NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force’s top civilian is unsatisfied with existing hypersonic weapons programs and isn’t sure whether the weapons under development will meet the service’s needs, he said on Monday. Although the Air Force’s work on hypersonic weapons is progressing, it’s not moving fast enough, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference. On top of that, the service has not laid out in enough detail which missions will call for the use of hypersonic weapons, how to fit them into operations and whether the technologies in development […]
Defense
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WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee is considering requiring the U.S. Navy to better defend its requests to retire ships before the end of their expected service lives. In the full text of its Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, released Sept. 22 after being passed by the committee on July 22, SASC would allow the Navy to retire ships early only if the secretary of the Navy signs a waiver certifying that: ‘’(A) maintaining the battle force ship in a reduced operating status is not feasible; (B) maintaining the ship with reduced capability is not feasible; (C) maintaining […]
WASHINGTON ― Senate Democrats are discussing whether to pair new funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system with aid for the Palestinians after $1 billon for the system was cut from a stopgap spending patch that passed the House on Tuesday. Sen. Chris Murphy, a progressive Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he wants to link the Palestinian aid with funds to replenish Iron Dome after Israeli forces used it against rocket attacks by Hamas in May. President Joe Biden has requested Congress appropriate the funding. “I think a way forward here is to get the Iron Dome funding […]
STUTTGART, Germany — The French ministry of defense is pouring billions of euros into critical technologies and new equipment in 2022, as it sets its sights on a future battlefield dominated by advanced platforms, cyber defenses and space-based capabilities. The budget, released Sept. 22, includes €40.9 billion [$49 billion] and reflects the nation’s commitment to increase its defense funds by €1.7 billion [$2 billion] year over year since 2019. That yearly increase is a key component of the ministry’s 2019-2025 military program law; in 2021, the ministry allocated €39.2 billion to its military forces. For the fourth year in a row, […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force’s next-generation missile warning constellation will likely be delayed, pushing the launch of the first satellite beyond its anticipated 2025 launch date, according to a Sept. 22 Government Accountability Office report. The Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared constellation is being built to augment and eventually replace the Space Based Infrared System as the Department of Defense’s main missile warning satellite program. Like SBIRS, the Next Gen OPIR, which was initiated in 2018, will use a combination of infrared sensors in geostationary orbit and highly elliptical polar orbits to detect missiles all over the globe. The Space […]
WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman said it successfully demonstrated interoperability during a recent test of a new electronic warfare system meant for F-16s. During the Northern Lightning Air Force exercise, which took place in August at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, aboard a Canadair Regional Jet, the company says it tested using the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar, which the company is providing to the Air Force, and what it is calling the Next Generation Electronic Warfare System, an ultrawideband system that detects the radio frequency environment to decide which signals to jam. Company officials said it’s critical both aircraft subsystems […]
BEIRUT — The United Arab Emirates and the U.K. recently signed a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence that would see the transfer of related knowledge, investment and standards. And the next day saw the UAE’s Tawazun Economic Council sign a memo with the U.K. Ministry of Defence to strengthen cooperation in defense-related research and development. On Sept. 16, Mohamed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the U.K., when the two parties launched a “Partnership for the Future” between the two nations, which involved […]
WASHINGTON – France’s rage over its abrupt sidelining by an Australian-British-US defense pact is drawing fresh attention to nascent European Union cooperation programs designed to build bridges across the Atlantic and the English Channel. As a player in several so-called PESCO programs, Paris has veto power when it comes to allowing non-EU members, like the United States, into the framework for increased defense collaboration. Additionally, the kerfuffle could affect planned cross-border programs, including a new European battle tank. There are no indications yet French officials intend to block — actively, or by way of prolonging decisions — the kind of defense […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown’s directive to airmen to “accelerate change or lose” is gaining momentum after a year in practice, but the work to revamp the service’s culture has only just begun. The Air Force’s top officer announced his overarching vision for a more flexible and capable force upon starting the job in August 2020. Four months later, he unveiled a set of directives intended to spur change in four areas over the next few years: empowering airmen; shrinking bureaucracy; global competition, and future force design. “Some things are going better than […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A contract award for new engines for the venerable B-52 bomber is “imminent” and could occur as early as this month, the U.S. Air Force’s top acquisition officials said Tuesday. The service is set to decide whether General Electric, Rolls-Royce or Pratt & Whitney will produce modified commercial engines to outfit the B-52, which is set to fly through at least 2050. “We’re starting to wrap that work up. It shouldn’t be much longer,” said Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, the Air Force’s top uniformed officer for acquisition. Darlene Costello, the service’s acting acquisition executive, said the source […]
WASHINGTON― House progressives will have a few chances to hold down the defense budget this week, but it’s going to be an uphill fight. The House is set to vote this week on two Democratic amendments to cut the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act’s $740 billion top line. One would reduce it by roughly 10 percent, and another would undo a $24 billion a plus-up the House Armed Services Committee passed earlier this month. Key Republicans have warned that cutting the NDAA would cost their support, which Democrats likely need to pass the bill. When the House Rules Committee met […]
WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden will nominate Douglas Bush, a former lead House Armed Services Committee staffer, as the Army’s acquisition chief, the White House announced Tuesday. Biden will also nominate for Pentagon general counsel Carrie Ricci, a former member of the independent review panel studying sexual assault and harassment problems at Fort Hood, Texas. Biden is tapping Ashish Vazirani, the former chief executive of the National Military Family Association, to be the Pentagon’s deputy personnel chief. If confirmed by the Senate, Bush would become assistant Army secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics several years into the service’s ambitious modernization strategy. […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Air Force’s information warfare entity is focusing more attention toward defending weapon systems from adversary probes. Enemies have begun to be more active below the threshold of war, using cyber and digital capabilities to conduct espionage against military and non-military targets while also accessing sensitive systems to disrupt them or sow doubt among users. For 16th Air Force — the Air Force’s main information warfare entity that fuses cyber; information operations; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; and weather capabilities — defending these systems from digital intrusions is about producing intelligence. “How do we generate the […]
MERSIN, Turkey — Turkish engine-developer Kale R&D has completed the first deliveries of the KTJ-3200, the country’s first indigenous turbojet engine, which will power the homemade standoff missile and Atmaca anti-ship missile, the company confirmed to Defense News on Tuesday. One KTJ-3200 was sent to Tubitak Sage for the standoff missile, and another was delivered to Roketsan for the Atmaca. The first standoff cruise missiles to be equipped with the KTJ-3200 are expected to be fired in 2022. A contract for the serial production of the KTJ-3200 engine was signed in Istanbul during the International Defence Industry Fair, which took place […]
LONDON – Progress on the development of a new cruise missile for the British and French militaries could become a victim in the row over the nuclear submarine pact announced by Australia, the U.S. and U.K. last week. France has canceled a meeting set to start Sept. 23 between its Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly and British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace as part of its retaliation protesting the creation of a trilateral defense pact to equip Australia with nuclear submarines. That deal saw France’s Naval Group suddenly frozen out of a $66 billion contract to supply conventionally-powered boats to Canberra. High […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has criticized a U.S. decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and threatened unspecified countermeasures if it finds the deal affects its security. State media on Monday published comments from an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry official who called the arrangement between U.S., Britain and Australia an “extremely” dangerous move that would destroy the security balance in the Asia-Pacific. The official said it would set off a nuclear arms race. The official said the North was closely examining the deal and would proceed accordingly if it has “even a little adverse impact on the […]
WASHINGTON ― Lawmakers have proposed $6.3 billion in emergency funding to resettle Afghan refugees, $1 billion for the Iron Dome air defense system and other Pentagon-friendly provisions in a stopgap government funding bill to avoid a government shutdown after Sept. 30. House Democrats offered a continuing resolution through Dec. 3 with a marquee provision to support Afghan evacuees. It would pay to temporarily house evacuees at American facilities overseas as well as screen them and resettle eligible evacuees in the U.S., a summary read. The bill would also require a report on the disposition of property, equipment and supplies that were […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The head of the U.S. Space Force said the new service has successfully put the various space organizations in the Department of Defense and beyond on the same page, ensuring they are avoiding duplication and working together. “For the first time ever, everybody’s rowing in the same direction,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond on Sept. 21 at the 2021 Air Space & Cyber conference. “It’s going to pay a huge advantage to our nation to reduce duplication, reduce costs and increase our ability to go fast.” Key to that effort are two recent developments: […]
A major overhaul to the Air Force’s officer promotion system last year has improved diversity and bolstered readiness, with more updates planned in the next six months. The service is moving toward a system that incentivizes a baseline set of leadership qualities as well as the skills and tasks that spell success in each profession, rather than judging all airmen on accomplishments most often garnered by pilots and other frontline troops. Air Force leaders argue that personnel management updates will better prepare the service to compete with other global powers like China and Russia. But the changes have workplace merit, too, […]
Enlisted Space Force troops on Monday got a peek at the new insignia that will soon adorn their sleeves after leadership sought feedback on multiple options earlier in the year. In the end, the service rolled out a set of six-sided emblems that become more elaborate as a guardian rises through the ranks. “The delta is the foundation for all USSF enlisted insignia,” according to a fact sheet Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger Towberman shared on Facebook Sept. 20. “The six-sided border surrounding the insignia represents the USSF as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces.” RELATED […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. 5th Fleet is beginning the inaugural Central Partnership Station exercise in Lebanon, meant to marry partner-building military training with humanitarian work in U.S. Central Command. The exercise, which mirrors the partnership station series that have been conducted in U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, will grow the Lebanese Armed Forces’ ability to conduct missions like mine countermeasures, naval construction and disaster-related public health activities, as well as deliver goods like baby formula to the Middle East partner nation, 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Tim Hawkins told Defense News. Expeditionary fast transport (EPF) Choctaw County arrived […]
WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency has approved design plans for its new missile warning satellites, which will be capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons. L3Harris Technologies announced Sept. 20 that the agency had completed preliminary design review of their satellites, marking an important milestone as the company prepares for production of the spacecraft. L3Harris will continue development of the missile warning satellites as it works toward critical design review. “We’ve worked closely with SDA to ensure our design taps proven technology that can scale to address the changing mission,” said L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems President Ed Zoiss in […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force has five B-21 Raider bombers currently in various states of production at manufacturer Northrop Grumman’s plant in California, the service’s top civilian said on Monday. “We have been living off of bomber fleet investments made many decades ago, but that is rapidly changing,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told the audience at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference here. “As I speak there are now five test aircraft being manufactured on the B-21 production line at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California,” he said. “You will never hear me […]
Air Force Special Operations Command plans to demonstrate an amphibious version of the MC-130J Hercules by the end of next year, AFSOC’s commander told reporters Monday morning at the Air Force Association convention. “I can say with certainty that our plan is to conduct a demo by the 31st of December next year.,” AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said in a roundtable with media on Sept. 20. Slife emphasized that a flying demo would most likely feature a single aircraft and would be aimed at validating digitally engineered models that the program has run so far on the aircraft’s capabilities. […]
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — As the Air Force looks to mature its information warfare organization and posture, it is beginning to experiment with how to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in disconnected and disaggregated environments. Unlike the last 20 years, the U.S. military expects every aspect of its operations ― including the flow of data and information — to be stressed by high-tech adversaries. “We certainly originally built in a peace time environment to move all that data back to the United States and then push intelligence product forward. We’re not going to have that luxury,” Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander […]
WASHINGTON — Kaman is unveiling this week a medium-lift unmanned quadcopter meant to solve the biggest challenge to the Marine Corps’ expeditionary advanced base operations concept: resupplying small units of Marines scattered around island chains. Kaman’s KARGO unmanned aerial vehicle has been designed from scratch over the past nine months to meet the Marines’ needs for an Unmanned Logistics Systems-Air (ULS-A) medium-lift vehicle for the distributed laydown the Marines expect will be the hallmark of their operations in the future in places like the Pacific, the Baltic Sea or other contested areas. Ian Walsh, president and chief executive of Kaman, told […]
WASHINGTON — Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Monday used his first public speech to send a message to Congress: The aircraft in your district are not exempt from the retirements the Air Force must do to free up funds for next-generation planes, drones and weapons. “I have one request of the Congress: help us to focus on the one fight — the strategic competitive fight — we must win,” Kendall said during a speech at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference. “We will not succeed against a well-resourced and strategic competitor if we insist on keeping every […]
Leading Air Force, Space Force and defense industry officials have descended on National Harbor to solve the current and potential challenges facing the aerospace and cyber communities. Source link
WASHINGTON ― The new federal vaccine requirement announced by President Joe Biden has fueled questions from employers, including defense contractors, about how the mandate will work and whether they could lose employees as a result. To slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden announced this month sweeping new orders that require employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccinations or offer weekly testing. He also is mandating shots for executive branch workers and federal contractors — with no testing opt-out. The new requirements could cover as many as 100 million Americans. In public, defense firms have been walking a […]
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who took over as the department’s top civilian official July 28, contends his cold warrior mindset will serve the Air Force and Space Force well as they turn their focus to beating China and Russia in the 21st-century global influence wars. He’ll also have to contend with the effects of withdrawing from America’s longtime involvement in the Middle East, and face the myriad social issues plaguing a stressed force. The former Pentagon acquisition boss will also shepherd the Air Force and Space Force through the congressional budgeting process that could stymie the services’ plans for change. […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s first Multidomain Task Force was activated on Sept. 16, but the new unit has already cut its teeth in the theater at a long-range, precision-fires exercise in Norway, where officials experimented with high-altitude balloons for targeting, the new task force’s commander told Defense News. At the first-ever Thunder Cloud exercise in Adenes, Norway, beginning Sept. 9 and wrapping up Sept. 20, the task force and the 41st Field Artillery Brigade exercised an entire sensor-to-shooter operation showcasing shooter targeting and strike capabilities. The 2nd Signals Brigade also participated in the exercise, bringing network and communications […]
MELBOURNE, Australia — China has lashed out at plans by Australia to forge a closer alliance with the United States and the United Kingdom, which includes the sharing of nuclear-powered submarine technology. But other Indo-Pacific nations are reacting more cautiously. Speaking during a news conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the nuclear-powered submarine cooperation “has seriously undermined regional peace and stability, intensified the arms race and undermined international nonproliferation efforts.” He also said the trilateral security agreement serves as evidence that the U.S. and U.K. are using nuclear technology for geopolitical gain, calling it the adoption of a double […]
WASHINGTON — In a future war against a technologically advanced peer like China or Russia, U.S. Air Force special operations forces will need aircraft that is faster, more survivable and capable of traversing longer ranges than the aircraft currently available, while still being able to launch from austere locations without a runway. The answer to the problem, according to Maj. Gen. David A. Harris, the Air Force’s director of innovation and integration, might be found in the nascent high-speed vertical takeoff and lift aircraft being developed by industry. “If you look at the time and distance problem that [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command] […]
WASHINGTON — Congress is keen to support Ukraine as the country tries to fill an air and missile defense capability, and lawmakers want to know how the Pentagon can help the ally. The House Armed Services Committee, in its markup of the fiscal 2022 defense policy bill, said the U.S. “remains a steadfast partner of Ukraine and it is in the United States national security interest [to] assist the Government of Ukraine in countering Russian military aggression.” Should the language become law, the committee is giving the Pentagon 90 days following enactment of the legislation to deliver a report on options […]
If you take a look at a World War II-era cockpit, you’ll see a range of measures on how the aircraft is doing. Fuel? Check Altitude? Check Speed? Check An assortment of warnings and signals of all kinds are on display. That was nearly 80 years ago and before handheld digital computers. Still, nothing quite like an informative dashboard exists for knowing how a soldier or Marine — or even how their squad — is doing. An Army program called MASTR-E, or Measuring and Advancing Soldier Tactical Readiness and Effectiveness, is trying to create a human dashboard. The program wants to […]
LONDON — Britain’s upcoming ships could feature new hulls and redesigned propellers and fins, as the Royal Navy races to play its part to build a more sustainable force over the next three decades. Last March, the U.K. Ministry of Defence published a new roadmap with a target deadline of 2050 to ensure its vast enterprise is as efficient, resilient, and environmentally friendly as possible in the face of global climate change. For the navy, that means building ships faster and more efficiently, with “greener” technologies and with an eye on cost by using off-the-shelf products as much as possible, officials said […]
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin on Friday unveiled the LMXT aerial refueling tanker, which will go head-to-head with Boeing’s incumbent KC-46 in the U.S. Air Force’s upcoming bridge tanker competition. The LMXT is a variant of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport, modified specifically for U.S. Air Force operators. Changes include an upgraded suite of communications for joint all-domain command and control as well as improvements to range and fuel-offload capability. “Lockheed Martin has a long and successful track record of producing aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, and we understand the critical role tankers play in ensuring America’s total mission […]
Roughly 300 U.S. soldiers will join approximately 6,000 troops from 12 nations participating in an annual multinational training exercise in Ukraine later this month. Rapid Trident 21 will take place from Sept. 20 through Oct. 1 and will prepare personnel from allied and partner nations for crisis response, according to a news release from U.S. Army Europe and Africa command. Last year’s exercise only involved 4,100 personnel. Soldiers from the Washington Army National Guard’s 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team have been deployed in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine since April. They’ll be joined by 150 other Army representatives who […]
Each time the world’s most powerful country admits some degree of failure, it is inevitable that such a decision will have sweeping — and lasting — consequences. The United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending a two-decades-long presence, will be no exception. The decision undoubtedly sets a dangerous precedent for the future. The Afghanistan withdrawal — and abandonment of the Afghanistan government and civilians to the Taliban’s onslaught — has been publicly justified as a means for the United States to focus on other arenas of concern, namely great power competition with China in the Indo-Pacific region. While China might indeed be […]
LONDON – British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace admitted if he were French he would be extremely disappointed over the Australian decision to ax a $65 billion deal with Naval Group to build diesel electric-submarines, but he said the move was done for strategic, not industrial, reasons. “I understand Frances’s disappointment at the cancellation of the diesel-electric deal,” Wallace said at the DSEI defense exhibit here on Sept. 16. “It was a big deal, done in 2016. I would be deeply disappointed on behalf of the industry I represent, of course I would, but fundamentally this is about Australia changing its capability […]
LONDON – MBDA and BAE Systems have secured additional funding from the British and Italian governments to complete integration of key weapon systems destined to add capability to their F-35 combat jet fleets, the companies announced Sept 17. The cash injection will see MBDA’s SPEAR precision surface attack missile and Meteor air-to-air weapon integrated on the aircraft. The weapons will join Raytheon UK’s Paveway IV precision-guided bomb and the MBDA ASRAAM short-range, anti-air weapon as British weapons integrated on the F-35. The Royal Air Force has selected the Spear and Meteor weapons for fitting to their F-35 fleet, while the Italian […]
President Joe Biden on Thursday said he intends to nominate Nickolas Guertin to serve as director of operational test and evaluation at the Department of Defense. Guertin is a senior software systems engineer at Carnegie Mellon University with both military and civilian experience in areas like submarine operations weapons testing, combat management and cyber-physical systems. The White House also said Biden will nominate current acting DoD chief information officer, John Sherman, to take up the permanent post. Jessie Bur covers federal IT and management. Source link
WASHINGTON — The British Army is leaning heavily into robotics, artificial intelligence and hybrid-power technology as part of a new acquisition process dubbed Mercury, according to a British Army leader involved in future procurement planning. The Army is grappling with how to acquire technologies that it believes it will need in the future, how to spiral in those technologies across its equipment programs and how to cultivate skills in its soldiers to use capabilities as they come online, Col. Christopher Coton, the service’s assistant head for concepts, said at the DSEI defense exhibition in London on Sept. 15. Driving innovation to […]
WASHINGTON — The British Army is crafting its new Land Industrial Base Strategy, meant to move the service toward a more collaborative relationship with industry as it develops a force capable of fighting on the future battlefield, according to Col. Tobias Lambert, the British Army’s assistant head of industrial strategy. “The challenge for me is working out how we grease the wheels of the machinery that allows us to work in concert from strategic planning … through the delivery and through life [cycle] management of our capabilities, through how we partner internationally, work collaboratively and do exports,” Lambert said at the […]
WASHINGTON — L3Harris Technologies has filed suit Sept. 7 in the Court of Federal Claims protesting a decision by the Government Accountability Office requiring the Navy to potentially reopen discussion and request revised proposals for the next increment of a powerful airborne jammer. The Aug. 18 GAO decision sided with Northrop Grumman, who alleged the Navy failed to consider the impact of a potential conflict of interest for a Navy employee that developed specifications for the system in question — the Next Generation Jammer Mid Band pod — while simultaneously negotiating for employment with L3Harris during the solicitation. The decision agreed […]
WASHINGTON — The Air Force Research Laboratory is marking the next step in the development of its space-related infrastructure at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, beginning construction on a facility dedicated to simulation and analysis last week. The $6 million, 10,685-square-foot Wargaming and Advanced Research Simulation (WARS) Laboratory will house wargaming and simulation branches for both the directed energy and space vehicles directorates. “We in the Department of Defense are concerned about competition with our adversaries across all domains of warfighting,” said Space Vehicles Directorate head Col. Eric Felt in a Sept. 15 statement. “The WARS Lab will advance […]
WASHINGTON — American defense company Lockheed Martin is continuing to update its bid to build the Hellenic Navy’s new frigates and modernize its current ones, with Greece set to choose a path forward for its surface fleet by the end of the year. Greece has asked for a three-part solution to modernize its surface fleet amid increases in Russian submarine presence in the Mediterranean Sea, migration from Africa across the sea and tension with neighboring Turkey. The Hellenic Navy wants to buy four new frigates, modernize the combat capability of its four current Hydra-class MEKO 200 frigates and receive some kind […]
LONDON — British defense analysts have access to more data and information sources than ever before, but are desperate for mature automation tools to properly sift through them all, said the nation’s top intelligence officer. The U.K.’s defense intelligence arm has “ambitious plans” to increase the use of automation systems across its enterprise, and relieve its human analysts of performing repetitive tasks, said British Army Lt. Gen. James Hockenhull, chief of defense intelligence. “Open source intelligence and automation together will fundamentally change how intelligence operates,” he said Thursday at the biennial DSEI conference. “We’re going to need access to data of […]
LONDON — L3Harris Technologies is providing robots to the U.S. Air Force to replace the service’s aging explosive ordnance disposal systems. The award, announced by the company on Tuesday, includes a 10-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth $85 million to build up to 170 of its T7 robots for the Air Force. In addition to the robots, the contract includes support, maintenance and training. Initial deliveries are expected in 2022. L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation completed their merger in July 1, 2019. The latter first displayed the T7 robot at the Association for the U.S. Army’s annual conference in 2016 in Washington, […]
MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian government has established a Future Nuclear Submarine Task Force which will work with U.K. and U.S. counterparts over the next twelve to eighteen months to determine the best way to acquire the boats. While a specific type of nuclear submarine is yet to be determined, likely candidates would appear to be either Britain’s Astute-class attack submarine or the U.S. Virginia-class vessel. Construction is slated to take place locally at Osborne in South Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson jointly announced the formation of a new tripartite […]
WASHINGTON — Austal USA said this week its board has promoted Rusty Murdaugh to president of the shipbuilding company. Murdaugh joined Austal USA in 2017 as chief financial officer. He has been serving as interim president since February, when Craig Perciavalle resigned. Murdaugh previously served in executive positions at Esterline, Avnet, United Technologies Corporation and Honeywell. Austal USA said Murdaugh, as interim president, “aggressively led the addition of steel shipbuilding to the Austal USA manufacturing operations and led the company’s facility expansion in Mobile by acquiring additional waterfront and services capability on the Mobile River.” The Austal USA shipyard in Alabama […]
MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian government has established a Future Nuclear Submarine Task Force which will work with U.K. and U.S. counterparts over the next twelve to eighteen months to determine the best way to acquire the boats. While a specific type of nuclear submarine is yet to be determined, likely candidates would appear to be either Britain’s Astute-class attack submarine or the U.S. Virginia-class vessel. Construction is slated to take place locally at Osborne in South Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson jointly announced the formation of a new tripartite […]
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department could be ready to jump into a performance-based logistics contract with Lockheed Martin to sustain the F-35 as soon as its recently inked agreement expires in fiscal 2023, the Pentagon’s program executive said Wednesday. But it will come with strings attached — namely the handover of critical technical data that will make it easier for the department to do the maintenance itself if Lockheed fails to deliver on its promises. “We’re using really the incentive of the PBL to help us get decent pricing on the tech data required [for the services to do more sustainment […]
Rivalry with China and Russia, as well as external events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, pose serious risks to the integrity and availability of the U.S. Defense Department’s critical supplies. The department is seized with concern about supply chain risk management, or SCRM — as it should be — but its approach is subscale, fragmented, resource-inefficient and too narrowly focused. This must change, and Congress must help. Despite the fact that SCRM is a hot topic that has received priority attention from presidential administrations, the department lacks a comprehensive SCRM strategy. Unfortunately, beyond a few high-profile supplies — semiconductors, critical minerals […]
Two decades ago, President George W. Bush announced the United States’ intention to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. That treaty, negotiated with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, prohibited us from protecting our territory and population from ballistic missile attacks. The prospect of mutual annihilation would, according to the proponents, reduce the incentive for attack, thereby assuring strategic stability. But Bush questioned both the morality and logic of this balance of terror. The Soviet Union had dissolved and new threats had emerged, such as North Korea armed with long-range missiles and a growing nuclear arsenal. […]
The days of the burly, bearded dude in Oakleys as the face of special operations might be waning. Special operations forces need a different focus, the director of strategy, plans and policy for Special Operations Command Central said Monday. That look may have helped recruit a certain type of service member, Army Lt. Col. Katie Crombe said during the New America Future Security Forum, but it’s only a piece of the puzzle. “…I kind of went back to what we feel about the posters and the stamps, or the branding, of special operations ― you know, the night vision goggles and […]
WASHINGTON ― Prized pandemic protections for defense contractors would be made permanent under the House’s defense policy bill, up for floor consideration next week. The safeguards, originally from Section 3610 of the CARES Act, allowed the Pentagon to reimburse contractors for paid leave if employees aren’t working due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress has had to act several times to renew the reimbursement authority, currently set to lapse after Sept. 30. The permanent protections are based on legislation from Reps. Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Anthony Brown, D-Md., called the Just in Case Act, which proposed expanded coverage for other emergencies, like […]
LONDON — Leonardo and Northrop Grumman have joined forces to pursue the nascent vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned systems market. The two companies have worked together on multiple efforts since the mid-1990s, but formally decided to enter a strategic partnership focused on global opportunities for uncrewed rotorcraft systems, representatives announced Wednesday at the biennial DSEI technology conference in London. Combining Leonardo’s longtime rotorcraft experience and Northrop Grumman’s prowess in the aeronautics and unmanned systems realms, the two entities plan to collaborate on aircraft design, system architectures, and payload optimization for future battlespace architectures, with the goal of unveiling a new design sometime in the […]
TAIWAN-MILITARY-DRILL An American-made E-2K early warning aircraft takes off from a motorway in Pingtung, southern Taiwan, on Sept. 15, 2021. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) (SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images) JIADONG, Taiwan — The F-16 screeched across the sky Wednesday before landing on a highway cut through pineapple fields in southwestern Taiwan to refuel quickly and take off again. The Taiwanese military exercise envisioned a Chinese attack taking out the island’s main airfields, necessitating the use of rural roads as runways to carry on the fight. War is not imminent, but as China has grown increasingly assertive in both the East […]
LONDON — Britain’s Army chief came to DSEI to make a keynote speech about the Army’s transformation plans and efforts to embrace data, digitization and cutting-edge technologies. But reporters were more interested in asking him about Afghanistan and the recent withdrawal, in which the British military played a significant role. Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith, the chief of the general staff, told reporters following a Sept. 15 speech at the London event that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan carriers potential international risks. “I’m acutely conscience of the risk of potential spillover and regional instability. The decision to withdraw is not necessarily the end […]
WASHINGTON — The first step in improving the United Kingdom’s space domain awareness is bringing existing data together, said the head of the country’s new Space Command. “There are so many different sensors out there already, it is about initially bringing that data together, understanding that data, using that data so we’ve got a single picture and understanding of what is going on,” said Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey at the DSEI 2021 trade show in London Sept. 15. The Vice-Marshal noted that about 11,000 satellites had been launched since 1957, with about 7,500 still up there. Only 4,500 are operational, he […]
WASHINGTON ― The U.S. and U.K. will aid Australia’s ambitions for a nuclear-powered submarine fleet as part of a new trilateral security partnership that leaders of the three counties are set to announce Wednesday. While the new defense technology-sharing pact is yet another step by Western allies to counter China’s strength, it will also upend Australia’s largest-ever defense contract, a AUS$90 billion deal to build submarines designed by the French company Naval Group, the Australia-based ABC News was first to report. It’s the first time the U.S. has shared its nuclear propulsion technology with an ally since the U.S.-U.K. Mutual Defence […]
ROME – Leonardo has announced more details of the 757 test bed aircraft it will use in the Tempest program, including a 28 ton payload for equipment and six locations for sensors. Dubbed Excalibur, the aircraft has been remodeled with a pointed nose to mimic the likely Tempest design by Leonardo’s partner, UK firm 2Excel. “On-board, scientists and engineers will test futuristic sensors and communications for the Future Combat Air System that the UK and its international partners are developing to fly into service in 2035,” Leonardo said in a statement released during the London DSEI show. “Excalibur will provide the […]
WASHINGTON — A U.K.-based industry team led by Italian defense company Leonardo has successfully demonstrated a new system to protect tanks and armored vehicles from incoming missiles, according to a Sept. 15 statement issued by Leonardo at the DSEI defense exhibition in London. Integrating active protection systems onto vehicle fleets is a challenge shared by countries worldwide, including the United States, which has its own efforts to develop a modular system capable of protecting combat vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided weapons. The team — which includes Abstract Solutions, CGI, Frazer-Nash, Lockheed Martin UK, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land, Roke and […]
LONDON — Japan could be the next partner nation for the trinational, British-led next-generation fighter program, an official hinted at the DSEI arms trade show in London. The United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy are jointly developing cutting-edge technologies to feed into the Future Combat Air System effort. The FCAS is to eventually lead to a core fighter aircraft and a raft of new capabilities alongside it by 2035. Since 2020, Japan has partnered on elements of the program, but military and industry officials at the biennial DSEI conference in London hinted that the relationship could develop further within the next few […]
WASHINGTON — An ongoing Global Posture Review and a 2022 update to the National Defense Strategy will provide the U.S. Navy more clarity on what its roles and expectations are in the future, as the maritime space increasingly sees activities that the service considers aggressive but under the threshold of war. Both China and Russia are taking part in these gray zone activities — in the competition phase of the warfare spectrum, but not yet reaching the crisis phase. In these instances, the Navy can’t respond kinetically like it would in conflict, but a lack of any response is not a […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, even as the kingdom faced continued air attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show. The redeployment of the defenses from Prince Sultan Air Base outside of Riyadh came as America’s Gulf Arab allies nervously watched the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including their last-minute evacuations from Kabul’s besieged international airport. While tens of thousands of American forces remain across the Arabian Peninsula as a counterweight to Iran, Gulf […]
LONDON – Leonardo Helicopters has taken a further step in strengthening its credentials as the home team in the United Kingdom’s upcoming New Medium Helicopter requirement, announcing nine local companies have joined its Team AW149 UK bid. The company is Britain’s only helicopter builder and is touting its local credentials in the wake of the U.K. government’s pledge to sustain domestic strategic industrial capability in the Integrated Review, released earlier this year. Leonardo said it already had 70 organizations in the local supply chain, and Nick Whitney, the boss of Leonardo Helicopters in the UK, said there were others in the […]
SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea tested ballistic missiles hours apart Wednesday in a display of military might that is sure to exacerbate tensions between the rivals at a time when talks aimed at stripping the North of its nuclear program are stalled. The South Korean and Japanese militaries said North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles that flew 800 kilometers (500 miles) before landing in the sea inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone — a worrying development even though they did not reach Japan’s territorial waters. The last time a North Korean missile landed inside that zone was October […]
LONDON — The European Commission has selected a consortium of companies, led by France’s Thales, to equip its navies against high-tech underwater threats including submarines, unmanned systems, and naval mines. Thales announced Monday that the SEANICE consortium it leads will study, test, prototype and develop new antisubmarine warfare systems for European navies. SEANICE (Anti-Submarine Warfare European Autonomous Networked Innovative and Collaborative Environment) is made up of 16 organizations spanning academia, research-and-development, and industry from six nations: France, Belgium, Italy, Latvia, Spain, and Portugal. The SEANICE program will run for two years, according to a European Commission document released in June. It […]
LONDON — The British Ministry of Defence is taking steps this fall to better integrate its capabilities across multiple domains. But despite laying out its ambitions, the agency still needs a true concept of operations to move forward, according to a top official. The United Kingdom’s defense apparatus has identified multidomain integration, or MDI, as a critical means to maintain advantage over threats that are becoming more and more dissipated and asymmetrical across domains and battlefields. Although the concept of operations still needs to be fleshed out, the MoD has identified several capability themes to be developed “over this autumn period […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $6.6 billion to sustain the F-35 joint strike fighter from fiscal 2021 to 2023, a deal that will reduce the cost of flying the aircraft by about 8 percent. The agreement funds the sustainment of the F-35 air system for U.S. and international customers during FY21, with options for FY22 and FY23 that would bring the contract’s total value to $6.6 billion. During that time, the average cost per flight hour for all F-35 variants will drop from $36,100 in 2020 to $33,400 in 2023, according to […]
WASHINGTON — A Republican senator is vowing to delay President Joe Biden’s nominees to the State Department and Pentagon unless Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan resign over the administration’s handling of Afghanistan. The threat from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., comes amid bipartisan congressional criticism of the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal strategy. Hawley, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joins a handful of Republican lawmakers who have called for either Blinken, Biden or both to resign. “His behavior is disgraceful,” Hawley said of Biden. “He has dishonored this country with his shameful leadership in […]
LONDON — The British Royal Navy wants to make it easier for industry to help the service develop “battle-winning, relevant, and affordable” capabilities by developing more transparent requirements and technology priorities. The service is establishing streamlined points of contact, and setting up new workshops and demonstration days as tools to bring industry more in step with what the service needs for future wars, said Capt. Sarah Oakley, head of force development for the Royal Navy’s develop directorate. “There is a pressing need to cohere better Navy activity with industry, [and] to provide clarity, certainty, opportunity, and most importantly, efficiency,” she said […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker conducted its first aerial refueling with an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, the third aircraft type to take fuel from the Navy’s first unmanned system designed to deploy in a future carrier strike group. Boeing’s T1 test aircraft and an F-35C from the Navy’s Air Test Wing and Evaluation Squadron 23 conducted a three-hour mission on Sept. 13, taking off from the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., and then going through a methodical process of linking up and refueling in this test environment. The Navy pilot conducted surveys and evaluations of […]
LONDON – BAE Systems is moving into the quadcopter drone sector in a collaboration with drone maker Malloy Aeronautics to produce an electric-powered vehicle capable of lifting loads up to 300kg. The two companies used the DSEI show here to announce plans for a concept vehicle exploring the potential of a battery-powered, vertical-takeoff-and-landing drone capable of carrying stores, weapons, sensors and even a life raft for maritime rescue. The vehicle, hanging from the rafters of the Excel Centre above the BAE stand, was displayed carrying a Stingray torpedo, but officials emphasized one of the key attributes of the vehicle was its […]
WASHINGTON — The U.K. Royal Navy wants a future fleet with its sensors and weapons disaggregated and its ships flexible enough to change missions as needed, as the service acknowledges that traditional technology superiority may not be possible in the coming decades. Rear Adm. James Parkin, Director Develop of the Royal Navy, said the “Navy of the Next” will derive its operational advantage from a system-of-systems approach that nets together disaggregated sensors, thinkers and shooters in a way that creates more persistent effects and less vulnerability to attack. With high-end state actors like China and Russia investing heavily in naval technology, […]
WASHINGTON —To achieve a digital advantage in the future, the British military must change how it architects and buys systems, according to the British Army’s head of information exploitation and chief data officer. Speaking during the DSEI defense show, Brigadier Stefan Crossfield said the military is focusing on setting standards from the beginning. “Rather than reengineering and refactoring later, we want to work with you up front to help you with that,” he said. “As a result, we now have a chief information architect, an information design authority. … That is a massive step forward for the army. We’re here to […]
WASHINGTON — The head of the United Kingdom’s new Space Directorate warned that increased access to space increases the possibility of “space terrorism,” drawing parallels to the way terrorists were able to use commercial aircraft during the 9/11 attacks. “We all have witnessed what happens, and what particularly happens when the air domain became accessible to all — terrorists turned airliners into weapons. If such a trend holds true for space, when will we have to deal with our first example of space terrorism? And are we prepared for such a dramatic strategic shock?” said Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth at […]
WASHINGTON — European-based companies Milrem Robotics and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace are teaming up to design and build a new robotic combat vehicle geared to meet requirements for European militaries and the U.S., according to a Sept. 15 Milrem statement issued at the DSEI defense exhibition in London. The companies are exhibiting the concept for the Nordic Robotic Wingman at DSEI that will be based on Milrem’s Type-X RCV and Kongsberg’s Protector remote turrets. “Milrem Robotics and [Kongsberg] have agreed to jointly continue the development of the Type-X RCV by integrating [Kongsberg]’s systems to address the requirements of many countries interested […]
LONDON – The British Ministry of Defence has awarded three directed-energy weapon demonstrator contracts totaling £72.5 million ($100 million) to British industry teams, officials announced on Sept. 14. The move will see demonstrator trials take place with systems mounted aboard a Royal Navy Type 23 vessel, a truck, and an armored vehicle, the MoD said. The trials are scheduled to get underway in 2023 and be complete by 2025. Two of the demonstrators will user laser weapons, while a third program will involve a radio-frequency weapon. All of the work is part of the British Novel Weapons Programme. Two of the […]
LONDON – BAE Systems has taken a step into the satellite sector in the UK with the acquisition of low earth orbit spacecraft builder In-Space Missions. Acquisition of the Alton, England-based company was announced by the two companies as the DSEI defense show opened at the Excel Centre east London. No price for the transaction was given. In-Space Missions was launched in 2015 and currently employs more than 30 people designing, manufacturing and integrating satellites from 1U cube sats and upwards for low earth orbit application. BAE chief technology officer Ben Hudson said the acquisition would “help us stake our claim […]
WASHINGTON — During his time as the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition executive, Will Roper had no shortage of disruptive and boundary-pushing projects, whether it was conceptualizing a “Digital Century Series” of rapidly produced fighters or developing an autonomous drone wingman known as “Skyborg.” Now in civilian life, Roper will be sharing his big ideas on digital engineering, cloud computing, agile software and artificial intelligence with one of the U.S Air Force’s closest partners: the British Royal Air Force. Roper, who left U.S. government service in January, became an adviser to the RAF this summer, he told Defense News in an exclusive […]
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally presided over the large-scale Zapad-2021 military drill, conducted by the Russian and Belarusian armies. Both countries are strengthening their military ties, developing a first joint training and combat center on Belarusian territory as that country’s relations with the West have deteriorated. Putin arrived in Mulino, a military training ground near the city of Nizhniy Novgorod south of Moscow, on Sept. 13 to watch a tank maneuver segment of the exercise series. The Russian Defense Ministry, which described the exercise as “strategic,” stated that more than 200,000 troops from both countries are taking part […]
This webcast took place on September 20, 2021 The US Air Force is expanding its hunt for next generation munitions technology as it looks to maintain uncontested supremacy over the skies. This hunt could include hypersonics as well as greater investment in missiles and precision bombs. However, as China and other near-peer adversaries scale up their own next-gen programs, it’s worth asking how the Air Force can deliver on its ambitions despite increasing budget pressure, growing costs of sustainment, and long-deferred modernization. In this webcast, Defense News explored the outlook on next-generation munitions for the Air Force: how such technologies can enhance airman capabilities, […]
WASHINGTON — Concerned with a gap in the military’s ability to detect low-flying hypersonic weapons, lawmakers want the Pentagon to deliver a progress report on efforts to fill it, particularly through commercial solutions, according to the House Armed Services’ markup of the fiscal 2022 defense policy bill. If the defense policy bill passes, the Defense Department would be required to deliver a report in a few short months — by the end of November — on the status of its efforts to develop the ability to detect low-flying hypersonic weapons using radar. “The committee is concerned about the inability of current […]
WASHINGTON — Polaris Industries is unveiling its newest light tactical vehicle — the MRZR Alpha — for the first time at London-based defense show DSEI this week. The MRZR, first introduced in 2012, has been sold to the U.S. military and over 50 allied forces worldwide. The MRZR Alpha has a new chassis, which provides a larger and more durable foundation, but is still transportable by a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor or an H-47 cargo helicopter, Jed Leonard, vice president for government and defense at Polaris, told Defense News in a Sept. 10 interview ahead of the conference. The vehicle has a […]
WARSAW, Poland — This year’s edition of the MSPO defense industry show in Kielce, Poland, which ran between Sept. 7 and 10, was dominated by major programs, including the country’s efforts to secure 32 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks, and mid- and short-range air defense systems. The event also displayed a number of emerging trends that could increasingly shape Poland’s defense capacities in the coming years, such as an increased focus on unmanned and digital combat training capacities. Speaking on the show’s first day in Kielce, Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that since 2014, when […]
WASHINGTON — The Austal USA shipyard in Alabama is ahead of schedule in revamping its facilities to build steel ships in addition to aluminum ships, but ongoing questions about U.S. Navy shipbuilding plans have left the yard uncertain about what steel work could come its way in the near term. The company is investing about $200 million to improve and expand its shipyard and to grow its ship repair business, Larry Ryder, Austal USA’s vice president of business development and external affairs, told Defense News last month. About half of that is meant to convert half the production lines at the […]
LONDON – Britain’s Ministry of Defence has announced contracts to enhance capabilities and support for its Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster airlifter and CH-47 Chinook fleets just ahead of the opening of the DSEI defense equipment show at London’s Excel Exhibition Centre on Sept 14. The total investment announced by the MoD Sept 12 comes to some £400 million ($550 million), with the bulk of the spending plans going towards software and hardware upgrades of the Royal Air Force’s eight-strong fleet of C-17 strategic airlifters. In a second pre-DSEI contract announcement involving the MoD, BAE Systems said it had secured a deal valued […]
WASHINGTON — Israel Aerospace Industries will debut REX MK II, its newest ground robot set to be fielded to British troops, at DSEI, the London-based defense exhibition, which begins Tuesday. IAI signed a contract with the UK in the second quarter of the calendar year and has sold the vehicle to other European countries, Rani Avni, IAI’s deputy general manager for robotics and autonomous systems, told Defense News in a Sept. 12 interview ahead of the show. He declined to identify the other countries. The light unmanned ground vehicle draws on IAI’s previous experience building robotic vehicles, he said. REX can […]
WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency successfully launched a mock-up of a kill vehicle with a new three-stage booster designed to enhance the performance of the interceptors that make up the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System in a Sept. 12 flight test, according to an agency statement. The GMD system is designed to protect the homeland from intercontinental ballistic missiles from Iran and North Korea. The launch of the mock-up Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, or EKV, was the first flight test of a three-stage booster operating in two-stage mode “meaning the third stage was not ignited, allowing earlier release of the kill vehicle […]
Since World War II, our military technological superiority has served as the linchpin of the global international order, helping create and sustain an extended period of global peace, security and unparalleled economic growth. This claim seems risible in the wake of recent events in Afghanistan. While the efforts of our men and women in uniform, those at the embassy, and veterans and contractors have been actually heroic in evacuating more than 100,000 people in a matter of days, we cannot reasonably continue to make policy or spend money in future similar scenarios like we did in this case. But this essay […]
AUGUSTA, Ga. — For several years, the U.S. Army has been on a journey to modernize to adapt to the fast-changing nature of the so-called information environment, a vast sphere that includes information, psychological and influence operations across cyberspace, the electromagnetic spectrum and space. And that’s just the start of the list the Army considers part of the information environment it wants to control. Adversaries have proven adept at conducting operations below the threshold of armed conflict in this environment to try to subvert U.S. power. National and military leaders are realizing the importance of skills in these “gray zone” operations […]
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Navy has inducted into service its first Embraer Lineage 1000 jetliner, which is to be converted into the “Sea Sultan” design under the country’s long-range maritime patrol aircraft program. However, there remain unanswered questions surrounding the selection of a prime contractor and which company will carry out the conversion. The Sept. 2 induction ceremony took place at PNS Mehran naval air station, where the P-3C Orion aircraft — which will be replaced by the Sea Sultan — operates. A Navy release stated two more Lineage 1000 aircraft are under contract to “be equipped with the latest weapons and […]
SU’AO, Taiwan — Taiwan’s president oversaw the commissioning of a new domestically made warship Thursday as part of the island’s plan to boost indigenous defense capacity amid heightened tensions with China. President Tsai Ing-wen spoke at a naval base in Su’ao, on the island’s east coast, saying the ship “proves that on the path to becoming independent in national defense, no matter what difficulties arise, we can overcome them one by one.” The ship is known as the Ta Jiang and nicknamed a “carrier killer.” It was built by Taiwanese firm Lung Teh Shipbuilding Company. It’s designed to have air defense […]
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 declares initial operational capability for the F-35B aircraft on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, on Sept. 9, 2021. MELBOURNE, Australia — A second U.S. Marine Corps squadron in Japan has declared its F-35B fighters are ready for operations, less than a year after officially kicking off the process of transitioning to the stealthy fifth-generation aircraft. The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing announced Thursday that Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 attained initial operational capability with the Lockheed Martin-made jet, 10 months after transitioning away from the Boeing-made F/A-18D Hornet. Maj. Douglas Kansier, operations officer of VMFA-242, said […]
WASHINGTON — The Army is gearing up for a pilot effort to figure out how its armored brigades will communicate on the move as part of its modernized tactical network. To date, the Army has focused on infantry and Stryker brigades for its modernized integrated tactical network, using what it calls capability sets to incrementally add new technologies to formations. The Army plans to outfit armored brigades with the new gear beginning in 2025, but to do that, it needs to run experiments to inform some of the specific requirements and technology needs for the heavy vehicles that are additive to […]
NEW DELHI — The Indian government on Wednesday approved a procurement request for 56 C295 transport aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space in Spain, under which 40 military planes will be manufactured in India by local firm Tata Group. The approval was granted Sept. 8 by the Indian government’s apex armament clearance body, the Cabinet Committee on Security, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India under technology transfer by a private company, according to Ministry of Defence release. A $2.5 billion contract […]
See the troops and materiel that took part in North Korea’s latest military parade. (KRT via AP) SEOUL, South Korea — Military search dogs and goose-stepping trainers. Health workers wearing gas masks and red hazmat suits. And a slimmed down, beaming Kim Jong Un in a cream-colored business suit. The parade marking North Korea’s celebration of its 73rd anniversary was a marked departure from past militaristic displays, with a domestic audience worried about the pandemic likely in mind. The parade late Wednesday centered around paramilitary organizations and public security forces protecting the capital, Pyongyang, instead of the military units that handle […]