DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy sailed its first drone boat through the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies where American sailors often faces tense encounters with Iranian forces.
The trip by the L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, a 13-meter (41-foot) speedboat carrying sensors and cameras, drew the attention of Iran’s Revolutionary…
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Weary of the annual tradition of waiting for Congress to approve a budget before kick-starting new programs, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is proposing a workaround.
Kendall told reporters April 19 at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium…
WASHINGTON — Future versions of U.S. Army reconnaissance helicopters will need trained aviators to operate them well into the next decade despite advances in artificial intelligence, according to a study conducted by Mitre Corp. for service leaders.
Full-fledged autonomy…
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Northrop Grumman’s design for the Space Development Agency’s next batch of communication satellites passed a critical review in March, the company said in a statement April 18.
Northrop is on contract to build 42 satellites for SDA’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, a suite of satellites that will provide resilient data transfer and communications capabilities to users…
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky said Tuesday it won’t sue the U.S. Army after the Government Accountability Office rejected its protest of the service’s decision to choose Textron’s Bell to build the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft.
The FLRAA competition…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s fleet would never reach the statutorily required 355 ships under two of the three scenarios outlined in the service’s latest long-range shipbuilding plan.
The plan, submitted to lawmakers Monday and provided to Defense News Tuesday, also…
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin may not be able to deliver as many F-35s as it had hoped this year due to delays involving the fighters’ upcoming Technology Refresh 3 upgrades.
Lockheed chief executive Jim Taiclet and chief financial officer Jay Malave said in a Tuesday earnings call with investors that the company now expects F-35 deliveries to be lower than it originally predicted because of…
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China revealed new details of sanctions it previously announced against two U.S. weapons manufacturers Tuesday, including a ban on Chinese companies doing business with them.
China imposed trade and investment sanctions in February on Lockheed Martin and…
Romania selects F-35 to upgrade air force fleet
April 19, 2023
WARSAW, Poland — The Romanian authorities have approved a plan to acquire F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for the country’s air force. The latest move indicates Romania could become the third Eastern European ally, after Poland and the Czech Republic, to operate the…
WASHINGTON — Former defense officials and industry executives are calling on the Pentagon to expand the influence of its commercial innovation hub to make it easier for the military to buy off-the-shelf technology.
The recommendation comes from the Atlantic Council’s Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption — a panel of defense experts convened to consider how the U.S. Department of Defense…
