BAE gets $818M more to build U.S. Armyβs AMPVs
The U.S. Army is putting another $818 million into production of the vehicle meant to replace its Vietnam-era M113 troop carriers, part of a contract with BAE Systems that has now grown past $3.3 billion. The Department of War said the $818 million award is a modification to BAEβs existing contract for the Armored Multi-Purpose [β¦]
The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin $1.21 billion to keep developing an upgraded version of its long-range strike missile, work that comes as the Army tries to rebuild a stockpile it drained fighting Iran earlier this year. A Department of War announcement said the contract funds early operational capability work on the Precision Strike [β¦]
Marine Corps explosive ordnance disposal teams tested a new unmanned boat at Camp Pendleton in late August, part of an effort to clear mines and other explosive hazards from coastal waters without putting divers directly in harmβs way. The Explosive Hazard Defeat Team, working under Program Manager Combat Support Systems, ran the Unmanned Surface Vessel [β¦]
The U.S. Army is spending $18 million to repair and refit equipment as one of its cavalry regiments transforms into a heavy brigade combat team, trading in lighter reconnaissance vehicles for the tanks and armored fighting vehicles that define the Armyβs most heavily armed formations. Army Contracting Command awarded the contract modification to Akima Facilities [β¦]
The U.S. Air Force is paying close to $148.3 million to keep an engine that has powered its supersonic jet trainer since the 1960s running. The Defense Logistics Agency awarded Collins Engine Nozzles two contracts for fuel-system parts on the J85 turbojet, the engine that powers the T-38 Talon, according to Department of War contract [β¦]
Marine Corps attack and utility helicopters are getting more secure links to share battlefield data with other aircraft, ships, and ground units. The U.S. Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $34.4 million contract modification to build additional Link 16 kits for the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters, according to a Department of War contract announcement. [β¦]
Anduril Industries has released new imagery showing weapons fit checks on its FQ-44 Fury aircraft, indicating the U.S. Air Forceβs newest uncrewed fighter could carry a range of air-to-ground munitions once it enters full production. Anduril captioned the release βFit for Fury,β adding that the notional configurations βconfirm Furyβs compatibility with a range of munitions.β [β¦]
Lockheed Martinβs Skunk Works division has finished restoring an F-117 Nighthawk stealth jet, known as Aircraft 818 and nicknamed βThe Overachiever,β for permanent display at the Smithsonianβs National Air and Space Museum. The company said the aircraft will go on exhibit at the museumβs Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center later this fall. The move adds another [β¦]
Israeli drone maker Steadicopter has cleared a regulatory hurdle needed to expand operations of its Black Eagle 50E unmanned helicopter in the United States, the company announced Sept. 15, 2026. The aircraft completed an airworthiness validation process run by the Nevada Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site, based at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Nevada [β¦]
Photos and video from Exercise Thunderstruck 3.0 show Oklahoma National Guard convoy vehicles fitted with wire mesh cage screens, a low-cost defense against first-person-view drones that Ukrainian forces have used on the battlefield since 2022. The exercise, held September 12 at Camp Gruber Training Center, centered on unmanned systems and drone threats. Images from the [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing a $562 million contract to begin low-rate production of the MQ-25A Stingray, the serviceβs first carrier-based unmanned refueling drone. The Fixed Price Incentive contract covers three Lot 1 aircraft and includes advance funding to buy long-lead components for three more Lot 2 aircraft. Boeing expects to deliver the first [β¦]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will hold an Industry Day on September 30 in Arlington, Virginia, for a new program aimed at building next-generation electronic-support systems that can watch across wide swaths of the radio spectrum without needing to digitize and process every signal they detect. The program is called BEAMERS, short for Beam-Space [β¦]
The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman have fully assembled an inert version of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the company announced Sept. 14, 2026. The vertical assembly is a step toward flight testing the missile in 2027. Engineers stacked all of the missileβs stages, propulsion elements, and [β¦]
The U.S. Air Forceβs Havoc Spear cruise missile has passed a combat evaluation and is now cleared for broader use across special operations and conventional aircraft, Air Force Special Operations Command announced. The missile, officially designated the AGM-190A, was tested in a live operational setting during the spring of 2026. AFSOC ran the evaluation in [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has ordered production rounds of Castelionβs Blackbeard hypersonic strike weapon in a deal worth up to $200 million, the company announced Sept. 14, 2026. The delivery order covers an initial production lot of the missile and follows a separate June order for 50 early prototype rounds. The new contract came from Portfolio [β¦]
U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed Monday that the United States has weapons in orbit designed to disable or destroy adversary satellites, a rare public admission from a senior Pentagon official about a capability the government has typically declined to discuss, Defense One reported. Meink made the statement during a Monday morning speech at [β¦]
Lockheed MartinΒ is building four more of its newest combat drones, the company announced September 14, doubling down on a program thatβs still more than a year away from ever leaving the ground. The news came from the companyβs secretive Skunk Works division, following a major Air Force conference near Washington, D.C., where Skunk Works also [β¦]
A U.S. Navy warship built to carry Marines ashore just wrapped up a stop at one of Americaβs most important Pacific outposts. USS San Diego (LPD 22), an amphibious transport dock, departed Naval Base Guam on September 12, 2026, after transiting Apra Harbor during what the Navy described as routine operations in the U.S. 7th [β¦]
The Massachusetts Air National Guardβs 104th Fighter Wing formally welcomed the F-35A Lightning II to Barnes Air National Guard Base on September 13, 2026, marking the aircraftβs arrival after a transition process that began more than three years ago. The ceremony drew Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, military officials and representatives from Kenya and Paraguay, whose [β¦]
The littoral combat ship USS St. Louis (LCS 19) left Naval Station Mayport on September 13 to take over U.S. Northern Commandβs mission patrolling waters near the U.S. southern border, the U.S. Navy said. The ship relieves USS Cooperstown (LCS 23), which returned to Mayport on August 31 after a four-month deployment to the region. [β¦]