DefenseNews

F-22 flight training begins at Virginia base after years in limbo

The Air Force has started teaching student pilots to fly the F-22 Raptor fighter jet at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, the service said June 14. It’s a new start for the F-22 training enterprise after Hurricane Michael destroyed the mission’s sole home at Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base in 2018. “We want to get them in the mindset of what it’s like to be in a fighter squadron…
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DefenseNews

French Army taps Nexter to build tank-busting kamikaze drones

PARIS — The French military has selected Nexter to develop new drones equipped with anti-tank warheads for the army, with a goal to demonstrate the new capability by the end of 2024, the company announced June 19. The French Defense Innovation Agency – an agency similar…
DefenseNews

House committee may conduct greater oversight of Navy ship maintenance

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee’s members may take a more active oversight role on Navy ship maintenance, after one lawmaker was “bitterly disappointed” the service let some of its cruisers “decay” amid high demand. Rep. Rob Wittman, who sits on the committee’s sea power panel, told Defense News he is frustrated with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday and…
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DefenseNews

Epirus, DroneShield combine on UAS-roasting air defense

WASHINGTON — Two companies developing drone-frying technologies are combining their products to create what they describe as a counter-unmanned aerial system capable of tracking and downing multiple targets. Epirus, a U.S. company specializing in directed energy, and…
DefenseNews

US Army must plan how to manage electric battlefield, lawmakers say

WASHINGTON — A House draft of the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill would require the Army secretary conduct an analysis for determining which systems could store and distribute electric power on the battlefield. The service’s reliance on battery-powered capabilities to manage daily operations is increasing. Soldiers need batteries to, for example, operate the Samsung-based Nett Warrior…
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DefenseNews

Italy’s Army aviation chief talks helicopter advancements

ROME — As the commander of Italy’s Army aviation fleet, Maj. Gen. Andrea Di Stasio oversees a helicopter portfolio on the cusp of old and new. Decision-makers in the country have been closely watching moves in Washington about remaking the U.S. Army’s fleet, itching to jump on the bandwagon with what some thought would be the next major accomplishment in propulsion technology. Di Stasio…
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