Defense

ARLINGTON, Va. — The chief of naval operations said Tuesday the service must “get more players on the field” as international crises demand more of the naval force, in her first major address since taking the helm of the Navy two months ago. Adm. Lisa Franchetti said at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference she’s focused on improving the Navy’s readiness, including the…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Bombardier Defense to provide at least one Global 6500 aircraft to serve as a prototype airframe for a new spy plane program, the service announced Wednesday. The firm-fixed-price contract, awarded Dec. 12, includes an option to purchase two additional aircraft over a three-year period. The first aircraft’s delivery date is set for Oct. 1, the…

The Marine Corps has so far trained 100 leathernecks as MQ-9 pilots as it seeks to fill out new squadrons with the uncrewed system to extend reach and reconnaissance for its own drone program. The Corps first leased the MQ-9 Reaper in 2018 and only received funding to purchase the drones in 2020, the same year the service created the Reaper military occupational specialty of 7318. In the 2022…

WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with four companies to design an experimental vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that can fly at speeds far faster than the V-22 Osprey. The collaboration comes as the U.S. military considers how it might operate aircraft in areas that lack traditional runways. DARPA calls its program SPRINT, for Speed and Runway…