Defense

WASHINGTON ― Expect artificial intelligence, command-and-control and survivability to be watchwords in the House Armed Services Committee going forward. Chairman Adam Smith says those topics will be his focus as he supports “smart” investments in national defense in the new Congress. In an Oct. 14 interview, the often outspoken Smith, D-Wash., had more to add about a looming defense…

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin today announced it will partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne to compete for the right to build America’s next missile defense interceptor. The pairing officially ends any speculation about which company would produce the propulsion system for Lockheed’s offering of the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program, which is being run by the Missile Defense Agency. …

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…

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…