USA

Details: Written by Ed Adamczyk; Category: USA; Published: 18 February 2021

The U.S. Air Force is testing high-powered lasers and microwaves for use of directed energy to shoot down drones and other aerial objects, it said on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Raytheon Further experiments in directed energy weapons -- which use of lasers and microwaves to intercept hostile airborne objects -- are expected in 2021, the U.S. Air Force said on Wednesday. A one-year assessment of the High Energy Laser Weapon System 2, or HELWS2, made by Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, began in spring 2020, with a second test expected 6 to 12 months after it is completed, the Air Force said in a statement.

Details: Written by JOSEPH TREVITHICK AND TYLER ROGOWAY; Category: USA; Published: 10 February 2021

Image result for DARPA Is Developing Aircraft-Launched Missile-Like Drones That Fire Their Own Air-To-Air Missiles The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has hired General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, to craft designs for an air-launched missile-toting air-to-air combat drone as part of a program called LongShot. In concept, a larger manned aircraft would fire this unmanned air vehicle, which could then fly to a certain area and engage multiple aerial threats with its own weapons.

Details: Written by Dylan Malyasov; Category: USA; Published: 07 February 2021

Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp. won a contract valued at as much as $61 million to upgrade Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Defense contract announcements. Oshkosh Defense, the defense arm of Oshkosh Corp, was awarded a contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command for 1,081 Underbody Armor Kit upgrade kits for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.

Details: Written by SatellitePro ME; Category: USA; Published: 04 February 2021

The U.S. Missile Defence Agency has awarded L3Harris Technologies a $121m contract to build space flight hardware to demonstrate the company’s solution for the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) programme, according to L3Harris. Speaking about the contract, Ed Zoiss, President, L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems said:

Details: Written by Airforce Technology; Category: USA; Published: 29 January 2021

The US Air Force (USAF) has awarded an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to American defence contractor L3Harris Technologies. The USAF awarded the $668m five-year contract to help maintain fleet readiness of its C-130 aircraft.Under the contract, L3Harris will perform sustainment on the C-130H and J-model aircraft at its 1.1-million-square-foot aircraft modification centre in Waco, Texas.

Details: Written by Dylan Malyasov; Category: USA; Published: 03 December 2020

Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, has announced on Monday that U.S. Army has placed the second largest order of Oshkosh Defense JLTVs to date, with a contract value of $911 million. “The Oshkosh Defense JLTVs will be supplied to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force along with a select group of NATO and non-NATO allies.

Details: Written by Mark Pomerleau; Category: USA; Published: 27 November 2020

WASHINGTON — The Army is looking for potentially more vendors and capabilities for its Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool. EWMPT, which provides for mission planning and management within the electromagnetic spectrum, has been developed thus far by Raytheon and has taken advantage of what it calls software capability drops to add incremental capabilities.

Details: Written by Oleg Burunov; Category: USA; Published: 26 November 2020

DARPA's HTV-2 reenters atmosphere (artist impression) In mid-October, the US Department of Defence announced that they had designated the Naval Surface Warfare Centre (NSWC) in Indiana as the primary base for developing hypersonic weapons. It appears that the Pentagon is involved in the development of advanced weapons to prevent hypersonic missile attacks from "near-space", Kris Osborn, managing editor of the website Warrior Maven and defence editor of the magazine National Interest, suggested.

Details: Written by Colton Jones; Category: USA; Published: 25 November 2020

Predator and Reaper drones maker General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, was awarded a contract from the U.S. Army to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into unmanned aerial systems. The hybrid contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, is worth more than $93 million and covers research, development, test and evaluation of AI for the smart sensor prototype unmanned aerial platform.