DefenseNews

BAE Systems to buy Colorado-based Ball Aerospace for $5.55bn

LONDON — BAE Systems is moving to buy leading U.S. space and defense supplier Ball Aerospace, marking the Britain-based company’s biggest-ever acquisition. The $5.55 billion deal will boost BAE’s position across a range of activities, notably the space sector, where Ball is a top-ranked supplier of spacecraft, mission payloads and other systems. The space and military portfolio makes up 70%…
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DefenseNews

US Army seeks industry input on AI bill of materials

AUGUSTA, Ga. — U.S. Army officials are seeking industry input on a fledgling initiative that would require companies to disclose the provenance of their artificial intelligence algorithms. Under the AI bill of materials, or AI BOM, effort, prospective contractors would be asked to provide the service an inside look at their digital ingredients and supply chain. It would resemble software bill of…
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DefenseNews

Japanese F-35s to make inaugural deployment to Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan will send its fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighters overseas for the first time later this month to take part in exercises in northern Australia. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, said in a release Monday that four Lockheed-Martin…
DefenseNews

Thousands using personal cell phones, tablets for official Army work

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tens of thousands of people are using personal mobile devices, such as cell phones or tablet computers, to connect to guarded U.S. Army networks and conduct official business. Some 20,000 users have been approved for the service’s bring-your-own-device initiative after more than a year of brainstorming, piloting and cybersecurity checks, according to Lt. Gen. John Morrison, a…
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DefenseNews

US Army testing communications gear for different fighting styles

AUGUSTA, Ga. — To ensure soldiers are equipped with the right communication tools, U.S. Army network experts are testing gear in radically different environments and among troops employing specialty tactics. Portions of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and the 82nd Airborne Division in North Carolina were recently provided tailored packages of radios, variable height antennas and the like…
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