After skeptical staffers slammed the IVAS targeting goggles, the Army generals responsible have been emphasizing their solicitousness towards Congress.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
New drones – launched by helicopters in flight and built by the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office – will reach out “hundreds of kilometers.” Marine F-35s, 82nd Airborne troops, and Special Ops will also participate in exercise EDGE21.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
With shrinking budgets and a growing need for new technologies, “the Army will need to make a compelling case to Congress to fund new capabilities and truncate legacy programs,” said CSBA’s Tom Mahnken.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
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.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
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.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
A new training network will simulate the effects of weapons — from mortars and grenades to, potentially, germ warfare — and tell troops if they’re “killed” or “wounded,” then play the whole exercise back for AI analysis. One Army engineer told us: “We’ve never been able to train this stuff, never.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
AI can make logistics data as valuable as intelligence or operational data for mission success
Valuable intelligence insights can be gleaned from logistics or flight-test data when artificial intelligence or machine learning is applied.
The Pentagon must avoid the ancient Roman tactic of “burning the bridge behind them” by immediately throwing aside older weapons systems in favor of wholesale investments in new technologies and platforms. While force modernization is necessary, the Department of Defense does not have the time, track record, or the funding to rapidly field replacements to…
By Mackenzie Eaglen and John Ferrari
As the Army braces for a post-COVID budget crunch, Gen. John Murray told Breaking Defense, his Army Futures Command is studying conflict scenarios to decide which new weapons could be kept or cut.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The experimental targeting goggles field-tested last fall didn’t work in the rain. The ruggedized version to be tested this month will fix that flaw – and more, the Army says.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said the two sides would work to identify “how we could co-develop certain capabilities that can help us get the next generation weapons system, but also to be complimentary if necessary for our forces as we deploy.”
By Paul McLeary
Pentagon programs that claim they’re ‘agile’ rarely are, GAO data shows. But how well does a Silicon Valley software strategy translate to weapons programs?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The militarized Microsoft HoloLens headset was designed to spot targets day and night on future battlefields. Then engineers tweaked its infrared sensors to detect fevers.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
While some prototype deliveries and field tests are being delayed, Army leaders said, there’s enough slack in the schedule that combat units will still get the new tech on time.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
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.
By Mackenzie Eaglen and John Ferrari