Over the southwest desert, drones large and small are autonomously avoiding anti-aircraft threats while feeding real-time targeting data over an AI network to troops on the ground.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.This fall’s first Project Convergence exercise aims to feed targeting data from satellites to artillery so fast that gunners can unleash precision fire in much less than a minute. And that’s just the start.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Thursday’s near-simultaneous intercept of a cruise missile and a ballistic missile was far from the hardest thing the IBCS battalion has done.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.After weeks of COVID delays, combat soldiers are now testing both the IBCS network and the IM-SHORAD vehicle at White Sands. The first live shots against flying targets are just weeks away.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Postponed seven weeks by the pandemic, the high-stakes field test of the IBCS missile defense network is now back on, with elaborate precautions against COVID-19.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Next year will see the Precision Strike Missile tested at its maximum range of over 300 miles. The base model enters service in 2023, with range and targeting upgrades to follow.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The long-awaited IBCS battle network is meant to connect a wide range of Army radars and weapons – and potentially other services’ as well – for anti-aircraft and missile defense.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Lockheed’s prototype’s success is a big step towards fielding a new 300-plus-mile missile in 2023.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.CAPITOL HILL: The Marine Corps’ top pilot sketched a vision of fast-paced and networked air operations, spearheaded by F-35 fighters, V-22 tiltrotors, and the future MUX drones, all linked to each other and the rest of the force by Link-16 and MADL. Marine F-35s have already practiced spotting targets for Marine artillery rockets and Navy…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.PENTAGON: Consider 35 pounds of metal moving at Mach 5.8. Ten shots per minute. 1,000 shots before the barrel wears out under the enormous pressures. That’s the devastating firepower the Navy railgun program aims to deliver in the next two years, and they’re well on their way. “We continue to make great technical progress,” said…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.General Atomics, whose MQ-1 Predator changed the world, is to start testing another potentially revolutionary weapon next month: a 150-kilowatt class laser. Several other companies are developing laser weapons and “we’re looking at all of them,” said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, in an interview with Breaking Defense. “The…
By Richard WhittleHUNTSVILLE, ALA.: US missile defenses can hit a bullet with a bullet, shooting supersonic weapons right out of the sky — when they can see them. But as the Russians are showing in their invasion of Ukraine, radar can be jammed. That’s why the US Army conducted an unprecedented wargame this spring to test its new…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: Hitting a bullet with a bullet at the speed of sound — well, nowadays, that’s no big deal. Hitting a supersonic target that you can’t actually see — okay, now that’s impressive. This morning Raytheon announced its Standard Missile-6 destroyed “a medium-range supersonic target” in a June 10 test at White Sands Missile Range in New…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.