DefenseNews

US Drone Strike Kills 17 Jihadists in NW Syria

November 2, 2020
U.S. military convoy drives through the town of Qamishli, north Syria, by a poster showing Syrain President Bashar Aassad Saturday, Oct. 26. 2019. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad) The U.S. Army said Thursday it carried out a drone strike against Al-Qaeda leaders in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, killing 17 jihadists, according to a war monitor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said…
Read more
DefenseNews

UAE could get up to 50 F-35s in $10B sale

October 31, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department is backing the sale of as many as 50 F-35 joint strike fighters to the United Arab Emirates in an arms deal worth an estimated $10.4 billion, according to multiple reports. The news came as the Trump administration informally…
DefenseNews

Lockheed is developing a system to turn airlift planes into weapons trucks

October 31, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force could be one year away from being able to load its cargo planes with pallets of smart weapons, transforming them into strike aircraft without the need for expensive and lengthy modifications. In August, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $25 million to develop a palletized munitions system, Scott Callaway, director…
Read more
DefenseNews

F-35 to move into full-rate production later than expected

October 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will have to put off moving the F-35 program to full-rate production due to another delay in starting critical simulation tests. Before the Defense Department’s top weapons buyer, Ellen Lord, can clear the F-35 for full-rate production, the jet must undergo a series of tests in the Joint Simulation Environment, which emulates advanced threats that cannot be…
Read more
DefenseNews

Raytheon laying off 20,000 amid commercial aviation slide

October 29, 2020
WASHINGTON ― Raytheon Technologies is cutting 15,000 staff and 4,000 contractor positions, largely at the company’s Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace divisions, due to decreased commercial aerospace sales from COVID-19 pandemic, CEO Greg Hayes said Tuesday on the…
DefenseNews

US Army gets first Infantry Squad Vehicle from GM Defense

October 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — GM Defense delivered its first Infantry Squad Vehicle to the U.S. Army in an Oct. 27 ceremony at its proving grounds and production facility in Milford, Michigan, just 120 days after being chosen to build the new troop carrier. The Army awarded the company a $214.3 million contract to produce 649 vehicles by the end of fiscal 2024. The service is planning to procure a total of…
Read more