“In a perfect world, I'd love to have all second interceptors able to address all threats, that's what we're asking for,” said Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, describing a potential five-year development effort.
Earlier this year, the service unveiled tentative plans to decide who would participate in a new cruise missile interceptor competition in FY25. Industry feedback over the coming weeks could alter that date and reshape the acquisition timetable.
Cyber resilience has become a frontline mission for the US military. Breaking Defense’s new eBook rounds up key reporting from the 2025 Alamo ACE conference with the latest developments in cyber offense and defense.
While the company says a prototype launcher is "nearly complete," in the meantime the Army is receiving Raytheon’s AIM-9X interceptor with plans to confirm that thermal management problems have been solved.
Lingering supply chain woes have delayed Dynetics first Enduring Shield launcher prototype delivery to the Army which has, in turn, delayed testing plans.
Despite the multi-month launcher delivery delay, the Army said its testing plan is on track and during this phase it will ensure the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile can be launched from the ground.
During tests last month, one Gremlins drone was destroyed after a power system failure forced the team to terminate flight, said Tim Keeter, Dynetics' program manager.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
Dynetics won a contract to produce the Army's Indirect Fires Protection Capability capability.
"We expect to report results in August, at the latest," DARPA spokesperson Jared Adams told Breaking D.
The first four flight tests – one a failure -- took nine years. The next five will take less than three years.
The nine startups are pitching everything from composite materials to small propulsion units that can enable hypersonic (i.e. faster than Mach 5) flight.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
“As long as we get an appropriation by the beginning of the calendar year, I think we’ll be okay," the Army's chief of budget planning said.
Dynetics will build the Common Glide Body for both the Army and Navy, which Lockheed will integrate into full-up weapons for the first Army battery by 2023.
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.
As counterterrorism missions show no signs of slowing down and civilian casualties always a worry, the commando command is turning to a light, guided munition to chase down fast-moving targets.