DefenseNews

AI-operated fighter jet will fly Air Force secretary on test run

The Air Force is betting a large part of its future air warfare on a fleet more than 1,000 autonomously operated drones, and later this spring its top civilian leader plans to climb into one of those artificial intelligence-operated warplanes and let it take him airborne. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told senators on Tuesday at a hearing on the service’s 2025 budget that he will enter the…
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DefenseNews

Navy looks to shake up traditional carrier strike group model

When the destroyers The Sullivans and Delbert D. Black deployed in the fall to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, they joined the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group that was already well into its cruise. The warships’ arrivals were part of an experiment the Navy is currently undertaking, where it swaps destroyers out mid-deployment, part of a broader concept that U.S. Fleet Forces Command head Adm.
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DefenseNews

Ursa Major to build rocket motor prototype for US Navy

The Navy awarded propulsion company Ursa Major a contract to prototype and test a solid rocket-motor for the service’s Standard Missile program. Under the deal — part of the Naval Energetics Systems and Technologies program — the Denver-based firm will develop a new…
DefenseNews

Anduril to supply robotic combat vehicle software to US Army

The U.S. Army and Defense Innovation Unit selected Anduril Industries to develop a software framework thought foundational to testing and deploying future robotic combat vehicle payloads. The company announced the deal April 3 without providing details about contract length. A spokesperson declined to say how much the agreement is worth. Robotic combat vehicles are unmanned systems envisioned to…
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DefenseNews

UK expects ‘short-term’ delays in F-35 deliveries

LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that software-update problems in the F-35 program will hit aircraft deliveries, though a key official said the delay is unlikely to affect the timing for proclaiming the fleet fully operationally capable next…
DefenseNews

US Navy ship programs face years-long delays amid labor, supply woes

Several of the U.S. Navy’s top shipbuilding programs are running one year to three years behind schedule, as the service and the industrial base grapple with workforce and management challenges. Navy leaders conducted a 45-day review of its shipbuilding portfolio, following news in January that a first-of-class guided-missile frigate was behind schedule due in part to a workforce shortage at…
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