Defense

WASHINGTON — The Navy secretary on Thursday convened a first-ever meeting of seafaring organizations across multiple federal departments, seeking to improve collaboration to strengthen the shipbuilding and ship repair industries. Carlos Del Toro assembled the leaders at the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. The Government Shipbuilders Council meeting included the Navy, Army…

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is pushing new technology to its undersea fleet to make it safer, smarter and deadlier, while also nearing a major step in developing its next-generation attack submarine. Among the changes that will have the most impact is moving the Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical System to a cloud-based common computing environment. SWFTS comprises a sub’s sonar, imaging…

WASHINGTON — The Biden Administration’s budget package of roughly $106 billion in emergency supplemental funding includes a $1.2 billion investment in Israel’s directed energy weapon system, “Iron Beam,” which the U.S. Army could consider as an alternative laser weapon for its own needs, according to the service’s acquisition chief. The Iron Beam technology is “intriguing,” Doug…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force conducted its first aerial refueling of fighter aircraft by a commercial tanker on Nov. 6. The commercial refueling of F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan Air Base in South Korea took place as part of the Commando Sling 23 joint exercise conducted in Singapore. The bilateral training event with the Republic of Singapore Air Force is sponsored by Pacific Air Forces and…