AUSA: With a long border to protect from Russia and $116 million in non-lethal U.S. military aid burning a hole in their pockets, representatives of Ukraine’s defense industry conglomerate UkrObornProm –“The State Concern” — came to the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington with a shopping list. Industry sources said the Ukrainians…
By Richard WhittleLAS VEGAS: As the Army institutionalizes robotic systems that began as ad hoc expedients for Iraq and Afghanistan, the Chief of Staff wants drones in every combat aviation brigade and every division — even at the price of spreading them thinner across the force. The Army’s first company of Grey Eagle UAVs, a variant of…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: As the Marine Corps move ahead with plans to weaponize its Shadow aerial drones, one defense firm is doing all it can to ensure they’ll be in that mix. Weapons maker MBDA will begin a new round of live flight tests of its Saber guided bomb later this year, Doug Denneny, the company’s vice…
By Carlo MunozWashington: The Army is looking hard at a new version of its Shadow aerial drone that can fly much longer and carry more. The Shadow M2, being built by Textron Systems, features a fuselage that is five times bigger than the current version. That bigger fuselage will allow the drone to carry twice as much…
By Carlo MunozWashington: A relatively small unmanned aircraft struck a C-130 cargo plane over Afghanistan, injuring no one but raising questions anew about whether drones can fly safely in American airspace. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on Twitter @BreakingDefense.…
By Colin Clark