After a chaotic, months long saga, the U.S. has begun withdrawing its forces from Niger. The two countries announced their decision in a joint statement on Sunday, after almost a week of military talks. The deadline is September 15. America has relied on the west African country as a counter-terrorism hub for more than a…
Category: Military
Here’s how the Army’s Multidomain Task Force is contributing to AUKUS
HONOLULU – The U.S. Army’s 3rd Multidomain Task Force, headquartered in Hawaii, is getting officers from both Australia and the U.K. this summer and will work on advancing technology that’s. focus of the second pillar of the AUKUS pact, according to U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Charles Flynn. Australia is sending five officers while the…
Here’s how the US Army’s multidomain task force is contributing to AUKUS
HONOLULU — The U.S. Army’s 3rd Multidomain Task Force, headquartered in Hawaii, is getting officers from both Australia and the U.K. this summer and will work on advancing technology that’s. focus of the second pillar of the AUKUS pact, according to U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Charles Flynn. Australia is sending five officers while the…
Poland receives final TB2 drone delivery from Turkey’s Baykar
MERSIN, Turkey — Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar has delivered to Poland the final batch of Bayraktar TB2 combat systems ordered for $270 million, the company announced. Poland signed a deal in May 2021 for the drones and associated equipment. The contract stipulated the delivery of four systems, each of which include six aircraft and three…
Drone corps proposal would disrupt US Army plans, says undersecretary
A House committee’s proposal to create a drone corps within the Army may run counter to the service’s push to expand tactics, training and spending for unmanned aerial systems across some operational units, according to an Army official. The House Armed Services Committee’s draft fiscal 2025 defense policy bill includes a provision directing the Army…
Marines, special ops test MRZR vehicles that add power, payload capacity
Polaris has a version of its MRZR Alpha vehicle able to power offboard systems that’s nearing production, as well as a heavy-payload variant undergoing testing with the Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command, the manufacturer told Defense News. Program manager John LaFata said developing the ability for MRZR light vehicles to generate electricity to…
Pentagon acquisition can no longer ignore the industrial base
The Defense Department plans to release the implementation plan for its National Defense Industrial Strategy in early fall. America’s adversaries may not wait that long. Russia certainly isn’t waiting in Ukraine. Iran isn’t waiting in Israel. And from the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait, America’s other adversaries aren’t likely to respect such a timeline….
Germany, Slovakia work to extend repair hub for Ukraine beyond 2024
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Negotiations are underway between the German and Slovak governments to extend the lease of a KNDS repair hub in Slovakia for German- and French-made combat vehicles damaged in Ukraine, according to the manufacturer. In 2022, the Franco-German joint venture KNDS, formed by defense companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, established a Slovakia base…
France turns to AI for signals analysis in underwater acoustics war
PARIS — The French Navy is turning to artificial intelligence to help its submariners detect enemy vessels in a growing sea of underwater sounds. The Navy’s acoustic recognition and interpretation center CIRA in Toulon is working with French startup Preligens on AI-powered analysis of underwater acoustic signals, the center’s head, Vincent Magnan, said in a…
House passes bill to undo Biden’s partial Israel weapons hold
The House on Thursday passed 224-187 a bill aimed at forcing President Joe Biden to reverse his recent hold on a shipment of some 3,500 air-to-ground munitions for Israel. Biden withheld the munitions transfer, which includes 2,000- and 500-pound bombs, in April in protest of Israel’s decision to move ahead with its ongoing offensive in…
Lockheed running out of parking space amid F-35 delays, says watchdog
Lockheed Martin is running out of space to store undelivered F-35 Joint Strike Fighters as the jets’ upgrade effort remains behind schedule, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday. Furthermore, the F-35 program’s testing capacity is stretched thin and will worsen once the Technology Refresh 3 software upgrade and the Block…
Four ways US Army’s Pacific chief plans to boost regional land forces
HONOLULU — America and its Pacific partners are building a network of land forces to deter those who would threaten regional stability, but there are four building blocks to make this joint effort a success, according to the head of U.S. Army forces in the area. Gen. Charles Flynn’s comments at a gathering of regional…
Military’s novel floating pier arrives in Gaza amid security concerns
Since President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military would build a humanitarian aid pier on the Gaza Strip, and that “no U.S. boots will be on the ground” in Gaza, Keith Robbins and other retired military logistics officers have been watching. And on Thursday, after weeks of…
Airbus developing an unmanned Lakota helo for Marine resupply mission
Airbus U.S. Space and Defense is pitching a version of its UH-72 Lakota helicopter as a potential unmanned resupply aircraft for the Marine Corps and will continue to develop it under a Marine Corps contract. Airbus announced this week Naval Air Systems Command awarded it an other transactional authority agreement to develop a prototype for…
US announces $2 billion to help Ukraine make its own weapons
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced a $2 billion aid package for Ukraine largely intended to help the embattled country grow its indigenous defense capabilities and move away from Soviet-era equipment. The $2 billion in Ukraine Foreign Military Financing mostly comes from the $60 billion economic and security aid for Kyiv Congress passed…
US announces $2 billion to help Ukraine make its own weapons
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced a $2 billion aid package for Ukraine largely intended to help the embattled country grow its indigenous defense capabilities and move away from Soviet-era equipment. The $2 billion in Ukraine Foreign Military Financing mostly comes from the $60 billion economic and security aid for Kyiv Congress passed…
Slovak defense show carries on after Fico shooting
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — It was business as usual at Slovakia’s flagship defense fair here on Thursday, less than a day after the country’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and wounded in a town northeast of the capital. A strangely normal atmosphere reigned on the last day of the IDEB defense show, shortly after news…
Navy, Marine Corps pitched three systems for first Replicator batch
The Navy’s top acquisition official told lawmakers this week his service has three projects — including one from the Marine Corps — involved in Replicator, a Pentagon effort to quickly field large numbers of uncrewed systems. “The Navy has been very supportive of Replicator,” Nickolas Guertin, assistant Secretary of the Navy for research, development and…
French defense committee takes swipe at German industry tack
PARIS — France’s lower-house defense committee took a swipe at what it described as Germany’s self-interested approach in European defense matters, saying the Berlin government’s promotion of domestic firms comes at the expense of the greater industrial cooperation that is needed to increase strategic autonomy in the European Union. European defense-industry cooperation should systemically apply…
Takeaways from the voyage to Gaza for the US Army’s watercraft program
When the U.S. Army’s largest watercraft, LSV-1, cast off for Gaza in early March, it marked the start of a momentous journey. This voyage, followed by the deployment of several additional ships loaded with equipment to establish a pier and parts of a modular causeway system, represents a significant portion of the Army’s mission-critical, intra-theater…
Wittman sure US Navy will buy two attack subs in 2025 — like it or not
A powerful member of the House Armed Services Committee has said in no uncertain terms that Congress would force the Navy to buy two Virginia-class attack submarines in fiscal 2025, regardless of the service’s reasons for deviating from its plan and requesting one instead. “The bottom line: The Navy’s just wrong on this. The Navy…
In platform design and construction, the best surprise is no surprise
This is part of a series exploring ways to strengthen the U.S. Navy’s fleet. to see the entire series. Click this link for the original source of this article. Author: Douglas Robb, Capt. Wayne Lewis This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.defensenews.com and its author. This content is made available by use…
House bill: Time to put Air Force’s ‘flying car’ concept into action
House lawmakers want the Air Force to start seriously thinking about how to make its electric “flying car” concept a reality. A subcommittee’s section of the House Armed Services Committee’s proposed fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act would require the Air Force and the Pentagon to set up a working group dedicated to transitioning its…
Slovakia debuts rapid-fire mortar at local defense show
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia has unveiled a 120mm self-propelled mortar advertised as firing 20 rounds of ammunition per minute, a rate that would make it one of the fastest in Europe. Minister of Defense Robert Kalinak presented the multi-company product during the country’s flagship defense fair here, IDEB, which runs May 14-16. The AM-120, which…
Australia unveils record $37 billion defense budget
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia will spend a record AU$55.7 billion (U.S. $36.8 billion) on defense during the next fiscal year, according to budget documents unveiled May 14. The figure equates to 2.02% of gross domestic product and represents a 6.3% increase from last year. Australia’s national defense strategy released last month, promised a significant…
US and Japan sign agreement to co-develop hypersonic interceptor
HONOLULU – The United States and Japan signed a cooperative agreement Wednesday to co-develop a hypersonic missile defense capability designed to neutralize hypersonic threats in the glide phase of flight, according to May 15 statements from both the Missile Defense Agency and Japan’s Ministry of Defense. The two countries have been in talks regarding the…
UK Navy to buy six vessels as it enters ‘golden age’ of shipbuilding
BERLIN — The British Royal Navy plans to buy up to six new multirole support ships and give its future frigates the ability to attack land-based targets, the defense secretary announced Tuesday. The offensive capability comes as the military learns lessons from recent operations in the Red and Black seas, Grant Shapps noted, with the…
House bill would block F-22 retirements, keep buying Air Force F-15EXs
Some House lawmakers want to prevent the Air Force from retiring older F-22A Raptor fighters and keep the F-15EX Eagle II jets in production a year longer than the service had planned. The House Armed Services Committee’s proposed fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act would also allow the service to cut 56 A-10 Warthogs. The…
House panel takes aim at Navy size, new capabilities in defense bill
A defense policy bill released this week by the House Armed Services Committee expresses concerns over the Navy’s aging cruisers, the cost and capability of a planned amphibious ship, development of capability to rearm vessels at sea, and more. The language in the committee’s fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act represents a continuation of disagreements…
Space Force should consider alternative launch sites, lawmakers say
As U.S. launch rates surge at the Defense Department’s two coastal ranges, House lawmakers are pushing the military to consider alternative sites for sending space payloads to orbit. In the House Armed Services Committee’s draft fiscal 2025 defense policy bill, lawmakers raised concerns about the ability of DOD’s most in-demand spaceports at Cape Canaveral Space…
Ukraine, Russia race to shield battle tanks from exploding drones
MILAN — Ukrainian and Russian forces are scrambling to field countermeasures for protecting tanks against one-way attack drones, which experts say are a growing challenge even for vehicles traveling at speed. In the large category of unmanned aerial vehicles, the class of first-person-view drones, essentially steerable miniature warheads, have emerged as a ubiquitous threat. “One-way…
UK picks companies for billion-dollar hypersonic missile program
PARIS — The U.K. Ministry of Defence picked 90 companies and organizations from industry and academia to compete for a £1 billion (U.S. $1.26 billion) program to develop hypersonic missile capabilities. Those selected will be eligible to bid for contracts within the eight-lot framework, with a maximum value of £1 billion over the next seven…
House defense bill retains spending caps, creates DoD talent officer
The House Armed Services Committee’s $883.7 billion annual defense policy bill sticks to the military spending caps Congress imposed for fiscal 2025 as part of last year’s debt ceiling deal, according to a text of the measure released on Monday. The spending caps authorize a 1% increase over the FY24 defense policy bill, which came…
It’s time to rebalance funding toward the Air Force and Space Force
It is time to rebalance Department of Defense resources so that our men and women in uniform can fight, if necessary, and win in an increasingly dangerous world. Given the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and an array of nonstate actors, the United States is facing extreme challenges, the likes of which…
House lawmakers aim to cut F-35 buy as patience with delays wears thin
A proposed House policy bill would slash the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters the Pentagon would buy in fiscal 2025 as lawmakers’ patience with the program and manufacturer Lockheed Martin wears thin. The Pentagon’s proposed FY25 budget called for buying 68 of the fifth-generation fighter — 42 F-35As for the Air Force, plus 13…
Canada wants to boost munitions lines with critical minerals expansion
Canada is seeking to increase its munitions stockpiles amid shortages highlighted by the war in Ukraine. But to bolster production, it first needs to expand its supply chain, particularly for the critical minerals ubiquitous in defense equipment and consumer electronics alike. To do this, Ottawa hopes to tap further into its vast critical minerals reserves,…
Putin replaces defense minister at key moment in the Ukraine war
Standing in his dress uniform in the back of his Aurus convertible, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was driven around Red Square to review the troops during last week’s Victory Day parade. It was to be his last inspection in that role. Over the weekend, President Vladimir Putin replaced Shoigu — the 68-year-old was the longest…
House Armed Services Committee adds second Virginia submarine in FY25
The House Armed Services Committee will try to partially fund a second Virginia-class submarine in fiscal 2025 to mitigate harm to the industrial base it says will come from the Navy’s one-boat request. The service has bought Virginia-class attack submarines at a rate of two per year since 2011. It has also pitched this continuous…
US Army experiments with long-endurance drones, balloons in Philippines
BASCO, Philippines — A barely detectable speck appears near a beaming, late afternoon sun and then dodges behind a cloud. Soon that small speck, as it makes its slow descent, takes the form of a sleek, small unmanned aircraft. The aircraft makes a quiet, delicate landing along the runway of a remote island airfield in…
Lawmakers propose DIU-managed military testing and evaluation cell
House lawmakers want the Pentagon to establish a test and evaluation hub they hope will help transition innovative technology to military units at a faster rate. In its version of fiscal 2025 defense policy legislation, released May 13, the House Armed Services Committee calls on the Defense Department to create the test and evaluation cell…
Pentagon seeks to expand special ops authorities for friendly nations
The Defense Department wants Congress to approve an expansion of special operations authorities to train and equip U.S.-aligned countries for irregular warfare against outside aggressors. The Pentagon submitted a legislative proposal to Congress in April that would expand the scope of these authorities – usually reserved for counterterrorism, counternarcotics and border security activities – to…
New strategic military sites in Philippines exercised in Balikatan
MANILA – New military sites designated under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines allowed forces during the bilateral Balikatan exercise to test their strategic effectiveness and to work on improvement projects there. EDCA allows the U.S. to fund improvement and construction of infrastructure at existing Philippine military bases and other…
Pentagon announces $400 million in Ukraine arms transfers
The Pentagon on Friday announced a $400 million tranche of weapons for Ukraine, its second package since Congress passed a foreign aid bill last month with additional Defense Department funding to support Kyiv. The new package includes additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems and National Advanced Surface Air-to-Air Missile Systems, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Javelin…
Italy mulls delivery of another SAMP/T system to Ukraine, says source
ROME — Italy is considering sending a second SAMP/T air defense battery to Ukraine following pressure from allies to beef up arms deliveries to the war-torn country, a source has told Defense News. “The Defence Ministry is keen, but a decision must be made by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It is on her desk and…
DARPA taps Aurora to keep designing heavy cargo seaplane in $8.3M deal
Aurora Flight Sciences will continue designing an experimental heavy cargo seaplane for the U.S. military, which has now officially dropped General Atomics’ pitch for the Liberty Lifter aircraft program. The Pentagon announced Thursday that Aurora, a subsidiary of Boeing based in Manassas, Virginia, has received an $8.3 million contract modification to keep working on its…
Germany to buy US HIMARS launchers for Ukraine
COLOGNE, Germany — The German government will buy three HIMARS launchers from U.S. military stocks and give them to Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in Washington. The swap essentially follows through on a weapons transfer workaround designed when the fate of a $61 billion bill for military aid to Ukraine was still iffy in…
Thales doubles down on radio production as US Army rethinks its network
CLARKSBURG, Md. — “It’s not explosive, so don’t worry about it.” Michael Sheehan was talking about fuzes embedded in the tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided, or TOW, missile used for decades to blow up armor and fortifications. “We build that here,” he said of the components resembling electronic rounds. “In the room over there.” Sheehan is…
Japan’s defense chief calls for more counter-drone tech
TOKYO — Japan’s defense chief Friday encouraged the country to bolster its anti-drone capability after drone footage posted on Chinese social media showed a Japanese aircraft carrier docked at a restricted port west of Tokyo. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara’s acknowledgement of the vulnerability comes more than a month after a video filmed by a drone…
US Army sends HIMARS rocket launcher island hopping in the Philippines
LA-LO, Philippines — The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System has gained international attention in recent years, particularly in the war in Ukraine, but a U.S. Army unit challenged the system’s ability to rapidly deploy in a drastically different Pacific island environment this month during the bilateral training exercise known as Balikatan in the Philippines. HIMARS…
Fincantieri buys Leonardo’s torpedo unit in deal that could reach $446M
ROME — Fincantieri has acquired Leonardo’s torpedo unit for up to €415 million (U.S. $446 million), the two Italian firms announced Thursday, bolstering the former’s ambition to become a major player in the undersea warfare business. State-controlled shipyard Fincantieri will pay €300 million, plus an additional sum of up to €115 million based on the…
US special forces want longer reach for rockets, snipers, robots
TAMPA, Fla. — Special operators are pushing for more firepower in their small teams, asking industry for a lighter shoulder-fired rocket, a long-range sniper rifle, and both land- and air-based weaponized drones. Lt. Col. Tosh Lancaster told the audience at the Special Operations Force Week conference that U.S. Special Operations Command plans to publish a…