The battery of eight missiles, while primarily meant to test out tactics, will be capable of combat. So will a prototype battery of lasers entering service in 2021.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.ROC-X – The solution to organic precision strike capabilities
At AUSA Global Force 2024, IAI will present integrated, AI-driven combat systems – both manned and unmanned – that are opening new opportunities on the battlefield.
The Army’s rebuilding to face China and Russia. That may leave programs designed over the past decade for COIN operations in the dust.
By Paul McLeary
The Army’s not sure it wants 55,000 JLTVs — but manufacturer Oshkosh is doubling down. Why?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Don’t think about the Terminator or Iron Man: Think about Sigourney Weaver’s power loader lifting crates in Aliens.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
INF proponents emphasize the risk of nuclear weapons. But, despite its name, the treaty bans a wide range of conventional weapons as well — and it’s non-nuclear, precision-guided missiles that have changed how war is actually waged.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
AUSA: The Army is investing more and more money in lasers to defeat incoming rockets and enemy drones. Across the Air & Missile Defense (AMD) portfolio, “we put over 50 percent of our S&T (Science and Technology) money going towards directed energy projects,” up from about a third previously, said the AMD modernization director, Brig. Gen.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Google Car and Tesla Autopilot have blazed a trail for the future Army. Both robotics technology and Army thinking have come a long way since 2009, when Defense Secretary Bob Gates cancelled the massive Future Combat Systems program. Where FCS tried to invent new technology on a schedule for 19 different manned and unmanned…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B: The right UAV for persistence, power, and performance
When assessing the state of the art of unmanned aerial systems, it’s critical to be very clear about what various aircraft can and can’t do – and could never do.
The Army is ready for unmanned vehicles but not yet for a completely unmanned convoy. The 2020 iteration is called Expedient Leader-Follower because the Army still wants a human soldier driving the lead vehicle, with up to nine autonomous trucks following in its trail. But Oshkosh and Robotic Research told me they could take the humans out altogether, if the Army wanted.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Lockheed is as close to an incumbent as you get in the rapidly evolving world of high-energy fiber lasers. Raytheon, by contrast, only recently made a big play for laser weapons, but they can draw on their experience with lower-powered but exquisitely tuned laser sensors.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The concepts the Warfighting Lab comes up with aren’t holy writ, but rather a baseline for young Marines to build on, “a point from which to deviate,” said Maj. J.B. Persons, a special projects officer at MCWL. “Give Marines new tools or toys, and they’ll surprise you every time.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
“If you look back at the Iraq war, one of the most dangerous duties was driving, riding in a convoy between Kuwait City and Baghdad. We lost many, many soldiers, too many soldiers, to IED (roadside bomb) attacks, other attacks on convoys,” Esper said. “I could’ve reduced that vulnerability, that sacrifice, (with) unmanned convoys or convoys that were manned by (only) a couple of soldiers.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
AUSA: Last year we introduced Breaking D readers to a camouflage-painted, hydrogen-powered pickup truck GM was going to test for the Army. This year, the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 is back at AUSA, still dirty from months of tests at various Army bases around the United States. Its fuel cell turns hydrogen into electricity, powering an…
By Richard Whittle
AUSA: Polaris is a small, tough company that makes small, tough trucks, favored by the Marines, Special Forces, and allied nations. They’re basically military-grade dune buggies, easy to transport by plane or helicopter and easy to customize to the mission. In this video, Polaris shows us one of their larger DAGOR vehicles configured to carry a full eight-man squad…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
AUSA: The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is the Army’s new truck, a versatile vehicle in the tradition of the Jeep and the Humvee. Today manufacturer Oshkosh Defense is showing just how versatile the JLTV can be, with two different ways to take down enemy drones, manned aircraft, and ground vehicles. First in our video clip…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
