Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III responds to a question during his Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. Jan. 19, 2021. (DoD/EJ Hersom)
Members of Congress voted to grant Lloyd Austin a waiver to lead the Pentagon despite being out of uniform for less than the seven years required by law, setting the stage for him to be confirmed as defense secretary as early as Thursday…
Army resumes testing for its family of medium tactical vehicles
January 22, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Army has resumed product verification testing for the latest variant of its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), Wolfgang Petermann, project manager of transportation systems in the Program Executive Office Combat Support & Combat Service…
Army chief teases new Arctic strategy
January 22, 2021
WASHINGTON — Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville teased the recently completed Arctic strategy emphasizing it would provide the U.S. with capabilities to compete and deter conflict in the region.
The Army’s strategy recognizes “where our national interests…
WASHINGTON — The Army is preparing for key tests of a multimode seeker for munitions that will be capable of attacking maritime targets, but current funding will prevent a faster timeline to integrate it into the Army’s future long-range missile, according to Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of the service’s long-range precision fires modernization efforts.
The Precision Strike…
Trump didn’t influence program details on Air Force One, JEDI, says acquisition head
January 20, 2021
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump did not ultimately change the course of either the Pentagon’s Air Force One replacement or JEDI cloud computing programs, the Pentagon’s outgoing acquisition chief said Tuesday.
Ellen Lord, who will exit office at noon on…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia has selected Boeing’s AH-64E Apache Guardian as it’s next armed reconnaissance helicopter, replacing its Airbus Helicopters Tiger fleet under the Land 4503 program estimated to be worth AU$4-5 billion (U.S. $3–3.8 billion).
The…
American warship, F-35 jets to deploy with British fleet
January 20, 2021
LONDON — U.S. combat jets and a destroyer are to join the British Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier on its maiden operational deployment to the Asia-Pacific region later in 2021, after officials formally approved the deployment Tuesday.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and U.S. acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller co-signed a joint declaration approving the deployment of U.S.
US Navy halts deliveries of Freedom-class littoral combat ship
January 20, 2021
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has halted deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-class littoral combat ship, citing a design flaw with the ship’s transmission.
In a statement to Defense News, the Navy pointed to “a material defect” with the ship’s combining gear…
French Army orders 364 Serval armored vehicles
January 16, 2021
PARIS — The French Army is expected to receive 108 Serval armored vehicles in 2022 as part of an order from manufacturers Nexter and Texelis totaling 364.
The contract was finalized through the DGA procurement agency on Dec. 23 but was not announced until Jan. 15.
…
US Army taps industry for autonomous drones to resupply troops
January 16, 2021
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is tapping industry for drones that can deliver supplies to infantry brigade combat teams in the field, according to a request for information posted to the federal contracting website Beta.Sam.Gov on Jan. 13.
Army Futures Command’s Sustainment Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate as well as the Marine Corps’ Capabilities Development and…
