DefenseNews

Navy surface drone fires its first missile during Middle East exercise

As the Navy continues to experiment with and expand upon its burgeoning drone fleet in the Middle Eastern patrolled by U.S. 5th Fleet, an unmanned surface ship fired missiles for the first time there during an exercise last month. The firing of a so-called “Lethal Missile Aerial Missile System” from a MARTAC T38 Devil Ray drone came during the Digital Talon exercise in the waters around the…
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DefenseNews

US Air Force may remove 105mm cannon from AC-130 gunship

WASHINGTON — The days of the AC-130J Ghostrider’s hefty 105mm cannon may be numbered. U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command confirmed to Defense News it is considering removing this howitzer-sized weapon, used to carry out punishing strikes on ground targets, from…
DefenseNews

Navy’s sub readiness boss unveils steps to reach on-time maintenance

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s three-star admiral in charge of fixing submarine maintenance delays says it will take four years to get the attack sub fleet back to its proper state of readiness. In May, the Navy had twice as many attack submarines tied up in maintenance than it should have according to its own plans, due to delays at public and private yards conducting maintenance and…
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DefenseNews

Lockheed to upgrade Chilean Air Force’s F-16 jets

SANTIAGO, Chile — Lockheed Martin will upgrade 36 operational F-16 fighter jets with the Chilean Air Force under a $177 million contract, the Pentagon announced. The deal, unveiled Oct. 31, will see those F-16AM/BM Block 15/20 MLU aircraft modified to the M6.6 standard. A…
DefenseNews

Army gets first high-power microwave prototype to counter drone swarms

WASHINGTON — Epirus has completed initial government acceptance testing of its high-power microwave prototype meant to counter drone swarms, the company said in a Nov. 1 statement. The prototype system delivered to the U.S. Army is part of the service’s effort to develop an Indirect Fire Protection Capability that will protect fixed and semi-fixed sites from drones as well as rockets…
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DefenseNews

Boeing’s P-8 plane had unfair advantage in Canada tender, firms allege

VICTORIA, British Columbia — Boeing had an unfair advantage over other companies in Canada’s competition for new surveillance aircraft, executives at two major firms alleged. Éric Martel, president of Bombardier, and Joel Houde, vice president of General Dynamics Mission Systems’ international division, wrote in a letter to Canadian Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos…
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