DefenseNews

At Air Force conference, officials call out effect of Tuberville holds

September 14, 2023
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Top Defense Department officials at an Air Force conference this week repeatedly decried — at times in direct and colorful language — a senator’s wide-ranging hold on confirmations of general officers and called on him to lift it. The comments at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference here continued the Pentagon’s recent pattern of…
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DefenseNews

Dutch Navy improves radar, adds Tomahawk missile to fleet

September 13, 2023
LONDON — The Royal Netherlands Navy is upgrading its fleet to better handle existing and anticipated threats, with air defense and command frigate De Ruyter recently completing a midlife upgrade that provides the ship with a sophisticated ballistic missile defense…
DefenseNews

French-British underwater drone proves de-mining ability, says Thales

September 13, 2023
STUTTGART, Germany — Recent sea trials of a remotely operated underwater vehicle proved it is capable of neutralizing naval mines, a new milestone for the Franco-British Maritime Mine Countermeasures program, French firm Thales announced Wednesday. The program’s prime contractor and lead system integrator successfully demonstrated this final component of its system for the MMCM program, dubbed…
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DefenseNews

Navy decommissions littoral combat ship Milwaukee

September 13, 2023
The Navy decommissioned the littoral combat ship Milwaukee on Friday in Mayport, Florida, after less than 10 years in service. The ship, designed to serve for a quarter century, is one of the Freedom-class variants that the Navy is mothballing before they reach the end of…
DefenseNews

Air Force creates task forces to pilot modern deployments

September 13, 2023
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Air Force in fiscal 2024 will experiment with further changes to how it deploys airmen, service leaders announced at the Air and Space Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference here this week. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday the service is creating three “air task forces,” or packages of airmen that the Air Force can offer to…
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DefenseNews

US Air Force prioritizing cloud-based command and control

September 12, 2023
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. Air Force is prioritizing the delivery of cloud-based command-and-control networks to forces across the globe, and is preparing to follow through even under federal spending that falls short of a full budget. The so-called CBC2 effort is…
DefenseNews

BAE Systems Hägglunds purchases Iron Fist for CV90s

September 12, 2023
JERUSALEM — Elbit Systems will supply the Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds with its Iron Fist Active Protection System for CV90s in a deal worth $109 million, the Israeli firm announced Tuesday. Elbit noted the systems are intended for a European country, but declined to…
DefenseNews

Lockheed touts local links in Black Hawk-based helicopter pitch to UK

September 12, 2023
LONDON — Lockheed Martin’s U.K. subsidiary unveiled a local industry team, capped by aircraft assembly lead StandardAero, to support its Black Hawk-based bid for the British military’s New Medium Helicopter program. The roster of local companies is meant to put a British face on a U.S. military product, with the head of Lockheed Martin UK, Paul Livingston, saying the aim is to have 40% of…
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