DefenseNews

UK to build F-35-sized ‘silent hangar’ to test jamming, electronic war

PARIS — Britain’s Ministry of Defence plans to build a hangar-sized isolated chamber big enough for F-35 jets and Chinook transport helicopters to test its military assets against GPS jamming and other types of electronic warfare. U.K. firm QinetiQ will build the “silent hangar” at the ministry’s Boscombe Down site in south-west England under a £20-million (US$ 26 million) contract, the…
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DefenseNews

Signal battalions to be rebuilt for modern combat, Army says

The Army is restructuring its signal battalions as advancements in technology and a laser-focus on its network dovetail with a shift from brigade to division-centric combat plans. Final details for restructuring the battalions came after years of merging job specialties in…
DefenseNews

Lockheed, Istari partner to demonstrate digital aircraft certification

Istari Digital, a startup led by former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper, is partnering with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to demonstrate the ability to digitally certify an aircraft before it’s built, a process that could make it easier to develop and test military aircraft in the future. The partnership, announced Monday, is part of a $19 million contract the Air Force awarded Istari last…
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DefenseNews

Netanyahu’s hernia surgeon gets a seat on Rafael board

JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense sector is in an uproar over a surprise appointment on the board of directors of government-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, whose weapons permeate the entire ecosystem of the country’s sprawling defense apparatus. Alon Pikarsky, head…
DefenseNews

Lockheed acquires satellite firm Terran Orbital in $450 million deal

Lockheed Martin announced Thursday it will acquire small-satellite provider Terran Orbital for $450 million in a move by the defense giant to expand its space portfolio. “Terran Orbital brings a high throughput, robotic manufacturing capacity and high-performing modular space vehicle designs,” Lockheed said in a statement. “Combined with Lockheed Martin’s record of performance and…
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DefenseNews

Air Force Research Lab eyes space data transport demo in 2026

DAYTON, Ohio — An Air Force Research Laboratory team convened to help the Space Force test and prototype new spacecraft concepts plans to launch its first experimental satellites as soon as 2026. AFRL created the Rapid Architecture Prototyping and Integrated Development, or RAPID, lab in 2022 to partner with the Space Force’s various architecture and system design organizations to wring out…
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