Robot Hover Tanks With Ray Guns? Army Looks To Replace M1

“It doesn’t have to be a tank, it just has to be decisive and lethal,” Brig. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman answered. “If that is run by a flux capacitor, hovers, and has a ray gun — and we can make it run at a reasonable cost — we’ll look at it.”

General Dynamics’ Griffin III For US Army Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)

General Dynamics’ Griffin III For US Army Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)
General Dynamics’ Griffin III For US Army Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)

With a proven hull and a cutting-edge gun, General Dynamics’ Griffin III might just hit the Army’s sweet spot between innovative and proven.

Dial-A-Blast For Smart Bombs: AFRL Weapons Adjust Yield To Target

Dial-A-Blast For Smart Bombs: AFRL Weapons Adjust Yield To Target
Dial-A-Blast For Smart Bombs: AFRL Weapons Adjust Yield To Target

AFA: The Air Force is developing smart bombs that detonate differently depending on the target. These “Dialable Effects Munitions” could turn up the blast to devastate an enemy camp or turn it down to kill a single terrorist without hurting nearby civilians. In the extreme case, said Col. Garry Haase, the director of munitions at…

Vietnam-Vintage Vehicles Blaze Trail For Robot Tanks: Army RCV

Vietnam-Vintage Vehicles Blaze Trail For Robot Tanks: Army RCV
Vietnam-Vintage Vehicles Blaze Trail For Robot Tanks: Army RCV

The actual Robotic Combat Vehicle that gets mass-produced and fielded by 2028 will be an all-new design, not a converted M113. But why wait for someone to design and build the perfect hardware, when you can start testing the software and the tactics on something cheaply available today?

Can Army Futures Command Overcome Decades Of Dysfunction?

Can Army Futures Command Overcome Decades Of Dysfunction?
Can Army Futures Command Overcome Decades Of Dysfunction?

“There are ways to be innovative in the Army,” retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr said. But you have to protect the innovators from the institutional culture of the Pentagon: “You can send them someplace else, like Austin.”

Army Warhead Is Key To Joint Hypersonics

Army Warhead Is Key To Joint Hypersonics
Army Warhead Is Key To Joint Hypersonics

While officials as senior as Chief of Staff Mark Milley have previously talked about Army hypersonics in general terms, today’s statements by both the Army’s Russell and OSD’s Miller were unequivocal: The Army wants a ground-launched hypersonic weapon.

It’s Raytheon Vs. Dynetics/Lockheed For Army’s 100 kW Laser

It’s Raytheon Vs. Dynetics/Lockheed For Army’s 100 kW Laser
It’s Raytheon Vs. Dynetics/Lockheed For Army’s 100 kW Laser

Lockheed is as close to an incumbent as you get in the rapidly evolving world of high-energy fiber lasers. Raytheon, by contrast, only recently made a big play for laser weapons, but they can draw on their experience with lower-powered but exquisitely tuned laser sensors.

Stop Wasting Time So We Can Beat China: DoD R&D Boss, Griffin

Stop Wasting Time So We Can Beat China: DoD R&D Boss, Griffin
Stop Wasting Time So We Can Beat China: DoD R&D Boss, Griffin

“I’ve never seen a Congress more on our side than it is today,” Griffin said. “In every meeting on the Hill, I am asked, ‘what relief do you need? What legal remedies do you require? What can we do to help you move faster?’ So if you are bound by legal impediments…I need bring those forward, because I am perfectly willing to go to Congress.”

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Army, NASA Want Laser Micro-Satellites For 50 Times The Bandwidth

Army, NASA Want Laser Micro-Satellites For 50 Times The Bandwidth
Army, NASA Want Laser Micro-Satellites For 50 Times The Bandwidth

It was hard enough keeping the data flowing to the far mountains of Afghanistan, but at least the Taliban didn’t have the technology to attack the network. Russia and China, however, are investing heavily in capabilities to eavesdrop on or jam the radio transmissions and to blind or outright shoot down the satellites.

Joint Artificial Intelligence Center Created Under DoD CIO

Joint Artificial Intelligence Center Created Under DoD CIO
Joint Artificial Intelligence Center Created Under DoD CIO

“The major challenge for the US is China,” CNA analyst Larry Lewis said. “They are approaching the use of AI just like the US approached going to the moon in the sixties.”

US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work

US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work
US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work

WASHINGTON: China is besting the United States in key military technologies like hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare, Gen. Paul Selva, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs said today. We can still catch up, he predicted. What about Artificial Intelligence? That’s too close to call, said former deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, so we’d better get a move on. Both men…

Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief

Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief
Allies Must Develop Own Robots, Not Just ‘Copy’ US: Aussie War College Chief

“If at some point in future, you need to expand your capability, expand your military,” Maj. Gen. Ryan said, “Australia’s at the end of a very long line of industrial resupply, and we might want to have the capacity ourselves.”

China Loves DoD Acquisition Culture, Says R&D Chief Griffin; He Loves Hypersonics

China Loves DoD Acquisition Culture, Says R&D Chief Griffin; He Loves Hypersonics
China Loves DoD Acquisition Culture, Says R&D Chief Griffin; He Loves Hypersonics

The new head of Pentagon R&D delivered a scathing critique of how the military develops and buys equipment. “I did not take this job to reach parity with adversaries,” Griffin said. “I want to make them worry about catching up with us again.”

DoD Boosts Hypersonics 136 % In 2019: DARPA

DoD Boosts Hypersonics 136 % In 2019: DARPA
DoD Boosts Hypersonics 136 % In 2019: DARPA

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon will ramp up research on hypersonic weapons with a stunning 136 percent increase in the 2019 budget request. Here’s the breakdown of the $257 million: $139.4 million, the lion’s share, goes to the Air Force-DARPA collaboration on rocket-propelled hypersonics, Tactical Boost Glide (TBG), which will produce an “operational prototype” by 2023; $14.3…