Defense

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is scrapping its current upgrade plans for the Abrams main battle tank and pursuing a more significant modernization effort to increase its mobility and survivability on the battlefield, the service announced in a statement Wednesday. The Army will end its M1A2 System Enhancement Package version 4 program, and instead develop the M1E3 Abrams focused on challenges the…

Three months after Typhoon Mawar became the strongest storm to hit Guam since 2002, Andersen Air Force Base is getting back on its feet. All base services, like stores and the daycare, are operational with regular hours, 36th Wing spokesperson 1st Lt. Ariana Wilkinson said Thursday. RELATED Nearly $2M available for military families in Guam after typhoon Airmen are again allowed to begin new…

PARIS — Airbus Helicopters and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) agreed to start serial production of their jointly developed Light Armed Helicopter, Airbus said in a statement on Thursday. Deliveries to the Republic of Korea Army of an initial 10 helicopters will begin in December 2024, with follow-on orders to continue into the next decade, Airbus spokeswoman Belinda Ng said in an emailed…

MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan’s Defense Ministry has requested another record defense budget, with the agenda featuring naval vessels, F-35 fighter jets, hypersonic weapons development and armored vehicles. The ministry announced Aug. 31 that it submitted a request for $52.9 billion to the Finance Ministry for the coming fiscal year, which starts April 1, 2024. The dollar figure continues a…