Defense

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army tapped a pair of companies to deliver jets kitted with spying technologies in advancement of its long-range targeting plans. MAG Aerospace and L3Harris Technologies on Aug. 22 said they would together outfit Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft with a bloc of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors for the service’s Theater Level High Altitude Expeditionary…

WASHINGTON — The Air Force on Saturday conducted its latest test of a prototype hypersonic AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, collecting data it hopes will help it develop future weapons that can travel at greater than Mach 5. The Air Force said in a statement that a B-52H Stratofortress released a full operational prototype ARRW, known as an all-up round, off the coast of Southern…

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%…

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…