“Penetrating and disintegrating A2/AD is the fundamental problem of all-domain operations. It’s the hardest problem we’ve got,” said Brig. Gen. John Rafferty.
By Andrew EversdenFive small businesses won SBIR Phase II awards to build robotic arms to handle shells, software to manage ammo inventory, and other prototype technologies.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“It’s ultimately a political decision, and … this demands a strong and fully staffed OSD,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, of the American Enterprise Institute. “That doesn’t seem likely until much later this year.”
By Theresa HitchensPrSM is preparing for its first 300-plus-mile flight test this year, while the ERCA cannon and hypersonic LRHW head for key tests in 2023.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“In my career, certainly this is the most amount of modernization I’ve seen,” Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson says. Can multiple Army programs make their 2023 deadline?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Weapons from hypersonics to howitzers have key deadlines to meet next year to keep to the Army’s ambitious timeline, Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood and Brig. Gen. John Rafferty tell Breaking Defense.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Next fall, the Army aims to test a new artificial intelligence for artillery and fire the prototype PrSM missile to its full 300-plus-mile range — once they find a venue that’s big enough.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Meant to target Chinese warships and Russia’s rear bases, the new intermediate-range missile will fill the gap between the 500+ km PrSM and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The military services are working together on how to use long-range, land-based missiles to destroy enemy anti-aircraft defenses, says the director of artillery modernization at Army Futures Command.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army wants to do a tech demonstration in the southwestern desert – COVID permitting – of how the new weapons systems it’s developing can share data.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.This spring’s successful test shots of the Precision Strike Missile and Extended-Range Cannon are just two pieces of a rapidly evolving portfolio of new long-range weapons.
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.“My biggest concern is that when the budget goes down — that’s only a matter of time — that, one, we’re left with a bunch of prototypes but nothing in inventory, and a bunch of legacy systems without upgrades; and two, when the prototypes finally turn into production-ready weapons systems, how can the Army afford so many big-ticket procurement bills simultaneously?” warned Heidi Shyu.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.