In discussing the National Guard Bureau’s response to Hurricane Michael last week, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that the Guard needs more aviation assets, particularly Boeing [BA] CH-47 Chinooks, for on-call response to contingencies, including national disasters. “Aviation is almost always a limiting factor,” Lengyel told the Defense […]
The Army’s program to replace its M113 armored personnel carriers with BAE Systems’ Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is 90 days ahead of schedule with a production decision expected by Nov. 14, according to the lead program official. Col. Mike Milner, AMPV project manager, said the completion of successful limited user testing two weeks ago and […]
SAIC [SAIC] is readying for a November decision from the Army on its Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program to buy a new light tank for its infantry brigades, with officials also positioning their vehicle offering as a potential option for the service’s next generation combat vehicle (NGCV) effort. Jim Scanlon, senior vice president for SAIC’s […]
A new command and control collaboration technology developed by Textron Systems [TXT], Synturian, is ready to give military pilots the ability to control manned-unmanned teaming drones with just a few inputs from a cockpit display. Textron has been developing Synturian for several years and proved its ability to support manned-unmanned aircraft teaming during a July […]
The Army is planning to test offerings late next year for its new long-range precision strike munition (PrSM) capable of reaching 499 kilometers with a goal of fielding systems by 2023, drastically accelerating the schedule from an original 2027 delivery date. Col. John Rafferty, director of the Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) cross functional team […]
The lead official for the Army’s team to find a new missile defense radar said a 360-degree sensor will not be required for companies moving forward in the competition, but emphasized a need to meet increased battlespace criteria and advanced network integration capabilities. Brig. Gen. Randall McIntire, director of the Air and Missile Defense cross […]
A new industry partnership could bring the Army and Marine Corps a step closer to incorporating manned-unmanned teaming concepts into combat operations. Unmanned aerial vehicle-maker Aerovironment has partnered with General Dynamics Land Systems [GD] to integrate two of its systems onto the vehiclemaker’s new armored reconnaissance vehicle (ARV), in development for the Marines, the company […]
The Army is looking to 2026 to replace its Bradleys with a new optionally manned fighting vehicle (OFMV) as the first step in its next-generation combat vehicle (NGCV) effort, with a request for proposals due by January. BAE Systems’ CV90, General Dynamics’ [GD] Griffin III and Raytheon’s [RTN] Lynx fighting vehicles were among the concept […]
Leonardo DRS on Tuesday announced $800 million in electro-optical and infrared sensors contracts from the Pentagon, including a $231 million deal to deliver a new tripod mounted laser designator rangefinder to the Army. The Army in September awarded Leonardo DRS a 10-year deal to potentially deliver 2,700 next-generation Lightweight Laser Designator Rangement (LLDR) for forward […]
The Defense Department is in the stages of improving the cyber security of the weapon systems it develops and the vulnerabilities of these systems are made worse due to their complexity, warns a new report by congressional auditors. The potential risks from these vulnerabilities are huge. “These weapons are essential to maintaining our nation’s military […]
