Breaking Defense

EXCLUSIVE: SNC pulls out of Navy’s trainer jet competition, leaving Textron likely winner

Thales subsidiary lands US Navy contract for remote mine hunting modules

The contract, awarded to Advanced Acoustic Concepts, is worth $53.9 million and also covers engineering support for the modules.

By Diana Stancy

Air Warfare

Air Force divests its few A-29s, explores ‘future options’

A set of three A-29 Super Tucanos are destined for storage after officials at the Air Force Test Pilot School opted against using the turboprops, a spokesperson for Edwards Air Force Base told Breaking Defense.

By Michael Marrow

Naval Warfare

France investing in naval power as military ambition is ‘to be feared’: Armed forces minister

Macron has previously used similar words during his nuclear strategy address in March, when he announced in Brittany an increase in the country’s nuclear warhead stockpile.

By Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo

Latest News

Middle East

Iran may go after US defense firms with cyber attacks, warn Pentagon, Homeland Security

"We recognize this is a time of heightened risk,” Pentagon cyber official Katie Arrington told Breaking Defense. “DoD encourages the DIB [Defense Industry Base] to raise their cybersecurity posture.”

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

In this episode:

Another busy week for the defense industry, with Euronaval underway in Paris and the International Fighter Conference convening in Germany
A closer look at the Hollywood star who became an Air Force general

Naval Warfare

EXCLUSIVE: HII, C3 AI ink agreement to boost shipyard production using artificial intelligence

“What AI allows you to do is optimize for how the work flows through the machine shops, based on prioritization of output and how the different inputs are adjusting,” said Eric Chewning, an HII executive.

By Justin Katz

Land Warfare

Army unveils plans to acquire two different sizes of autonomous launchers

The heavy variant would be based on a Palletized Loading System and fire either Tomahawk or PAC-3 missiles, while the medium-class launcher would use an FMTV to fire Multiple Launch Rocket System munitions or AIM-9X interceptors.

By Ashley Roque

Pentagon

Nearly one in 10 ‘Tier 1’ subcontractors to defense primes are Chinese firms: Report

The new study of 2024 data also warns that the Pentagon remains over-reliant on a small number of traditional prime contractors and a supplier base rife with potential bottlenecks.

By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.

Space

DARPA’s DRACO nuclear propulsion project ROARs no more

DRACO began life in 2020 with the moniker "Reactor on a Rocket," or ROAR — a name agency scientists later decided might garner negative attention.

By Theresa Hitchens

Global

France’s Thales and Norway’s Kongsberg ink communications joint venture

The JV is forecast to earn revenue worth NOK 3 billion through the end of the decade based on “substantial market opportunities and product synergies.”

By Tim Martin

Pentagon

From directed energy to AI and hardening, JIATF-401 is widening counter-UAS options

There is no single answer to the drone threat, pushing the Pentagon toward a broader mix of defenses.

By Barry Rosenberg and Casey Laughman

Air Warfare

EVADE: DARPA pivots shipboard drone program to rapidly field tech later this year

“By forcing a missionization really quickly before you get to that 100 percent product ... we're getting a lot of really good interaction,” DARPA Program Manager Phillip Smith told Breaking Defense in an interview.

By Justin Katz

Congress

Space Force ponders shakeup to LEO satellite strategy, potentially hiring SpaceX for data relay

Contracts for the next-generation Tranche 3, which will replace the earliest Transport Layer satellites, have been paused until the Space Force study is completed, five sources with knowledge of the program told Breaking Defense.

By Theresa Hitchens

Air Warfare

Air Force cancels E-7 Wedgetail, citing survivability and cost concerns

"We are bullish on space, and we think that’s a capability that can be achieved actually faster than the E-7 will deliver at this point," a senior military official said.

By Valerie Insinna