Top 10 Stories Of 2020: DARPA Dogfights To Polish Bridges

Top 10 Stories Of 2020: DARPA Dogfights To Polish Bridges
Top 10 Stories Of 2020: DARPA Dogfights To Polish Bridges

The list is an impressive marker of the breadth of topics we cover as we chronicle the strategy, policy and politics that decide the weapons America and its allies buy, and how we use them.

OMFV: Army Wants Your Weird Ideas For Bradley Replacement

OMFV: Army Wants Your Weird Ideas For Bradley Replacement
OMFV: Army Wants Your Weird Ideas For Bradley Replacement

Want to make a mini-tank that carries two passengers in back? Or put the heavy weapons on one vehicle and the passengers in another? Go for it, the Army’s armor modernization director told industry.

Israel’s Elbit Enters US Howitzer Shoot Off

Israel’s Elbit Enters US Howitzer Shoot Off
Israel’s Elbit Enters US Howitzer Shoot Off

The Army wants a wheeled howitzer that can keep up with its Stryker units, so the Israeli firm is shipping its 8×8 ATMOS gun to Yuma, where it’ll fire “hundreds of rounds.”

THOR: Air Force Tests Counter-Drone Microwave In Africa

THOR: Air Force Tests Counter-Drone Microwave In Africa
THOR: Air Force Tests Counter-Drone Microwave In Africa

“I’ve watched it in action and its really quite impressive,” says Air Force Chief Scientist Richard Joseph.

Army’s IVAS Example Can Help Pentagon Catch Up On AI

Army’s IVAS Example Can Help Pentagon Catch Up On AI
Army’s IVAS Example Can Help Pentagon Catch Up On AI

The Pentagon remains stuck in the “success” of the 1990s and Desert Storm, which hinders its ability to take advantage of revolutions in smartphone, cloud computing and social media technologies.

Which Depots Can Army Modernize?

Which Depots Can Army Modernize?
Which Depots Can Army Modernize?

“There’s going to be winners and losers,” Gen. Ed Daly told us. “[But] this transition… is not code for ‘reducing the workforce.’”


Bullets, Beans & Data: The New Army Materiel Command EXCLUSIVE

Bullets, Beans & Data: The New Army Materiel Command EXCLUSIVE
Bullets, Beans & Data: The New Army Materiel Command EXCLUSIVE

In future wars, AI, networks, and analytics won’t just help target precision weapons: They can also liberate combat units from long and vulnerable supply lines. But to make that work, AMC commander Gen. Ed Daly told us, frontline troops need a constant flow of data.

Our Bases In US Will Be Attacked: Army

Our Bases In US Will Be Attacked: Army
Our Bases In US Will Be Attacked: Army

“We expect adversary actions directed against the homeland,” from cyber attacks to foreign-fomented protests, the new Army Installations Strategy warns. Bases in the US are no longer out of adversaries’ reach – so how do you defend them?

OMFV: Army Tries To Make Life Easier For Industry

OMFV: Army Tries To Make Life Easier For Industry
OMFV: Army Tries To Make Life Easier For Industry

The Army will give companies more time to refine their designs for the Bradley replacement, but there’s a four-month gap in funding in fiscal 2023.

OTAs Soar & Army Leads The Way: CSIS Report

OTAs Soar & Army Leads The Way: CSIS Report
OTAs Soar & Army Leads The Way: CSIS Report

Army Contracting Command still accounts for 45 percent of all DoD Other Transaction Authority obligations, but the Air Force and, belatedly, the Navy are starting to catch up.

Key Democrats Lukewarm On SecDef Nominee; Biden Signals Return To Soft Power

Key Democrats Lukewarm On SecDef Nominee; Biden Signals Return To Soft Power
Key Democrats Lukewarm On SecDef Nominee; Biden Signals Return To Soft Power

“There really is former-general-officer fatigue, bordering on apprehension, on the Hill – on both sides of the aisle,” a former Senate staffer says. “Trump really burned out a lot of folks.”

AI In The Grey Zone: Afghan Lessons For Great Power Conflict

AI In The Grey Zone: Afghan Lessons For Great Power Conflict
AI In The Grey Zone: Afghan Lessons For Great Power Conflict

Artificial intelligence developed to hunt terrorists can help track Russian and Chinese targets as well – especially amidst murky, chaotic conflicts in the “grey zone” between peace and open war.

NDAA: Conference Cuts New Army Tech, Pluses Up Old

NDAA: Conference Cuts New Army Tech, Pluses Up Old
NDAA: Conference Cuts New Army Tech, Pluses Up Old

The cutting-edge IVAS targeting goggles took a $230 million hit, while the latest upgrade to the venerable CH-47 Chinook – which the Army doesn’t actually want – got a $165 million boost.

CJCS Milley Predicts DoD Budget ‘Bloodletting’ To Fund Navy

CJCS Milley Predicts DoD Budget ‘Bloodletting’ To Fund Navy
CJCS Milley Predicts DoD Budget ‘Bloodletting’ To Fund Navy

“Look, I’m an Army guy,” Milley said. “And I love the Army…but the fundamental defense of the United States and the ability to project power forward will always be for America naval and air and space power.”