefit from network effects that enhance the value they provide: The more users a particular platform attracts, the more valuable it becomes to application developers seeking to engage with users; conversely, the more developers mobile platform has, the more valuable it becomes to users. As such, a mobile platform that enjoys network effects is not by itself a basis for concern, but merely a feature of how it creates value by connecting users and developers. Indeed, the CMA’s own consumer survey noted that 24 percent of Android users and 15 percent of iOS users considered switching or actually switched to iOS or Android respectively, which is consistent with consumers viewing barriers to entry and other switching costs as not prohibitive. Furthermore, a lack of very high rates of switching does not by itself imply that barriers to entry are high—as the survey acknowledges, consumers are generally satisfied with their smartphones, and thus have little incentive to switch. And even a lack of very high levels of switching concomitant with high prices is consistent with the incumbent-driven innovation and feature competition that helps to explain the high levels of satisfaction consumers enjoy.
Single-brand markets should not be used to assess the competitive constraints on Apple’s mobile platform, including those related to content distribution (e.g., iOS app distribution). Indeed, this was the conclusion reached by courts in the United States which found “no evidence regarding whether consumers unknowingly lock themselves into Apple’s app-distribution and IAP restrictions when they buy iOS devices.”[3] Additionally, users also can and increasingly do get content directly from their mobile browser (e.g., web apps).
Like many digital markets, the mobile space has been defined by innovation and feature competition that tend to limit the prospects for substantial and entrenched power.[4] Going forward, this can include disruption by cloud-based platforms and super apps that act as middleware and circumvent parts of Apple’s mobile ecosystem—as alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice in its lawsuit against Apple.[5] Indeed, with respect to mobile gaming, U.S. courts have found that technological changes are rapidly reshaping the market in a way that is likely to make substantial and entrenched market power difficult to maintain over time.[6]
While ITIF recognizes the critical importance that mobile platforms play in the modern economy, it does not believe Apple enjoys substantial and entrenched market power in its mobile platform. Indeed, substantial and entrenched market power—so defined, dominance or monopoly power—plainly does not exist given the robust competition between Apple and Google for mobile consumers. Indeed, the CMA itself has characterized the mobile ecosystem as a “duopoly,” which is incompatible with any type of monopoly or dominant-fringe market structure. Moreover, with respect to app distribution and browsers, the alternatives mobile consumers have to Apple and Google’s respective solutions are considerable.
In its Roadmap of possible measures to improve competition in mobile ecosystems, the CMA notes that it “will explore the factors likely to be of particular importance for the development of AI services on mobile with a view to considering whether measures are needed such as greater interoperability, and improved choice architecture.” While ITIF broadly agrees with the CMA that AI is likely the most disruptive trend in the mobile space going forward, and additionally submits that AI is already positively disrupting to the mobile status quo, such as through mobile AI chatbots, the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of AI markets belies the existence of any sort of market failure that could justify application of the Act in the foreseeable future.
[1]. See, e.g., Herbert Hovenkamp, Digital Cluster Markets, 2022 Colum. B. L. Rev. 246 (2022)
[2]. Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., 559 F. Supp. 3d 898 (N.D. Cal 2021).
[3]. Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., 67 F. 4th 946, 970 (9th Cir. 2023)
[5]. Complaint, United States v. Apple, Case 2:24-cv-04055 (D.N.J. March 21, 2024).
[6]. Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc., 559 F. Supp. 3d 898, 1032 (N.D. Cal. 2021).
Sony on Wednesday said it is bumping up the price of PlayStation 5 video game consoles by $50 in the United States due to a “challenging economic environment.”
Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump hike the cost of goods brought into the US, leaving companies like Japan’s Sony to decide whether to pass that on to consumers.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president of global marketing Isabelle Tomatis said in a post.
After initially being threatened with a 25 percent hike, Japan negotiated a 15 percent tariff with the Trump administration.
“As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the US.”
The new price for PS5 will be $550, with a “Digital Edition” priced at $500 and a Pro version for $750, according to Tomatis.
In May, Sony warned it was considering tweaking prices in the US, estimating that tariffs could wind up costing the company about $680 million in the fiscal year.
American companies are feeling the crunch, too.
New York-based cosmetics giant Estee Lauder recently estimated the impact of the new tariffs at around $100 million for the 2026 financial year and plans to adjust its prices to offset the additional cost.
US snack giant PepsiCo could increase prices of its soft drinks about 10 percent to mitigate effects of US tariffs, particularly those on imported aluminum used to make soda cans, according to trade magazine Beverage Digest.
Meanwhile, California-based energy drink maker Monster Beverages is considering raising prices due to a “complex and dynamic customs landscape,” according to chief executive Hilton Schlosberg.
The Commerce Department this week said the US broadened its steel and aluminum tariffs, impacting hundreds more products that contain both metals such as child seats, tableware and heavy equipment.
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has imposed tariffs on almost all US trading partners.
Though the impact of Trump’s tariffs on consumer prices has been limited so far, economists warn that their full effects are yet to be seen.
Some businesses have coped by bringing forward purchases of products they expected will encounter tariffs. Others have passed on additional costs to their consumers, or absorbed a part of the fresh tariff burden.
gc-juj/sla
On July 20 and July 23, 2025, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft looked back toward home and captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 290 million km (180 million miles) away. The spacecraft’s twin cameras captured multiple long-exposure pictures of the two bodies, which appear as dots sparkling with reflected sunlight amid a starfield in the constellation of Aries.
Psyche captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 290 million km (180 million miles) away in July 2025, as it calibrated its imager instrument. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU.
Psyche is a NASA mission to study a metal-rich asteroid with the same name, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
This is NASA’s first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice.
Psyche launched October 13, 2023, at 10:19 a.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center.
By August 2029, the spacecraft will begin exploring the asteroid that scientists think — because of its high metal content — may be the partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet.
“The Psyche multispectral imager instrument comprises a pair of identical cameras equipped with filters and telescopic lenses to photograph the asteroid Psyche’s surface in different wavelengths of light,” members of the mission’s science team said in a statement.
“The color and shape of a planetary body’s spectrum can reveal details about what it’s made of.”
“The Moon and the giant asteroid Vesta, for example, have similar kinds of ‘bumps and wiggles’ in their spectra that scientists could potentially also detect at Psyche.”
The scientists are interested in Psyche because it will help them better understand the formation of rocky planets with metallic cores, including Earth.
When choosing targets for the imager testing and calibration, they look for bodies that shine with reflected sunlight, just as the asteroid Psyche does.
They also look at objects that have a spectrum they’re familiar with, so they can compare previous telescopic or spacecraft data from those objects with what Psyche’s instruments observe.
Earlier this year, Psyche turned its lenses toward Jupiter and Mars for calibration — each has a spectrum more reddish than the bluer tones of Earth. That checkout also proved a success.
To determine whether the imager’s performance is changing, the researchers also compare data from the different tests.
That way, when the spacecraft slips into orbit around Psyche, they can be sure that the instrument behaves as expected.
“After this, we may look at Saturn or Vesta to help us continue to test the imagers,” said Dr. Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University.
“We’re sort of collecting solar system ‘trading cards’ from these different bodies and running them through our calibration pipeline to make sure we’re getting the right answers.”
The imager wasn’t the only instrument that got a successful checkout in July 2025.
The mission team also put the spacecraft’s magnetometer and the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer through a gamut of tests — something they do every six months.
“We are up and running, and everything is working well,” said Dr. Bob Mase, the mission’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“We’re on target to fly by Mars in May 2026, and we are accomplishing all of our planned activities for cruise.”
“That flyby is the spacecraft’s next big milestone, when it will use the Red Planet’s gravity as a slingshot to help the spacecraft get to the asteroid Psyche.”
“That will mark Psyche’s first of two planned loops around the Solar System and 1.6 billion km (1 billion miles) since launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in October 2023.”
Former The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels has responded to claims made by co-hosts and other accusers in a new Netflix docuseries, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser.
In a series of Instagram posts, Michaels refutes claims by former cohost Bob Harper and Dr. Robert Huizenga, a sports doctor who worked with series contestants, made against her. The Netflix docuseries, which premiered August 15, alleged in season 15 of the weight loss bootcamp reality series Michaels was caught giving her team caffeine supplements and that caffeine pills violated rules for the show.
In one social media post, Michaels denies she was covertly giving caffeine pills to contestants to maximize workouts, and presents an email chain to claim “Dr. Huizenga did approve caffeine pills on many seasons of Biggest Loser,” while also alleging “Bob Harper not only knew about the caffeine pills, the ‘stackers fat burner’ were actually his suggestion. I wanted to use my brand instead because they were cleaner and had no more than 200mg of caffeine (equivalent to a strong cup of coffee).”
The Biggest Loser ran on NBC for 17 seasons and featured men and women competing to see who could shed the most weight for a cash prize. A 2020 reboot of the series ran on sister channel USA Network for one season.
Michaels was not interviewed for the Netflix docuseries. In another post, she looked to refute “the allegation that I restricted contestants from eating enough calories” by presenting a December 2010 email to season 11 winner Olivia Ward (who is interviewed in the Netflix docuseries). In it, Michaels claims while Ward was on a break during filming, “I explicitly instructed her to consume 1,600 calories per day.”
“Additionally, the two other emails posted here are standard communications with the show’s producers and medical staff, emphasizing the ongoing priority of ensuring contestants were adequately nourished and the need to provide a steady supply of fresh food in the BL house to guarantee ready access to calories,” Michaels asserted in her social media post.
The Netflix docuseries claimed the season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson, who began the reality show at 260 pounds and weighed in at just 105 pounds at the finale, was evidence that the controversial series had gone too far as contestants chased weight loss.
To that claim, Michaels argued on Instagram, writing, “Not only did I never once get the opportunity to personally work with Rachel Frederickson in any capacity — I raised serious concerns both publicly and to NBC directly about contestant health and the condition of Rachel in particular at BL’s Season 15 finale. In response, I received a direct email from Paul Telegdy, then-chairman of NBC Entertainment. In that email, he made clear that if I did not publicly condone the appearance of contestant Rachel Frederickson at the show’s finale, NBC would pursue legal action against me. I resigned from The Biggest Loser shortly thereafter.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Netflix and Michaels for comment.
EXCLUSIVE: Omid Abtahi (American Gods, The Mandalorian) has joined the recurring cast of Prime Video‘s new biblical drama Joseph of Egypt, from writer and executive producer Craig Wright.
The 8-episode limited series, led by Adam Hashmi in the titular role, is currently in production in New Mexico. Joseph of Egypt is co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and The Chosen creator Dallas Jenkins‘ 5&2 Studios.
Joseph of Egypt tells the Old Testament story about Joseph, who, betrayed by jealous brothers, defies all expectations and rises to incredible power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. But when his past catches up with him, he is confronted with the ultimate test.
Abtahi will portray Ankuh.
The cast also includes Alexander Siddig as Jacob, Babak Tafti as Simeon, Daniel Peera as Reuben, and Iris Bahr as Leah. Recurring cast members are Dakota Shapiro as Ashur, Tannaz Shastiri as Eliuram, Ruben Vernier as Gad, Amir Malaklou as Judah, Moran Atias as Bilhah, Necar Zadegan as Zilapah, Matisse Ratron-Neal as Issachar, Shani Atias as Rachel, and Siya Maleki as Levi.
Wright serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. The Chosen‘s Jenkins is executive producing under his 5&2 Studios banner; he currently has a multi-faceted first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios. The deal gave Prime Video streaming rights to the first five seasons of The Chosen and the new unscripted series The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls.
Abtahi began his career working as a series regular on FX’s Over There. His list of TV credits includes regular and recurring roles on Showtime’s Emmy-winning Homeland, A&E’s Damien, FOX’s 24, and Showtime’s Sleeper Cell. Most recently, he was a series regular on Starz’s American Gods and has had recurring roles on AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, Disney+’s The Mandalorian, and Amazon’s The Boys.
His film credits include the fourth installment of The Hunger Games franchise, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring opposite Jennifer Lawrence. He also made notable appearances in the 2012 Oscar Award-winning film Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, Brothers, directed by Jim Sheridan, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, directed by Rawson M. Thurber. Abtahi is repped by Greene Talent.
NEW YORK: The US Navy’s push to develop a fleet of sea drones has stalled after a string of failed tests. Designed to showcase the Pentagon’s top autonomous drone boats, the project’s trial runs off the California coast last month ended with crashes and software glitches, casting doubt on the Navy’s ability to bring the new technology into service.
As officials scrambled to fix a software glitch, another drone vessel smashed into the idling boat’s starboard side, vaulted over the deck, and crashed back into the water – an incident captured in videos obtained by Reuters.
The previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by US defence tech rivals Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon’s push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels, according to a dozen people familiar with the programme.
Weeks earlier, during a separate Navy test, the captain of a support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea vessel it was towing suddenly accelerated, capsizing the support boat, according to four people familiar with the matter. The captain was rescued and declined medical attention. The incident was first reported by Defence Scoop.
Both incidents stemmed from a combination of software failures and human error, including breakdowns in communication between onboard systems and external autonomous software, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity to share sensitive information.
The Navy, Saronic and BlackSea declined to comment on the incidents.
The videos showing the drone crash were verified by two Reuters sources, the landscape matching terrain imagery, the GARC-096 name ID and the structure of the boat matching file imagery of Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC).
US military leaders, seeing the outsized impact of maritime drones in the Ukraine war, have repeatedly said they need autonomous swarms of aerial and maritime drones to hinder a potential advance by China across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan itself has begun acquiring its maritime drones.
The drones being developed in Ukraine, which often look like speedboats without seats, and are capable of carrying weapons, explosives and surveillance equipment, are primarily remote-controlled and cost close to $250,000 – making them optimal for kamikaze missions that have effectively neutralised Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The US, meanwhile, is aiming to build an autonomous naval fleet that can move in swarms and without human command – a more ambitious task at a higher price point; as much as a few million dollars per speedboat.
The recent test failures highlight the challenges facing the Navy’s effort to deploy the nascent technologies, said Bryan Clark, an autonomous warfare expert at the Hudson Institute. It will need to adapt its “tactics as it better understands what the systems can do and what they can’t do.”
But the Navy’s problems go beyond getting the boats to work: its autonomous maritime drone acquisition unit has also been rocked by the firing of its top admiral, and a top Pentagon official voiced concerns about the programme in a candid meeting with Navy brass last month, Reuters found.
Since the most recent incident, the Pentagon’s Defence Innovation Unit (DIU), which had acquired technology for the tests, has indefinitely paused a contract valued close to $20 million with L3Harris, one of the companies providing autonomous software used to control some of the vessels, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the cause of the accidents or the L3Harris contract being paused, which has not been previously reported.
A Pentagon spokesperson said it conducted drone tests as part of a “competitive and iterative approach, between operators and industry.”
L3Harris declined to comment on the contract and directed questions to the DIU. The DIU declined to comment.
“L3Harris stands behind the safety, integrity and capability of our autonomy command-and-control product,” said Toby Magsig, who oversees L3Harris’ autonomous software products.
To accelerate its drone effort, the Pentagon in 2023 launched the $1 billion Replicator programme, through which branches like the US Navy and the DIU planned to acquire thousands of aerial and maritime drones, along with the software to control them. The first systems from this programme are due to be announced this month.
The Navy has committed at least $160 million to BlackSea, which is producing dozens of its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft boats a month, according to procurement records.
Saronic, which was recently valued at $4 billion in a funding round backed by Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC, makes the competitive sea drone Corsair, but has yet to announce a major contract. Federal procurement records show the company has generated at least $20 million from prototype agreements.
“These systems will play a critical role in the future of naval warfare by extending fleet reach, improving situational awareness, and increasing combat effectiveness,” acting chief of naval operations Jim Kilby said during a visit to BlackSea’s facility in June.
Since returning to the office, President Donald Trump has made fielding swarms of drones a top military priority. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last month included almost $5 billion for maritime autonomous systems.
But, so far, the Navy’s approach has faced scepticism under the new administration.
In April, the Navy’s key drone boat procurement unit – known as Programme Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) – touted a successful demonstration of the software used to control BlackSea’s vessels in a post on LinkedIn, hailing it as “a major step forward in advancing #maritime autonomy.”
In response, Colin Carroll, then-chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defence Steven Feinberg, suggested the programme was duplicating other efforts within the Pentagon. “I have a feeling that there are changes in this programme’s future,” he replied to the LinkedIn post. Carroll, who is no longer with the Pentagon, declined to comment further.
The PEO USC was recently placed under review, according to four people familiar with the matter, due to a series of setbacks, and could be restructured or shut down.
This comes two months after the Navy said it had sacked the unit’s leader, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, due to a loss of confidence in his leadership after the Naval Inspector General substantiated a complaint against him. Reuters was unable to contact Smith.
During a meeting last month, Feinberg grilled Navy officials about their autonomous vessel capabilities, including those being fielded by the PEO USC, according to three people briefed on the meeting. Feinberg was unimpressed by some of the capabilities being acquired by the Navy and questioned whether they were cost-effective, the people said.
A Pentagon spokesperson said, “We’re not going to comment on private internal meetings” and directed questions about PEO USC to the Navy.
The Navy declined to comment on the meeting or the acquisition unit being put under review. Spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said the PEO USC stands by its mission, including its role as acquisition authority for the maintenance and modernisation of unmanned maritime systems.
The turmoil comes as shipbuilders and software providers are angling to secure even larger autonomous maritime projects, such as unmanned submarines and cargo-carrying ships.
Last week, the PEO USC started accepting proposals for the Modular Attack Surface Craft to acquire medium and large vessels capable of carrying containers, surveillance equipment, and conducting strikes.
TX Hammes, an autonomous weapons expert and Atlantic Council fellow, said the Navy is in uncharted waters, trying to overhaul decades of tradition at high speed.
“You’ve got a system that’s used to building big things, taking years to make a decision, and now suddenly you’re asking them to move fast,” he said.