DefenseNews

Future Army recon helicopter will still need pilots, study finds

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 would fail to “faithfully” fulfill more than three-quarters of studied tasks associated with the Army’s in-development…
Read more
DefenseNews

Northrop Grumman passes key review for transport satellites

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…
DefenseNews

Sikorsky won’t sue US Army after GAO rejected protest over future helo

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 pitted Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft against Sikorsky and Boeing’s Defiant X, which features coaxial rotor…
Read more
DefenseNews

China reveals new details of Raytheon, Lockheed sanctions

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 Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Raytheon Missiles & Defense for supplying weapons to Taiwan, the self-governed island…
Read more
DefenseNews

Romania selects F-35 to upgrade air force fleet

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…
DefenseNews

US Navy, Marines push to make virtual training more real

NORFOLK, Va. — U.S. Navy and Marine Corps leaders are pushing to make Live, Virtual and Constructive training environments more realistic because, they say, lives are at stake. The services already have LVC training systems that go beyond basic simulators for a single pilot or infantryman and connect sailors and Marines at different training centers and ships. This allows them to see a complex…
Read more