The Pentagon is deploying 10,500 troops in the coming months to replace military units that were rapidly deployed to Europe to bolster NATO’s eastern edge after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. “The deployments are one-for-one unit replacements, which will leave our overall force posture in the region — approximately 100,000 — unchanged,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday afternoon. “The units being replaced will return to their home station following an appropriate turnover of responsibilities.” The turnovers are expected to continue through the summer months. Of note, the 101st Airborne Division headquarters, out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will replace the […]
Defense
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We ask Marines what one piece of gear would they would want if they were stuck on a deserted island. Source link
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy E. Black talks to Marine Corps Times about what Marines and families need to stay in the force. Source link
From trucks to boats to drones, we show you the highlights of the Modern Day Marine Conference. Source link
WASHINGTON — The global investment firm Carlyle will pay about $4.2 billion to acquire ManTech International, a cyber and technology contractor that works for defense, intelligence and civilian agencies. In a release announcing the deal, the firms said ManTech stockholders will receive $96 per share, 17% more than the stock’s closing price of $81.97 last Friday. It would be up 32% from the $72.82 share price in early February, before news broke an acquisition was in the works. ManTech’s board of directors unanimously approved the acquisition and recommended the company’s shareholders vote to OK it. If that happens, and if government […]
MELBOURNE, Australia — A submarine seen in a satellite photo of a Chinese shipyard shows what could be a new class or subtype of a nuclear-powered attack sub with a new stealthy propulsion system and launch tubes for cruise missiles. The satellite photo of the shipyard at Huludao in Liaoning province, northern China, which was provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, was taken May 3 and shows a submarine on a drydock. The unidentified boat’s presence at the yard was first noted in an April 29 satellite image by geospatial intelligence outfit AllSource Analysis. The organization said the submarine is […]
WASHINGTON — Aerojet Rocketdyne has reprimanded its executive chairman, Warren Lichtenstein, over a series of comments he made criticizing the company’s chief executive and hunting for a replacement as well as about its failed merger with Lockheed Martin. In a memorandum dated May 2 and released Monday, the non-management committee of Aerojet’s board of directors ordered Lichtenstein to follow the company’s code of conduct in the future and not make unauthorized comments to outside parties about Aerojet’s management or strategic direction. The board hadn’t authorized a search for a replacement CEO, the committee said in the memo outlining its investigation’s findings […]
WASHINGTON — A little-known military construction funding policy will likely prevent Congress from granting most of the Pentagon’s $5.7 billion unfunded priorities list for lab and testing infrastructure projects, many of which are too early in the planning and design process for lawmakers to consider. The U.S. Department of Defense in March sent lawmakers a list of 126 high priority projects across the military services’ labs and testing facilities that were left out of the fiscal 2023 budget request for military construction. Defense News obtained the report, which lists minor and major initiatives in areas including directed energy, hypersonic weapons, artificial […]
LONDON — The British arm of pan-European missile maker MBDA has struck an agreement with the Polish military to provide its Brimstone missile for a new fleet of tank busters being developed by a local industrial consortium led by PGZ. The deal comes just weeks after MBDA UK concluded a separate deal with Warsaw to accelerate the delivery of a new ground-based air defense system. The announcement that the Brimstone anti-tank missile will provide the cutting edge for the Polish vehicle program known as the Ottokar Brzoza came on the same day that PGZ named the members of the industrial consortium […]
Several hundred U.S. servicemembers will be again stationed inside Somalia to help combat growing al-Shabab terrorist forces there, administration officials confirmed Monday. The move reverses an order by President Donald Trump 18 months ago to remove all U.S. military forces from the country over the objections of Pentagon officials. Before then, about 700 American troops had been stationed in the country, helping to train local forces in their fight against terrorist groups. White House officials said that President Joe Biden made the move to “re-establish a persistent U.S. military presence in Somalia” in response to concerns about the growing strength of […]
STOCKHOLM — Sweden on Monday decided to join neighboring Finland in seeking NATO membership, ending more than two centuries of military nonalignment in a historic shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson warned the Nordic country would be in a “vulnerable position” during the application period and urged her fellow citizens to brace themselves for a Russian response. “Russia has said that that it will take countermeasures if we join NATO,” she said. “We cannot rule out that Sweden will be exposed to, for instance, disinformation and attempts to intimidate and divide us.” Sweden’s move came […]
War aims are shifting on both sides of Russia’s barbaric war against Ukraine, reflecting shifting realities on the battlefield. Unless one side can dominate the ongoing battle for the Donbas, those shifts portend a protracted war. With little prospect of a negotiated final settlement, the endgame may be a prolonged ceasefire or armistice rather than a durable end to the war. This might include a new military line of contact wherever the fighting stops, with final territorial settlements postponed until later. However this war ends, new forms of Western support will be needed to prevent peace from unraveling and to ensure […]
The Army has long had detailed inventories, checklists and procedures to keep its helicopters, tanks and other equipment running. Commander could, at a glance, see the readiness of their equipment fleet as they prepare for battle. Even on the personnel front, a basic spreadsheet could tell a unit leader who is healthy, who completed the necessary training and who is ready to fight. But granular detail on how an individual soldier or groups of soldiers might perform has remained tantalizingly out of reach … until now. The Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command has been at work on a kind of soldier/squad […]
NEW DELHI — India has halted negotiations with Russia for the former to acquire 10 Kamov Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopters for $520 million, following uncertainties in arms supplies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Indian government indefinitely suspended the negotiations with Rosoboronexport and original equipment manufacturer Russian Helicopters, an Indian Defence Ministry official told Defense New on condition of anonymity. The official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, said the government-to-government deal added that the suspension is due to concerns over Moscow’s ability to execute orders as well as issues related to payment transfers. Indian Navy officials […]
WASHINGTON — Polaris has developed a kit to convert the MRZR Alpha — used by U.S. Special Operations Command as its Lightweight All-Terrain Vehicle — for the Arctic and is gearing up to be able to produce it for customers early next year. The Arctic kit is currently in government validation testing, and a production decision will be made at the start of next year on how many kits the command will buy for its LATV fleet, according to Polaris executives. Special operations units and all of the U.S. armed services have an interest in boosting their operational capabilities in the […]
For ground-based observers calling in fires on a target, the observer historically worked with a radio and a pair of binoculars, or a bulky laser guidance system to get the job done. But systems have become more more precise and portable over the decades. The Army and Marine Corps are not quite down to devices smaller than smartphones; they’re closer to beefed-up binoculars or tablet-level devices. For its part, the Corps selected Northrop Grumman’s Next Generation Handheld Targeting System, or NGHTS, earlier this year with a $252 million contract to provide Marines with a new hand-held targeting device. In late April, […]
Congress has a full slate of budget hearings scheduled across Capitol Hill this week, but much of that attention will be abducted by UFOs on Tuesday. Members of the House Select Intelligence Committee will hold an open hearing on “unidentified aerial phenomena,” the first in more than 50 years. Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Ronald Moultrie and Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray will testify before the panel on recent research and findings from the Defense Department. The move comes almost one year after a military report outlined 144 instances of “unidentified aerial phenomena” from 2004 to 2021. Defense […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s One World Terrain, a virtual world that the service has been building for roughly five years to give a real-life feel to training, is becoming much more than that. When the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division deployed to aid the evacuation operations from Kabul, Afghanistan, One World Terrain came along with it. The system helped the division assess terrain and conduct mission planning while extracting service members from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in August when the Taliban took over the city, Brig. Gen. William Glaser, who leads development of the Army’s Synthetic Training Environment, told Defense […]
KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia — U.S. troops joined forces from Britain, France, Italy and allied countries in the region Thursday in a military exercise held in NATO’s newest member, North Macedonia, aimed at displaying deployment readiness along the alliance’s eastern borders. Nearly 10,000 soldiers from 19 nations are taking part in NATO’s planned “Swift Response” exercises as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues for a 12th week. The exercises are being held in five separate locations, spanning from Norway to North Macedonia, military officials said. “I think it’s a fantastic demonstration of what we can do as an alliance and our ability to […]
ATHENS, Greece — Greece is extending a bilateral military agreement with the United States for five years, with officials from the country’s center-right government arguing that enhanced alliances within NATO will help stabilize the region rattled by Russia’s war in Ukraine and tension in the eastern Mediterranean. The agreement, to be ratified by parliament Thursday, will grant the U.S. military continued access to three bases in mainland Greece together with its long-standing naval presence on the island of Crete. It replaces an annual review of the deal with a five-year rollover period. U.S. Ambassador George J. Tsunis met Thursday with Greek […]
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — The U.S. Army is poised to revamp its forces in Alaska to better prepare for future cold-weather conflicts, and it is expected to replace the larger, heavily equipped Stryker Brigade in the state with a more mobile infantry unit better suited for the frigid fight, Army leaders say. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said she expects to make a final decision soon about the Alaska troop change, saying she will likely convert the Stryker unit, which uses heavy, eight-wheeled vehicles, to an infantry brigade. “I think right now the purpose of Army forces in Alaska is much […]
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, its neighbors said, in the latest of a series of weapons demonstrations this year that came just hours after it confirmed its first case of the coronavirus since the pandemic began. The launches could underscore North Korea’s determination to press ahead with its efforts to expand its arsenal despite the virus outbreak to rally support behind the leader, Kim Jong Un, and keep up pressure on its rivals amid long-dormant nuclear diplomacy. RELATED Thursday’s launches were the North’s first weapons fired since the inauguration of […]
WASHINGTON ― Marine aviation planners are looking beyond vertical takeoff aircraft, such as the AV-8 Harrier jet or the MV-22 Osprey, and instead to how to fit aviation support to the fighting force, regardless of the kind of aircraft. New challenges in countering Chinese, Russian and other adversary militaries actions have forced the Corps to find new ways of doing business in all domains, Lt. Col. Nicholas Molder said Wednesday at the 2022 Modern Day Marine exposition in Quantico, Virginia. “We stepped back from some of the paths we were going down,” Molder said. “We didn’t wash them away, we didn’t […]
WASHINGTON – New tools being used where a Marine’s billets, units and career future are molded will help the service plan out a kind of “just-in-time” personnel delivery model and open a level of career control that Marines have never seen. Leaders such as Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, deputy commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, referenced the Corps’ use of predictive analytics to help time when a Marine crosses the yellow footprints to when that Marine will be joining a unit the service needs to build a year or more later and ready for deployment. Ottignon spoke alongside Sergeant Major of […]
WASHINGTON ― The Marine Corps is about to release a document codifying “information” as a war-fighting function ― and that’s likely to have direct implications for how Marines are told to conduct themselves online. As Russia and Ukraine wage a conflict in which misinformation and disinformation play a central role, top-echelon Marine leaders want troops and commanders to be clear on how information affects every part of war-fighting and decision-making. After five years of development, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger is expected to sign the service’s eighth doctrinal publication, focused on information, this summer. Designed as a four-chapter book, MCDP-8 […]
The new Future Commando Force program, made up of about 4,000 personnel with the British Royal Marines, is leading the way in Arctic operations for the entire service, according to the head of the effort. “We are the U.K.’s Arctic experts [in] regard for specialists and electronic warfare elements,” Brig. Mark Totten said at the Modern Day Marine expo on Tuesday. “And we can use ship-to-shore maneuver and maneuver at sea to support routine operations in that theater.” For the most part, the service previously focused on the Arctic theater for “training and environmental development,” Totten said, but that’s going to […]
WASHINGTON ― U.S. President Joe Biden plans to nominate Laura Taylor-Kale, an Obama administration trade official, as the Pentagon’s industrial policy chief, the White House announced Friday. Taylor-Kale, if confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, would step into the role as the industry is facing supply chain and workforce challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She has been an innovation, workforce and industrial policy scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations since 2017. Taylor-Kale previously served as deputy assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing and as senior adviser for policy and operations […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy remains opposed to buying ship-launched nuclear weapons, even though some in the Pentagon have pushed back. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told House and Senate lawmakers this week forcing surface ships or attack submarines to haul around nuclear-tipped missiles would be feasible but a burden as they have more pressing missions. The Trump administration planned a Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear program to develop weapons that could be launched from surface combatants or attack submarines. Traditionally, the sea-based leg of the nuclear deterrence triad is sub-launched missiles on ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), whose sole mission is […]
WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Navy moves to cancel its anti-submarine warfare mission package for littoral combat ships, it has triggered another cost breach for the LCS mission modules program. The Navy in its fiscal 2023 budget announced its intention to cancel the anti-submarine warfare mission package, one of three warfare-specific packages the LCS ships can carry. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday has said the package was not performing well in testing and that the Navy would get better sub-hunting performance out of the Constellation-class frigates that will deliver from the Wisconsin-based Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard later this decade. […]
ANKARA — Turkic republics of Central Asia are queuing up to buy increasingly combat-proven Turkish drones. Last year, Kyrgyzstan signed a deal to purchase armed drones, becoming the first Central Asian country buying the Turkish system. Under the deal, the Bishkek government ordered an unspecified number of the Bayraktar TB2, produced by Turkish company Baykar. Most recently, Turkey and Kazakhstan agreed to start co-producing Turkish drones that were sold to the Central Asian country just last year. Anka, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), will be jointly produced by Turkish and Kazakh experts, according to a May 13 statement by Turkish Aerospace […]
Thirteen years after Marine leaders first identified the need for sophisticated and networked simulated training, a first iteration of the Live Virtual Constructive Training Environment is almost ready to debut at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California. Within two years, officials say, these LVC-TEs will be operational at five bases across the Corps, and the Marines will move forward on plans to network virtual training with other services, providing the effect of large-scale joint training exercises at a fraction of the cost. Or at least that’s the hope. The plan, dubbed Project Tripoli, is meant to increase […]
FORT RUCKER, Ala. — After a scathing government watchdog probe into tactical vehicle rollovers, Army leaders are working to overhaul the service’s driver training program, according to the Army’s top safety official. Any changes should roll out in about a year, he told Army Times. The Government Accountability Office report “really resonated with both the Army and the Marine Corps…it told us what we needed to hear,” said Brig. Gen. Andrew Hilmes in a Monday afternoon interview. Hilmes commands the Army Combat Readiness Center, which oversees service-wide safety efforts and investigations. He also serves as the service’s top safety officer advising […]
WASHINGTON ― A senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday that a massive Ukraine aid package ― which contains $4 billion in grants for allies to buy American-made military hardware ― is partly aimed at eroding Russia’s share of the global defense market. “There is an opportunity here for us to work on helping other countries divest from Russian equipment moving forward,” Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The U.S. should take advantage of the Russian invasion force’s poor performance against western-backed Ukrainian forces and Russia’s faltering defense supply chain, she said, […]
Top Army officials told House lawmakers Thursday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has vindicated many of their technological modernization priorities. “Long-range precision fires are extremely important,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville, indirectly referencing Ukraine’s ability to translate battlefield intelligence into high-impact strikes on key Russian leaders and equipment. “We’re seeing the value of that…the ability to sink ships, the ability to hit command posts.” Ukrainian forces have killed at least 12 Russian generals since the war’s onset, and the New York Times reported that U.S. officials have provided real-time intelligence on their locations to Ukraine. The Pentagon has […]
WASHINGTON ― Marines may be learning whole new ways to fight in a new kind of littoral battlespace, against different adversaries such as the Chinese military, but an old foe still lurks on any likely future battlefield: improvised explosive devices. While the knowledge and training to counter IEDs didn’t completely disappear, it did fade from prominence for future battle prep and widespread practice. But the threat continues to evolve. During the Thursday panel on training and education at the 2022 Modern Day Marine Expo in Washington, Maj. Gen. Julian D. Alford, head of Training Command, was asked what lessons, if any, […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s chief technology officer this week promised strong support for the Defense Innovation Unit’s mission to leverage commercial technology for military use, vowing to increase its budget in fiscal 2024 following the resignation of its director. Michael Brown, who has served as DIU’s director since 2018, announced in late April he would resign when his four-year term ends in September, despite an option to extend his service another year. Brown told colleagues he was leaving due to “glaring weakness in modernizing DoD” and a lack of support from senior leadership, according to Politico. The innovation hub was established […]
WASHINGTON ― Infantry battalion experimentation in the past few years provided vital, but not conclusive, feedback for the future of the heart of the Marine Corps. There’s more to follow, but Col. Christopher Bronzi shared some takeaways at the 2022 Modern Day Marine exposition on Wednesday. The biggest one: Infantry battalions will be more distributed than ever before, and that will be the new normal. Though those experiments continue, Marine combat development leaders are kicking off the next big experiment soon: designing the Marine littoral regiment. That’s the newest formation on deck to execute a new type of littoral-focused warfare with […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps’ first unit designed to carry out new concepts of operations conducted its first exercise in the Philippines and is now preparing to start a range of experimentation and training events this year. The service this spring formally transformed 3rd Marine Regiment into 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, which will be organized and equipped in new and modern ways. The Corps already activated the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion under the regiment, and by this fall it will also have a combat logistics battalion and a littoral combat team. Col. Tim Brady, who commands the 3rd MLR, said […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense may rewrite its guide for classifying space programs, a policy official told lawmakers this week. Congress last year directed the Pentagon to review its classified space portfolio to determine whether programs are appropriately classified. The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act required the department to complete that effort by the end of April, submit a report to Congress in June and change the classification status of its programs, as necessary, by late July. John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said during a May 11 Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing […]
PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. Army will pursue sophisticated data-sharing capabilities at this year’s Project Convergence demonstration that officials said will enable the best-positioned military asset to take immediate action, regardless national affiliation. “We’re never going to fight as just a joint organization,” Brig. Gen. Jeth Rey, director of the Network Cross-Functional Team, said May 10 on the sidelines of a summit with contractors and potential suppliers. “We’re going to always have our coalition partners. So we want the effects to be: If they’re in the best area to shoot, we want them to shoot.” Now in its third year, Project Convergence […]
HELSINKI — Nordic governments have set about deepening regional defense cooperation against the backdrop of the very real expectation that non-aligned Sweden and Finland will announce their decisions to join NATO as soon as May 16. Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin issued a joint announcement on Thursday backing NATO membership. “Now that the moment of decision-making is near, we state our shared views. We believe NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” the leaders said in a statement. “As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. […]
WASHINGTON ― Marine installations from West Coast air stations to deep South depots are getting an electric facelift as the Corps ramps up its electric vehicle fleet and base “smart grids” for powering the force at home stations. Following new executive orders to reduce carbon fuel use that would also make for resilient, blackout-proof power grids, the Corps is adding solar panel and renewable energy options with sophisticated software power management at installations such as its air stations, bases and depots in Miramar and Twentynine Palms, California; Yuma, Arizona; Parris Island, South Carolina and Albany, Georgia, officials said. At the same […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― More than a decade of finding, fixing and killing terrorist targets gave Marine Corps Special Operations Command a baptism into the world of fast-paced, worldwide joint operations. But to contribute to the next fight, MARSOC will push itself into deeper levels of war-fighting, finding ways to tackle both the deep, strategic shaping and reconnaissance challenges of near-peer adversaries while also delivering on irregular warfare needs across the globe. That’s how Col. Ian Fletcher, assistant chief of staff of plans and resourcing, described the newest members of the special operations community’s way forward on Tuesday at the 2022 Modern […]
Marine snipers are about to trim their sniper rifle inventory by combining two in one with a new multibarrel weapon that will give shooters three caliber options and replace two existing rifles ― one of which jarheads have been carrying since Vietnam. Marine Corps Systems Command ― all things gear for Marines ― announced Thursday that the Mk22 Mod 0 advanced sniper rifle has nearly completed testing as it approaches fielding in 2023. It is a bolt action, precision rifle system. The system part is important. That designation includes a bipod, sound and muzzle flash suppressor and a caliber agnostic 7-by-35 […]
PHILADELPHIA — The war in Ukraine validates the U.S. Army’s efforts to upgrade communication gear and beef up cybersecurity tools, according to officials driving the service’s network modernization. “I think the things that we’ve observed have reinforced the campaign that we have been on, and that we need to continue this momentum and mode of execution,” Army Maj. Gen. Robert Collins told reporters May 10 on the sidelines of a technical forum. As the program executive officer for command, control and communications-tactical, Collins helps oversee the rollout of what are known as capability sets, injections of hardware and software the Army […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Marines across the force are feeding “fix it” ideas to a Navy research office, which has produced items such as field-ready hydrogen fuel production and a “chatbot” that can filter relevant items in digital reams of chat data for information operations. The Office of Naval Research shared these prototypes and others, generated from ideas sent directly from Marines in operating units on Tuesday at the 2022 Modern Day Marine exposition in Washington, D.C. The program is known as TechSolutions. It can be accessed here by any Marine with a well-considered problem in need of solving for the unit-level […]
WASHINGTON — The operation to supply Ukraine with defensive weapons is straining allied supply chains, laying bare the potential for bottlenecks in lower-echelon but high-tech weaponry needed quickly at scale, according to British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. “Even fairly handheld equipment, like Stingers or Javelins or NLAWS, are almost as bespoke as aircraft,” he told reporters in Washington on Tuesday, referring to a trifecta of Western anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons that Ukrainian forces have successfully used against Russian invaders. With the production capacity of some of these weapons curtailed, dwindling munitions stocks present a kind of old-school conundrum that stands in […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office has wrapped up a demonstration of high-power microwave technology capable of taking out multiple drone threats at once. Army officials running the effort said the vendors that came with high-power microwave capabilities were successful in defeating incoming drone threats, including two at a time. The threat of drone swarms is increasing, and the Pentagon is racing to ensure it can to defeat them. The Army is the service tasked to lead the JCO, which was established in late 2019. The office has now conducted three demonstrations — two last year in […]
The Pentagon Inspector General’s Office announced Tuesday that it believes Air Force officials followed the law and relevant policies when they picked Alabama as the likely permanent home of U.S. Space Command headquarters. But the rules themselves may not have led to the most logical outcome for the key basing decision, the watchdog suggested. Its newly published investigation report shows a tug-of-war within the Defense Department, pitting one city preferred by the military space establishment against one that ranked higher in formal evaluations. RELATED The Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, fared better in an Air Force-led site search that began […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Army officials facing supply chain snags as they seek to restock Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank weapons sent to Ukraine may get a reprieve. The Army’s chief weapons buyer, Doug Bush, and Senate Airland Subcommittee ranking member Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Tuesday they’re interested in adding “advanced procurement” funding to the Army’s budget for certain components of the weapons — which Ukrainian forces have used to keep Russian forces from dominating their skies — to allow faster manufacturing. “That is something we could possibly use in this case to shorten those timelines,” Bush said at a hearing […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps will update its concept for amphibious operations, even as it waits to see how many ships its U.S. Navy partner will provide for those operations. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger directed the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to develop by the end of the year a Concept for 21st Century Amphibious Operations, as part of an ongoing campaign of learning to inform the Force Design 2030 modernization effort. Maj. Gen. Benjamin Watson, who commands the lab, said during a May 10 media roundtable much of the early work in Force Design centered around […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S., Canada and European powers this week blamed Russia for a February cyberattack that disrupted internet service for tens of thousands of people in the critical moments that preceded the latest invasion of Ukraine. The Feb. 24 attack on Viasat Inc., a California-based provider of high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems covering military and commercial markets worldwide, was meant to cripple Ukrainian command and control as Russian forces advanced, U.S. and U.K. officials said May 10. The attack spilled over, impacting wind farms and internet users in central Europe as well. U.S. Secretary of State Antony […]
A renewed focus on what makes for effective units has Marine leaders seeking a new balance for how long a Marine should stay with their units. In the recently released 2022 update of Marine Corps Force Design 2030, authors noted that Corps “experiments have revalidated that unit cohesion creates an advantage.” That sentence was a nod to the service’s efforts to have experienced staff noncommissioned officers leading infantry squads, rather than corporals or below. It also matters for non-infantry units. In a recent media roundtable, the commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black discussed the force design update […]
In February, my unit, the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, participated in the first Regional Combat Training Center rotation held over the course of two weeks in the Donnelly Training Area at Fort Greely, Alaska. My signal soldiers from Charlie Company, 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion, provided 24-hour communication support to other units on a simulated battlefield in minus 20 degree Fahrenheit. The exercise included trainers from Fort Polk, Louisiana, allies with the Royal Canadian Army, Green Berets and even sister units from a far warmer climate — Hawaii. The training was fantastic, showing how far our soldiers had […]
ARLINGTON, Va. ― Marines in the middle of recent experiments, unit and equipment changes can look to the Ukraine conflict for real-world previews of how the Corps’ war-fighting concept might unfold in a future fight. Small units using devastating weaponry to destroy large enemy formations. Sinking ships from shore and then fading quickly into the background. Cycling information so rapidly that the enemy can’t keep up, shattering the ability to run effective combat plans. All of these scenarios are happening now as Ukrainians fight off the Russian military invasion. But they could also be pulled from the pages of a variety […]
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Maxar Technologies on Monday reported a loss of $7 million in its first quarter. On a per-share basis, the Westminster, Colorado-based company said it had a loss of 10 cents. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 12 cents per share. The satellite company posted revenue of $405 million in the period. Multiple media organizations use Maxar’s satellite imagery in their reporting, notably to show activity in Ukraine as it defends itself against a Russian invasion. Other examples include: Source link
Reestablishing the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska could entail cutting Stryker vehicles from a brigade there and adding personnel to create an operational headquarters. But the changes are expected to be cost-neutral in the immediate future and even the manpower added to the upgraded headquarters would come out of the cannibalized Stryker brigade, should that plan move forward, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday. “We will be looking at basically having that division headquarters have sort of the same types of capabilities that you see in the 173rd in Italy, for example,” Wormuth said. The 173rd Airborne […]
WASHINGTON — The Marine of 2030 will be a digital native, born into the age of the Internet of Things and raised with drones, virtual reality goggles and maybe even 3D printers at home — making the commandant of the Marine Corps comfortable they’ll be able to manage a battlefield swirling with information. Gen. David Berger described the young Marines of today as having borrowed their parents’ smart phones in elementary school but the Marines of tomorrow having their own technology from an even younger age, giving them greater fluency in the information realm. This will give the service an advantage […]
WASHINGTON — The Space Force released its vision for integrated testing of satellites, sensors, ground systems and other capabilities, laying out a plan to develop the organizations and infrastructure needed to operate in an increasingly contested environment. The vision document, signed in March by Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson and released Tuesday, calls for the establishment of an agile testing force as well as a more capable range infrastructure that can support the service as integrates capabilities including artificial intelligence and proliferated satellite constellations. The Space Force, and previously the Air Force, traditionally tested capabilities with two primary […]
SANTIAGO, Chile — Colombia has asked the U.S. about procuring secondhand M1A2 Abrams tanks to bolster the armored capacity of its land forces, local military sources have told Defense News. Colombia is currently on a path to becoming a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., with President Joe Biden in March announcing the process has begun. The Colombian Army currently has no main battle tanks. The main armored vehicle in its inventory is the Brazilian-built Engesa EE-9 Cascavel, a six-wheel drive armored truck fitted with a 90mm gun, of which 123 were bought in the 1980s. Plans to procure at least […]
Half of the Navy’s littoral combat ship fleet is suffering from structural defects that have led to hull cracks on several vessels, limiting the speed and sea states in which some ships can operate, according to internal records obtained by Navy Times and confirmed by sea service officials. The Navy has not previously disclosed the cracks in the Independence-class version of the LCS or the class-wide repercussions of the defects, nor has it identified which ships suffer from the issues. But documents obtained by Navy Times warn that cracks can grow if the ships transits faster than 15 knots in seas […]
WASHINGTON — Pentagon leaders are asking Congress for new authorities when it comes to cooperative defense programs with the European Union, a prospect officials on both sides of the Atlantic have said will complement traditional NATO processes. Defense officials here circulated legislative language to that effect on Capitol Hill this month in hopes of having it included in the annual defense policy bill now on the congressional docket. The proposed bill text would name the European Union, plus its associated bodies like the European Defence Agency, in the Arms Export Control Act, thereby enabling routine defense work with the bloc and […]
PHILADELPHIA — The sophisticated threats Russia and China pose are a radical departure from those faced for years in the Middle East and underline the need to rapidly upgrade military networks and information sharing capabilities, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer said. “The future battlefield is going to be very different from the last 20 years. The last 20 years have been, essentially, us fighting against insurgents, terrorists, ISIS, Taliban. And we’ve done tremendous efforts and we’ve had great progress and great impact,” CIO Raj Iyer said May 9 at a technical forum hosted by the service’s network modernization office. “But […]
WASHINGTON — The pivotal roles that advanced technology and data collection play on the battlefields of today and tomorrow raise a question of increasing importance: How, exactly, can one best get information to the fighters that need it, often under extreme pressure? Answers and opinions abound. And not a single avenue, it seems, will satisfy every requirement. Officials spearheading the U.S. Army’s development and deployment of upgraded network tech and tools are pursuing multiple layers, multiple functions and multiple bands, seeking a resilient network for relaying intel that can withstand the challenges of warfare. Among the many potential solutions is 5G, […]
New aviation platforms and gear that link Marines across the sea-air-land are shifting how Marine aviation heads into the next fight. Top leaders in Marine Corps aviation have laid out an ambitious new plan for the Corps as the air side reorients itself to complement the service’s overhaul through Force Design 2030. Lt. Gen. Mark Wise, deputy commandant of aviation, along with top Marine aviation leaders, shared details of the Corps’ first publicly released aviation plan since 2019. “It is our way to articulate to everybody this is the direction we think Marine aviation is going and we encourage questions as […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps planned to have its light amphibious warship on contract by now, ushering in a small ship that will move Marines around island chains and coastlines without relying on traditional, large ships. But moving forward on the program and awarding that contract simply hasn’t been possible, after the effort was crowded out of the Navy’s shipbuilding budget two years in a row. That’s put a damper on plans to use the ship to give small units of about 75 Marines the freedom to move quickly and discreetly while packing a big punch — carrying with them […]
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Nebraska — Workers here are entering the final stretch of a massive, 18-month renovation to a runway that had dangerously deteriorated after 70 years under the weight of military jets. On a recent visit to Offutt, home to some of the Air Force’s most niche airborne reconnaissance missions as well as U.S. Strategic Command headquarters, Air Force Times toured the vast construction site where the nearly 12,000-foot landing strip is starting to take shape. “It’s a noticeable difference, just looking at what’s here right now,” said Maj. Jon Adams, the project’s incoming deputy director, as he peered […]
The three-star Marine general in charge of combat development has a simple message for Devil Dogs: The whole idea of combined arms has evolved in recent decades and the Corps must transform to fight and win. Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl spoke Wednesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, D.C., ahead of the soon-to-release Marine Corps Force Design update for 2022, due out in a few days. Heckl shared a blunt message. “Combined arms is more than towed cannon artillery, tanks and aviation,” he said. “It’s information, cyber and space.” The three star said he hears […]
VA loans are one of the best tools on the path to homeownership. Personal finance expert Jeanette Mack explains the benefits and dispels some popular myths. Source link
WASHINGTON — As the war in Ukraine drags into its third month, the United States is trying to figure out the best way — and pace — to train troops there on how to use the Western arms flooding into the besieged nation. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have either completed or are undergoing training on how to operate artillery, air defense radar systems, loitering drones armed with explosives and armored personnel carriers, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said during a Friday briefing. But on Monday, Kirby noted the importance of not “overload[ing] their system” in the midst of an active fight […]
WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in a bid to mature its scramjet-powered hypersonic weapon program, is seeking $60 million in its fiscal 2023 budget for the next phase of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapons Concept. The new-start program, dubbed MoHAWC, is a successor to HAWC, developed jointly with the Air Force using Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as prime contractors. Both companies conducted successful test flights of their vehicles, with Raytheon’s flying in September and Lockheed’s in March. The HAWC vehicles are powered by scramjet engines designed to offer better, more efficient performance at hypersonic speeds. Northrop Grumman built the […]
THE PENTAGON — The U.S. Marine Corps has updated its Force Design 2030 plans, putting a stronger emphasis on the reconnaissance/counter-reconnaissance competition as foundational to lethality, the commandant said. Gen. David Berger told reporters May 5 the original Force Design 2030 focused heavily on the lethality of small, distributed units of Marines — whether hauling ground-based anti-ship missiles around island chains, jamming or shooting down aircraft or even detecting and firing upon submarines going through chokepoints. But, asked by Defense News what he’s more confident about now than a year ago, Berger said none of those lethal effects matter much if […]
Eyeing the continued flow of Iranian weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, the Combined Maritime Forces, a naval partnership comprising 34 nations led by U.S. Central Command, established a new multinational task force last month that will focus on the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. If properly resourced and supported, Combined Task Force 153 could facilitate a more effective response to the persistent problem of Iranian weapons smuggling to terrorist proxies that fuel conflicts across the Middle East. The new task force will operate in the Red Sea from the Suez Canal down through the […]
Parade Participants wearing historical uniforms ride in WWII-era motorcycles adorned with stickers of the letter Z, which has become a symbol of support for Russian military action in Ukraine. (Rostislav Netisov/AFP via Getty Images) Shouts of “Hurrah!” echoed through Moscow’s Red Square on Monday from thousands of troops and veterans as Russia celebrated Victory Day, marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany 77 years ago to end World War II in Europe. Missiles, tanks and other armored vehicles rumbled over the cobblestones in the annual military parade, and thousands of troops marched in tight formation as President Vladimir Putin watched […]
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday denied an accusation that he wanted to use U.S. military members to shoot protestors during civil rights demonstrations in summer 2020, but declined comment on a similar report that he suggested using missiles to attack drug cartels in Mexico. Those allegations — and more — are included in former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s new book “A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times,” which is set to be released Tuesday. Axios reported from the book last week that as protestors filled the streets around Washington, D.C., in June 2020, Trump called […]
WASHINGTON ― A group of former national security officials is asking lawmakers to exempt immigrants with advanced science, technology, engineering and math degrees from green card caps in order to help the U.S. compete with China. “In today’s technology competition, the most powerful and enduring asymmetric advantage America has is its ability to attract and retain the world’s best and brightest,” the officials said in a letter dated Monday, first reported by Axios. “Bottlenecks in the U.S. immigration system risk squandering this advantage.” The letter to conferees working to finalize a China competition bill was signed by former leaders of the […]
Defense News Weekly gets an inside look at one of the Air Force’s most secretive planes – the E4-B of the Nightwatch program. Source link
WASHINGTON ― Lockheed Martin aims to nearly double production for Javelin anti-tank missiles from 2,100 to 4,000 per year, but it needs the supply chain to “crank up,” according to its chief executive. As the U.S. sends Javelins from its own military stockpiles to Ukraine’s fight against Russia, Lockheed is boosting Javelin production ― but getting to its goal could take as long as a couple of years, Jim Taiclet said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We’re endeavoring to take that up to 4,000 per year, and that will take a number of months, maybe even a couple of years […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is sending electronic jamming equipment to the frontlines in Ukraine. The Department of Defense on May 6 said a $150 million security package bound for Eastern Europe includes the jamming gear, as well as 25,000 artillery rounds, radar systems and other field equipment and spares. The department provided no specific details about the electronic-warfare kit. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, on Friday said the capabilities in this package “are tailored to meet critical Ukrainian needs for today’s fight as Russian forces continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.” The equipment will be siphoned from American defense stocks, […]
As a light armored vehicle started taking on water during a training mission, the nearby Marines had to decide what to do. How did they react? Source link
Past president of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves talks about Russia’s digital threat for this week’s “Actionable Intelligence.” Source link
Take an inside look at the U.S. Air Force’s E-4B Nightwatch which is used in case of a dire national security situation such as a natural disaster or nuclear wa Source link
ABOARD A C-40 OVER THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES — The Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter was poised to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Pave Hawk — a stalwart during the war in Afghanistan, time and again rescuing American troops and allies trapped in enemy territory. But in its fiscal 2023 budget released in late March, the U.S. Air Force unveiled a surprise: It wants to scale back its total planned purchases of the Jolly Green II HH-60W by one-third, to 75 in all, citing concerns they could be shot down by an enemy with advanced air defense […]
WASHINGTON — Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Friday defended the Biden administration’s strategy of integrated deterrence against adversaries such as Russia, despite its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has not yet felt the full effect of the economic sanctions much of the world imposed shortly after the country launched its invasion in February, Hicks said at a Ronald Reagan Institute event discussing the National Defense Strategy. And Russia has not struck any NATO territory, she said as an example of how deterrence has worked in the Ukraine crisis. Integrated deterrence is a cornerstone of the National Defense Strategy the administration sent […]
KITTERY, Maine — A key element of a $1.7 billion modernization effort at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was used for the first time with the docking of the USS Cheyenne, Navy officials said Friday. The Los Angeles-class boat was the first submarine to enter Dry Dock 1 without buoyancy assistance last month, officials said. The so-called super flood basin is akin to a navigational lock that upgrades the shallowest of the shipyard’s dry docks, allowing submarines to enter independent of tides and without buoyancy. RELATED It performed exactly as it was designed to do. Capt. Michael Oberdorf, shipyard commander, called it “a […]
WASHINGTON — The director of the Pentagon’s innovation hub will resign in September, a Department of Defense spokesman confirmed. Michael Brown, head of the Defense Innovation Unit, informed the department on April 27 he would resign when his term ends Sept. 2, Lt. Cmdr. Tim Gorman told Defense News Friday. Politico first reported his resignation. Brown has served as DIU director since 2018, pushing changes to DoD’s budgeting process and advocating for greater adoption of commercial technology. Politico reported he is leaving due to “glaring weakness in modernizing DoD,” citing an email Brown sent to coworkers last week. Gorman said in […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has received more than 300 responses to its call for weapons and commercial systems to rapidly equip Ukraine’s military. The Department of Defense issued a request for information April 22 seeking input from companies on a number of needed capabilities, including air defense, anti-armor, unmanned aerial systems and communications equipment. Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante, in his first public appearance since taking the role, said Friday the influx of proposals will help mitigate supply chain issues, speed up production lines and address strategic objectives in the region. Friday is the cutoff for companies to make proposals, and […]
WASHINGTON — Training is set to begin in Germany next week for Ukrainian soldiers on the Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer, after officials confirmed Friday that the Dutch and German governments approved sending 12 of the heavy weapons to the fight. The decision comes after much hand-wringing in Berlin about the extent of Germany’s military support to Ukraine. Previously, the government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz was reluctant to provide heavy weapons, though key ministers from the governing coalition parties were reportedly more forward leaning than Scholz. The provision of the self-propelled howitzers follows the expected logic of intensified fighting in the stretches […]
If the colors of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division could talk, they may soon be complaining about a change in weather. The historic unit, which fought in New Guinea and the Philippines as part of the Pacific theater of World War II, was inactivated in 1965. It was last located at Fort Benning, Georgia, where it was an experimental unit testing the viability of air assault and airmobile operations. But that could soon change, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told lawmakers Thursday in a Senate committee hearing. She said the 11th Airborne, which was nicknamed the “Angels” before deactivation, could provide the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s hesitancy to embrace the burgeoning commercial market for small satellite launches may undermine its space superiority in the next decade, according to the Atlantic Council. In a report released May 5, the think tank focused on international security and global economic prosperity argues that the Department of Defense has failed to take advantage of commercial space services, despite advances in small satellite technology that have made them more affordable and capable. “There is an established culture that ignores legislated ‘commercial first’ mandates, and that behavior has become increasingly detrimental to national security interests,” according to the […]
CANONSBURG, Pa. — Engineering simulation specialist Ansys on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $71 million. On a per-share basis, the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company said it had net income of 81 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.36 per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.14 per share. The maker of engineering-simulation software posted revenue of $425.1 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $428.6 million, also topping Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $406.4 million. For the current […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The satellite communications firm Telesat on Friday reported earnings of $11 million in its first quarter. The Ottawa, Ontario-based company said it had net income of 89 cents per share. The company posted revenue of $146.7 million in the period. Telesat expects full-year revenue in the range of $568.4 million to $584.2 million. Source link
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — EchoStar Corp. on Thursday reported earnings of $91.4 million in its first quarter. The Englewood, Colorado-based company said it had net income of $1.06 per share. Earnings, adjusted for investment gains, came to 32 cents per share. The company, which sells set-top boxes and provides satellite services, posted a revenue of $501.5 million in the period. Source link
Serbia Serbia publicly displayed a recently delivered Chinese anti-aircraft missile system, raising concerns in the West and among some of Serbia’s neighbors that an arms buildup in the Balkans could threaten fragile peace in the region. (Darko Vojinovic/AP) BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia on April 20 publicly displayed a recently delivered Chinese anti-aircraft missile system, raising concerns in the West and among some of Serbia’s neighbors that an arms buildup in the Balkans could threaten fragile peace in the region. The sophisticated HQ-22 surface-to-air system was delivered recently by a dozen Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Y-20 transport planes, in what […]
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A bipartisan group of Georgia lawmakers is asking congressional budget writers to reject the Biden administration’s plan to close an Air National Guard training facility for military pilots in the state. President Joe Biden’s proposed budget for fiscal 2023 would eliminate funding for the Air Dominance Center at the Savannah Air National Guard Base, which conducts Air-to-Air Combat Training Missions for 4th and 5th generation fighters for the Air National Guard, active duty Air Force and the Navy and Marine Corps. The five Georgia congressmen, led by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, sent a letter to key members of […]
WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is kicking off the next phase of a program to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear-powered propulsion systems operating between Earth and the moon in what’s known as cislunar space. DARPA awarded contracts for Phase 1 of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations in April 2021. General Atomics received a $22 million order to develop a design for a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor and subsystem, the centerpiece of the program. Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin won contracts valued at $2.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively, to independently design a spacecraft using the propulsion […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said it dispatched a cyber team to Lithuania to expose malign activity and strengthen the country’s networks amid mounting Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. The so-called hunt-forward operation used specialists to monitor systems, identify threats and vulnerabilities, and relay insights to sharpen defenses. It lasted three months, beginning before Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, and concluded this week. The endeavor is “a great example of how cyber is a team sport, and we have to play it together,” Army Maj. Gen. Joe Hartman, Cyber National Mission Force commander, said in a statement May 4. “With […]