Lockheed Martin expands secretive Vectis drone program
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 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¦]
An autonomous machine gun system engaged drone targets in the Arizona desert, according to official photos from a U.S. military exercise. The system, called Bullfrog and built by Texas startup Allen Control Systems, pairs a standard M240 machine gun with a robotic turret, in this case bolted into the bed of a pickup truck. The [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded KestrelX, a small Florida-based aviation company, a contract worth up to $9,987,285 to supply low-observable target aircraft and engineering support for Navy and Department of War training exercises. The Navy did not obligate any funds when it signed the deal, and will instead pay KestrelX as it issues individual task [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems a contract worth up to $184.25 million to move a new electronic warfare component for the EA-18G Growler into full-rate production. The contract covers manufacturing of the Next Generation Electronic Attack Unit, known as NGEAU, along with sustainment support for the unit and future sustainment work [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has added $38.2 million to a BAE Systems contract to overhaul two Mk 45 Mod 4 naval guns, the main deck gun mounted on the Navyβs destroyers and cruisers. Naval Sea Systems Command issued the cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to an existing contract, funded through fiscal 2024 shipbuilding money that will remain available beyond [β¦] 

U.S. Central Command forces struck and disabled three Iranian oil tankers on September 5, hours after Iranβs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships patrolling the region, according to a CENTCOM statement. Both American vessels, an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer, evaded the Iranian missiles, and no U.S. personnel [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics NASSCO $149.6 million to carry out a scheduled maintenance and modernization overhaul of the destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91), the ship that served as the lead hull for the Navyβs broader effort to upgrade its Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The fixed-price incentive fee contract covers what the [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Space $90.2 million to continue design and development work on the second life extension of the Trident II D5 missile, the submarine-launched ballistic missile that forms the sea-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, according to a Department of War contract announcement. The cost-plus-fixed-fee modification adds to an [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries $336.1 million to begin buying materials with long manufacturing lead times for the future USS William J. Clinton (CVN 82), the fifth Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, according to a Department of War contract announcement. The contract covers advance procurement only, meaning the money goes toward ordering [β¦]
The U.S. Navy demonstrated a system last month that can refuel an unmanned surface vessel at sea without any crew on board, a step toward keeping robotic boats on station indefinitely instead of returning to port when they run low on fuel. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division ran the demonstration off the coast [β¦]
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Missions Systems a $194.1 million contract modification for engineering support work on the Nuclear-Armed, Sea-Launched Cruise Missile program, according to a Department of War contract announcement. The cost-plus-fixed-fee modification adds to a previously awarded unpriced letter contract and covers technical and engineering support for the missileβs Fire Control [β¦]
The U.S. Navy will commission its newest guided-missile destroyer, the USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), on October 3 in Whittier, Alaska, according to a release from Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. The ceremony will be the first Navy ship commissioning held in Alaska since 2013, when the USS Anchorage (LPD 23) was commissioned [β¦]
The U.S. Navy is running open-ended combat deployments in the Middle East without access to most of its regional supply bases, forcing ships to resupply at sea roughly every five to six days rather than pulling into port, The New York Times reported. Iran struck the Navyβs logistics hub in Bahrain on February 28, the [β¦]
San Diego-based unmanned surface vessel maker Seasats said its Quickfish interceptor-class USV has entered production and is now available at scale. The company said Quickfish is built on Seasatsβ existing technology stack and can sprint at more than 40 knots (74 km/h) while remaining at sea for weeks at a time. It has a large [β¦]
South Koreaβs Navy has selected GE Aerospace to supply gas turbine engines for its next-generation KDDX destroyer program, with GE Marine set to deliver 12 LM2500+G4 engines to power six ships, the company said. Each destroyer will carry two LM2500+G4 engines, integrated into a full electric propulsion configuration. GE Aerospace said the setup is intended [β¦]
The German Navy successfully completed a dual firing trial of Israel Aerospace Industriesβ Naval LORA ballistic missile, launching the weapon from an operational German vessel and hitting its target with precision in both test scenarios, IAI said. The trial was conducted as part of the German Navyβs Operational Experimentation program, known as OPEX, a testing [β¦]