DefenseNews

Boeing begins 3D-printing Apache helicopter parts

October 18, 2023
WASHINGTON — Boeing plans to begin testing a full 3D-printed main rotor system for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter in the spring of next year as part of an effort to cut out long-lead times and improve the overall supply chains for parts that are typically forged, according to company officials. At the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference last week, a Boeing and ASTRO America…
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DefenseNews

No, Rafael’s ‘Iron Beam’ laser didn’t blow up missiles over Israel

October 16, 2023
WASHINGTON — Videos circulating on social media purporting to show a high-energy laser weapon destroying missiles during the Israel-Hamas war are actually altered clips derived from a military simulation video game. Cropped, low-resolution footage depicting swarms of overhead projectiles being intercepted in front of a tower are sourced from Arma 3, a photorealistic game billed as a “massive…
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DefenseNews

US Army considering aerostat overhaul as focus turns to Russia, China

October 12, 2023
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is examining how it can reinvigorate its aging fleet of blimp-like aircraft known as aerostats that serve as elevated surveillance and communication platforms. The service is interested in the updates amid a focus on countering the Russian and Chinese militaries, forces more sophisticated than those fought for decades in the Middle East. “Aerostat, I think, is…
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DefenseNews

The Army needs a near-term strategy for the 2020s

October 12, 2023
The U.S. Army must move faster to deter near-term threats. Although the Army has a strategy to modernize the force by 2030, that is just seven years away and potentially four years too late if the Chinese Communist Party attempts to retake Taiwan by force by 2027, as our…
DefenseNews

AUSA: Highlights from the US Army’s annual conference

October 12, 2023
WASHINGTON — The Association of the United States Army held its annual conference Oct. 9-11 in Washington, with defense officials, military personnel and industry representatives gathering to discuss the future force — and what threats it may face from advanced…
DefenseNews

Army leaders see Latin America as backyard test bed for military tech

October 12, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The work that U.S. Southern Command is best known for — counternarcotics — is only one challenge the often-overlooked theater faces. “You need to pause and understand the threat in this area of operations is real and it goes well beyond counternarcotics,” said Maj. Gen. Dusty Shultz, the command’s director of intelligence. Shultz spoke on a panel here Oct. 10 at the…
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