WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army plans to spend $3.1 billion in emergency fiscal 2024 supplemental funding to boost domestic 155mm artillery munition production if lawmakers approve the pending White House request, the service’s acquisition chief said during a Nov. 7 press briefing.
Congress is considering President Biden’s budget package of roughly $106 billion in emergency supplemental funds.
Navy changing LCS maintenance and staffing practices
November 8, 2023
As the Navy seeks to improve the self-sufficiency of its littoral combat ships, the service is moving to have sailors conduct nearly all the maintenance for the vessels in the near future, according to Navy officials.
The LCS fleet was originally envisioned as having a small…
WASHINGTON — After another canceled test of the U.S. Army and Navy’s Common Hypersonic Glide Body due to a problem just prior to launch at the end of October, it is now “highly unlikely” the Army will field the weapon to the first unit by the end of the year as…
As the Navy continues to experiment with and expand upon its burgeoning drone fleet in the Middle Eastern patrolled by U.S. 5th Fleet, an unmanned surface ship fired missiles for the first time there during an exercise last month.
The firing of a so-called “Lethal Missile Aerial Missile System” from a MARTAC T38 Devil Ray drone came during the Digital Talon exercise in the waters around the…
ARLINGTON, Va. — “It’s counterintuitive,” the head of U.S. submarine forces acknowledges, but the Navy’s ballistic missile submarine force is spending more time operating at sea while also seeing better material readiness rates.
The trend is encouraging, submarine…
US Air Force may remove 105mm cannon from AC-130 gunship
November 7, 2023
WASHINGTON — The days of the AC-130J Ghostrider’s hefty 105mm cannon may be numbered.
U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command confirmed to Defense News it is considering removing this howitzer-sized weapon, used to carry out punishing strikes on ground targets, from…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s three-star admiral in charge of fixing submarine maintenance delays says it will take four years to get the attack sub fleet back to its proper state of readiness.
In May, the Navy had twice as many attack submarines tied up in maintenance than it should have according to its own plans, due to delays at public and private yards conducting maintenance and…
Lockheed to upgrade Chilean Air Force’s F-16 jets
November 7, 2023
SANTIAGO, Chile — Lockheed Martin will upgrade 36 operational F-16 fighter jets with the Chilean Air Force under a $177 million contract, the Pentagon announced.
The deal, unveiled Oct. 31, will see those F-16AM/BM Block 15/20 MLU aircraft modified to the M6.6 standard. A…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is seeking industry feedback as it kicks off an overhaul of software designed to coordinate the use of mortars, missiles and more on the battlefield.
The service posted a request for information for the modernization of the Advanced Field…
WASHINGTON — Epirus has completed initial government acceptance testing of its high-power microwave prototype meant to counter drone swarms, the company said in a Nov. 1 statement.
The prototype system delivered to the U.S. Army is part of the service’s effort to develop an Indirect Fire Protection Capability that will protect fixed and semi-fixed sites from drones as well as rockets…
