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Navigate the future of Defense tech. From military innovations to global security, stay informed with our latest Defense news coverage.

Palantir wins $250 million US Army AI research contract

September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army awarded Palantir Technologies a contract worth as much as $250 million to research and experiment with artificial intelligence and machine learning. The arrangement, announced by the Department of Defense on Sept. 26, runs through 2026. Exactly where work will be done and from where funding will be pulled will be determined with each order, it said. Interest in AI and…

Australian F-35 crews end their Asian exercise spree in Indonesia

September 27, 2023

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters are taking part in an exercise in Indonesia, on the last leg of a deployment that has seen the jets visit the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia for the first time. The six Lockheed-Martin F-35A…

Defense Secretary Austin’s salary cut to $1 under GOP budget plan

September 27, 2023

House Republicans on Wednesday approved a measure to slash Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s salary from more than $221,000 annually to less than $1, based on their dissatisfaction with his work so far. The move has little chance of becoming law, but underscores the growing…

Exemption given for Navy to build nuclear sub in stopgap funding bill

September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON ― Congress intends to give the Pentagon a carveout in a short-term funding bill that will allow the Navy to begin construction on a new ballistic missile submarine. Without that exemption, service leaders have expressed concern that congressional budget dysfunction could otherwise push the program behind schedule and create a nuclear deterrence gap in the years ahead. The Senate’s…

Griffon, Textron advance in Army’s Future Tactical UAS competition

September 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army picked two companies out of a group of four to move on in the Army’s competition to procure a Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System, or FTUAS. Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems were awarded a second agreement to provide prototypes to the…

Northrop wins $705 million contract for F-35 air-to-ground weapon

September 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $705 million contract to develop and test a high-speed air-to-ground weapon known as a stand-in attack weapon that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could wield to destroy enemy targets. Northrop said Monday that its work…

Joby’s air taxis to help US Air Force usher in electric aviation era

September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Air Force’s project to add electric air taxis to its fleet took a big step forward Monday, as Joby Aviation delivered the first such vehicle to Edwards Air Force Base in California for real-world testing. AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation cell, launched its Agility Prime effort in 2020 to work with industry to develop electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft. Until…

GAO blasts contractor-led F-35 maintenance as costly, slow

September 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — A lack of spare parts and technical data, poor training of maintainers, and a lagging effort to expand repair depots are dragging down the U.S. military’s ability to keep the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in the air, a government watchdog said in a report…

Navy brings unmanned vessels to Japan to bolster fleet integration

September 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — Four unmanned ships are now operating out of Japan for the first time, as part of the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem 23.2 exercise aimed at folding these unmanned vessels into routine fleet operations. These unmanned surface vessels aren’t operating…

Army picks four to build robotic combat vehicle prototypes

September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army selected McQ, Textron Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Oshkosh Defense to build light robotic combat vehicle prototypes for a total of nearly $25 million, the service said Sept. 20. The companies have until August 2024 to build the prototypes and deliver them to the Army for testing and evaluation with soldiers. This marks the first phase of a competition…