WASHINGTON — After about a yearlong delay, the U.S. Air Force has begun fielding the Small Diameter Bomb II, a new Raytheon-produced smart weapon approved for use on the F-15E Strike Eagle jet, the service confirmed Oct. 13.
The decision, made by Air Combat Command on Sept. 23, paves the way for integration with the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jet later this year. Following that…
Army training, recruiting marches on despite COVID-19 challenges
October 15, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, locking down much of the United States in its path, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command still had a job to do — recruit new soldiers and train the ones they had.
Gen. Paul Funk, TRADOC commander, talked with Army Times…
Army to conduct thorough review of aviation fleet in FY23
October 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — As the Army looks to bring on two future helicopters by 2030, the service is planning to review its entire aviation fleet in fiscal 2023, Lt. Gen. James Pasquarette, the Army G-8, told Defense News in an Oct. 8 interview.
Over the past several years, the…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy’s cost estimate for its new Constellation-class frigate will end up being about 40 percent short of the final cost per ship, the Congressional Budget Office predicted Tuesday.
Eric Labs, the widely respected CBO analyst who produces assessments of Navy programs for lawmakers, calculated the cost of the ship would be about $1.2 billion per hull. The Navy’s…
The US Army wants to smoothen the ordeal of firing artillery
October 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Army is using internal development and small-business ideas to figure out how to fire artillery faster, exploring every facet from how projectiles are stored all the way to automated reloading.
Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of Long-Range…
US Army wants industry to keep COVID safety rules in place, even after the pandemic ends
October 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defense industry began adjusting its facilities to avoid major outbreaks that could shut down production lines for days or weeks at a time. And now that those changes are in place, the U.S. Army’s top acquisition…
Boeing and General Atomics join forces on new laser weapon
October 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — General Atomics and Boeing are teaming up to build a new high-energy laser for air and missile defense, the companies announced Oct. 13.
Under the agreement, the companies will create a 100 kilowatt laser that will be scalable to 250 kilowatts, the companies stated in a news release. The weapon will be able to be employed as a standalone system or integrated onboard ground…
WASHINGTON — By the end of 2020, F-35 fighter jets rolling off Lockheed Martin’s production line will be equipped with a modified lightning protection system that will fix problems discovered earlier this year, the company’s head of production said.
In June, the…
US Navy eyes new design for next-generation destroyer
October 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is looking to build a new generation of destroyers from a clean-sheet design, following the model of one of its most successful ship classes, the Arleigh Burke-class DDG, the service’s top officer said Tuesday.
The idea, colloquially…
WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy reported in his speech at the Association of the U.S. Army conference that the Pentagon’s hypersonic missile hit within 6 inches of its target.
“Hypersonic missiles are hitting their targets with a variance of only a mere 6 inches,” he said during his speech at the virtual opening ceremony Oct. 13.
McCarthy was referring to the Army and…
