Defense

The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean in a routine test early Wednesday, the service said in a release. The missile was fired from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, around 1:30 a.m. local time, and traveled about 4,200 miles to the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has conducted nuclear weapons tests for decades. Test…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s plan to field a next-generation refueling tanker by the mid-2030s could be in jeopardy if the service has to operate under lengthy continuing resolutions, a top service official said Tuesday. Andrew Hunter, the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said in an interview with Defense News at the Pentagon that a lengthy continuing…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army will soon provide incentives for larger defense companies to incorporate technology developed through small businesses as part of competitive development programs, the service’s undersecretary said Sept. 6 at the Defense News Conference. “I was pretty worried when I first came into the role [of undersecretary] because I saw some statistics that indicated that since…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is scrapping its current upgrade plans for the Abrams main battle tank and pursuing a more significant modernization effort to increase its mobility and survivability on the battlefield, the service announced in a statement Wednesday. The Army will end its M1A2 System Enhancement Package version 4 program, and instead develop the M1E3 Abrams focused on challenges the…