A report from NDIA highlights directed-energy suppliers’ struggles to get by on unpredictable “one-off” contracts for prototypes and field tests — but OSD research and acquisition officials warn there are complex tactical questions to work out before they can buy lasers in bulk.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
“The IFPC-HPM platoon will undergo capabilities and limitations testing by the Army to develop tactics, techniques and procedures for how the capability will be used in theater as part of a layered defense posture for the counter-UAS mission,” an Epirus spokesman told Breaking Defense.
By Ashley Roque
“There have been some really impressive results,” said MDA Executive Director Laura DeSimone on recent directed energy tests.
By Theresa Hitchens
“The threat is always going to evolve. We actually see this every day when we watch what’s happening in Ukraine and Israel,” said Col. Michael Parent, the lead for the RCCTO’s Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems office.
By Ashley Roque
“IFPC-HPM provides much needed protection against adversarial UAS swarms capable of targeting and overwhelming US and allied air defense systems,” the Army said in budget request documents.
By Ashley Roque
Autonomous drones are a “direct attempt to evade” EW countermeasures, according to a top cUAS general.
By Andrew Eversden
Space based jammers? Kinetic kill vehicles? Ground based lasers? The Pentagon has a space weapon it’s ready to show, but it’s not clear exactly what it will be.
By Theresa Hitchens
ROC-X – The solution to organic precision strike capabilities
At AUSA Global Force 2024, IAI presented integrated, AI-driven combat systems – both manned and unmanned – that are opening new opportunities on the battlefield.
“We’re painting with broad strokes, but we’re diving into what missions of the future will look like. The technology is not quite Star Wars, but we’re getting close,” said Jeremy Murray-Krezan, AFRL’s directed energy deputy chief scientist, says.
By Theresa Hitchens
Crucial to the promise of MORFIUS is its ability to zap many drones at once in mid-air, far from the friendly vehicles, buildings, or people actively being defended.
By Kelsey Atherton
“I’ve watched it in action and its really quite impressive,” says Air Force Chief Scientist Richard Joseph.
By Theresa Hitchens
The Pentagon’s draft “reference architecture,” which also covers high-powered microwave weapons, will be circulated for industry comment early next year.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. THOR puts high-powered microwaves to fry drone swarms’ electronics in a rugged and deployable package.
By Theresa Hitchens “I spent the first 15 years of my career walking around in a lab with a laser, saying ‘does anyone want this…’ and the warfighter [kept] going ‘that’s adorable,’” Craig Robin recalled ruefully. “Just recently there’s been a tremendous pull [because] we simply just got out it into the user’s hands and they recognized the value.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Innovators who put forward the most promising white papers will be invited to pitch their idea to officials representing not only the Army but the other services, the joint Combatant Commands, and independent organizations like the Missile Defense Agency.
By Theresa Hitchens
