F-35B Weapons Bay Fire: No Fleet Or Unit Groundings

F-35B Weapons Bay Fire: No Fleet Or Unit Groundings
F-35B Weapons Bay Fire: No Fleet Or Unit Groundings

WASHINGTON: So far it looks like an isolated incident, but the Marines at Beaufort Marine Air Station report an F-35B was damaged by a fire in its weapons bay during a training flight. The Oct. 27 aircraft mishap, first reported by my colleague Hope Hodge Seck at Military.com, has been tentatively classified as Type A, meaning…

F-22, F-35 Outsmart Test Ranges, AWACS

F-22, F-35 Outsmart Test Ranges, AWACS
F-22, F-35 Outsmart Test Ranges, AWACS

CAPITOL HILL: How smart is too smart? When F-35 Joint Strike Fighters flew simulated combat missions around Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, their pilots couldn’t see the “enemy” radars on their screens. Why? The F-35s’ on-board computers analyzed data from the airplanes’ various sensors, compared the readings to known threats, and figured out the…

The Case for Donald Trump on National Defense

The Case for Donald Trump on National Defense
The Case for Donald Trump on National Defense

Throughout this presidential campaign, the candidates have barely discussed the most important elements of national security, the United States’ armed forces. We’ve tried to flesh things out, with the excellent force structure and budget analyses done by Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Analyses. But Mark had to work with very few…

Marines Seek To Outnumber Enemies With Robots

Marines Seek To Outnumber Enemies With Robots
Marines Seek To Outnumber Enemies With Robots

PENTAGON CITY: Since World War II, the US military has always expected to fight outnumbered. Soon, however, expendable unmanned systems may change that. For the first time in 70 years, America could have numbers on its side. That turns traditional assumptions about tactics, technology, and budgets upside down. “It does flip things,” said Lt. Gen.…

Day One: Next Prez Must Be Ready For Crisis

Day One: Next Prez Must Be Ready For Crisis
Day One: Next Prez Must Be Ready For Crisis

WASHINGTON: Whoever is elected the next president of the United States must stand ready for crisis to strike “at 12:01 on January 20th,” the Secretary of the Navy warned today, lest America’s adversaries see a window of opportunity. What Ray Mabus and his fellow service secretaries didn’t say, at least out loud, speaks volumes. With Russia meddling in…

Semper Robotic: Marines Try Out New Tech, Tactics

Semper Robotic: Marines Try Out New Tech, Tactics
Semper Robotic: Marines Try Out New Tech, Tactics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOl_JOesU54 The first Marines to hit the beach in future wars may well be robots. Flying, swimming, rolling and swarming, the unmanned advance guard will scout out enemy positions, neutralize mines and send out decoy transmissions to deceive the enemy. Then the humans will start to come ashore. First handfuls of SEALs and Marine Force…

Polaris Offroad Vehicles Video At AUSA

Polaris Offroad Vehicles Video At AUSA
Polaris Offroad Vehicles Video At AUSA

Small is beautiful, even at the largest defense show of the year. Polaris Defense makes off-road vehicles — light and rugged enough to drop from airplanes — in service with US Special Operations Command and various allied nations. The “Big Army” is considering the Polaris DAGOR, among other competitors, to carry airborne troops and other…

Raytheon Wins MDA Gallium Nitride Radar Deal: Companies Shift To GaN

Raytheon Wins MDA Gallium Nitride Radar Deal: Companies Shift To GaN
Raytheon Wins MDA Gallium Nitride Radar Deal: Companies Shift To GaN

ARLINGTON: Two recent contracts make clear the military radar industry is shifting to a new gold standard, a once-obscure material called Gallium Nitride. GaN, a high-efficiency semiconductor, makes radar transmitters much more powerful without using more electricity. Industry consultant Loren Thompson once told us it was “the biggest thing since silicon.” Just in time for…

Mini-Drones & Bayonets: New Marine Warfare Concept

Mini-Drones & Bayonets: New Marine Warfare Concept
Mini-Drones & Bayonets: New Marine Warfare Concept

After a generation spent fighting guerrillas, the Marines have just rolled out a new concept for high-tech combat against a nation-state — a concept they’re developing in unusually close concert with the Army and Navy. “There’s a lot of Navy in it,” said Marine Corps Commandant Robert Neller, introducing the new Marine Corps Operating Concept…

Army’s ‘Multi-Domain Battle:’ Jamming, Hacking & Long Range Missiles

Army’s ‘Multi-Domain Battle:’ Jamming, Hacking & Long Range Missiles
Army’s ‘Multi-Domain Battle:’ Jamming, Hacking & Long Range Missiles

Days before the biggest defense conference of the year, one of the Army’s top thinkers is unveiling the service’s new push to expand its role beyond its traditional domain — land — to air, sea, space, and cyberspace. Even as the US defense budget shrinks, the Army is prioritizing new investments in downing drones, hacking networks, jamming…

BAE Unveils 1st Amphibious Combat Vehicle For Marines

BAE Unveils 1st Amphibious Combat Vehicle For Marines
BAE Unveils 1st Amphibious Combat Vehicle For Marines

After years of prototype testing, canceled programs, and rewritten requirements, contractor BAE Systems has unveiled the first production model of its 34-ton, eight-wheel-drive Amphibious Combat Vehicle at the Modern Day Marine show. BAE and SAIC are competing to replace the Marine Corps’ aging, ungainly, and thinly armored Amphibious Assault Vehicles. The AAVs are huge tracked machines…

‘Optionally Piloted’ Aircraft Studied For Future Vertical Lift

‘Optionally Piloted’ Aircraft Studied For Future Vertical Lift
‘Optionally Piloted’ Aircraft Studied For Future Vertical Lift

WASHINGTON: The military wants to replace a host of current helicopters with aircraft that not only fly much faster, but can fly without a human pilot. The Army-led Future Vertical Lift program will study whether FVL should be an “Optionally Piloted Vehicle,” capable of accommodating a pair of highly-trained human pilots for complex combat missions or of…

Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration

Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration
Four Service Chiefs Say They Can’t Defend US Under Sequestration

WASHINGTON: Today, we got a very clear look at the biggest problem with sequestration for the military. If the Budget Control Act goes into full effect, the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines told the Senate Armed Services Committee today, they will not be able to protect the United States as they are…

Trump Proffers Pentagon Specifics: $60B More To Boost Troops, Ships

Trump Proffers Pentagon Specifics: $60B More To Boost Troops, Ships
Trump Proffers Pentagon Specifics: $60B More To Boost Troops, Ships

When Donald Trump discussed his defense program in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the bluster and lunacy of the primary season were gone and he offered a scripted position paper that reflected (mostly) mainstream Republican ideas. There is still lots one might disagree with, but the discipline of the teleprompter meant that he read a staff-prepared paper that put…