WASHINGTON — The first production F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with an early, incomplete version of the software powering a key upgrade was flown last week at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility, the company told Defense News.
The Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office is considering whether a strategy of loading interim versions of the Technology Refresh 3 software into the latest…
Patriot replacement radar defeats cruise missile in Raytheon test
November 20, 2023
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s new missile defense radar defeated a cruise missile in a development test, RTX’s Raytheon said.
The company is the developer of the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, that will replace the service’s original Patriot air…
Boeing Grey Wolf helicopter production ramps up as test phase ends
November 20, 2023
WASHINGTON — The first two field-ready MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters are now in final assembly and Boeing said it expects the long-awaited delivery of the first of these helicopters to the Air Force in mid-2024.
The sixth and final test Grey Wolf helicopter was delivered…
Navy secretary convenes first cross-department shipbuilders meeting
November 17, 2023
WASHINGTON — The Navy secretary on Thursday convened a first-ever meeting of seafaring organizations across multiple federal departments, seeking to improve collaboration to strengthen the shipbuilding and ship repair industries.
Carlos Del Toro assembled the leaders at the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. The Government Shipbuilders Council meeting included the Navy, Army…
General Atomics fires back at critics of MQ-9 drone after downing
November 16, 2023
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The fate of the MQ-9 Reaper has once again entered public debate after senior U.S. defense officials confirmed Houthi militants had downed one of the drones over international waters off the coast of Yemen on Nov. 8.
In recent years, experts…
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin is preparing to send the U.S. Air Force its advanced TPY-4 radar for further evaluation, following months of internal testing and tweaks at company facilities in rural New York.
The software-defined sensor, capable of detecting and tracking…
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is pushing new technology to its undersea fleet to make it safer, smarter and deadlier, while also nearing a major step in developing its next-generation attack submarine.
Among the changes that will have the most impact is moving the Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical System to a cloud-based common computing environment. SWFTS comprises a sub’s sonar, imaging…
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin is mulling additional applications and integration for its Q-53 radar, long relied upon by the U.S. Army to spot incoming rockets, artillery and mortars.
The Q-53 has since 2010 been deployed alongside soldiers to detect, classify and…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army selected Sierra Nevada Corp. to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and related services for an ongoing overhaul of its aerial spying and targeting capabilities.
The company’s RAPCON-X, converted Bombardier business…
WASHINGTON — The Biden Administration’s budget package of roughly $106 billion in emergency supplemental funding includes a $1.2 billion investment in Israel’s directed energy weapon system, “Iron Beam,” which the U.S. Army could consider as an alternative laser weapon for its own needs, according to the service’s acquisition chief.
The Iron Beam technology is “intriguing,” Doug…
