Israel orders Elbit Systems’ Iron Sting precision mortars
An Elbit official told Breaking Defense the order marks the first large-scale Iron Sting contract, while interest is growing abroad.
Iron Sting: An exclusive look inside Israeli’s new precision mortar
During a visit to a military base in central Israel, Breaking Defense received a rare look at the 120mm mortar up-close, alongside Lt. Col. Liron Cohen, an IDF officer who helped develop it through the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.
The defense intelligence community’s AI and cyber view forward
From AI adoption and agentic systems to Zero Trust and cyber resilience, Breaking Defense’s latest eBook brings together key reporting from DoDIIS 2026 on the technologies and strategies shaping the future of defense intelligence.
Poland’s Self-Propelled Mortar Gets A Redesign
The new chassis provides a much higher level of anti-mine and ballistic protection than previous designs for a key part of Poland's land forces.
Iron Sting: Israelis Will Demo Smart Mortar For US
Elbit’s 120 mm mortar uses GPS and lasers to make the infantry’s favorite heavy weapon precision-guided – and the US is looking to upgrade its own 120s on Strykers and AMPVs.
eBullet Brings Richer Realism To Army Training; No More Laser Tag
A new training network will simulate the effects of weapons — from mortars and grenades to, potentially, germ warfare — and tell troops if they’re “killed” or “wounded,” then play the whole exercise back for AI analysis. One Army engineer told us: “We’ve never been able to train this stuff, never.”
BAE Gets $873M For AMPVs, Spelling The End of The ‘Aluminum Coffin’ M113
In Iraq, M113 variants were deemed too vulnerable to roadside bombs and confined to base. But in a fast-moving mechanized war in Eastern Europe, the armored brigades would need support vehicles that stand a chance against Russian firepower.
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Lessons learned that bring factory speed, adaptability and scalability to air-and-missile defense
Dwindling stockpiles and lessons learned from Ukraine and Iran are driving urgent needs for revamping manufacturing.
US, UK Test Robot Breachers, Drones In Germany
This week's experiment used a small zoo of specialized systems remote-controlled by humans, each with its own modest niche, working closely with each other and human forces.
Marines Test Killer Hovercraft, Wooden Glider & 3D Printers For The Battlefield
QUANTICO: A hovercraft that shoots salvoes of rockets. A speedboat that turns into a submarine. A mobile 3D printing factory. A big wooden box with wings (yes, really). And, of course, more drones than you can shake a stick at (because they swarm). These are just a few of the roughly 100 technologies the Marine […]
US Bombs ISIS To Aid Kurds: Strikes By USS George H.W. Bush, Drones
[UPDATED with details on latest strikes] Yesterday, President Obama ordered humanitarian airdrops to Iraqi refugees and authorized — but did not actually launch — airstrikes on Islamic State forces threatening either the refugees or Erbil, the capital of quasi-independent Kurdistan. This morning, at 6:45 am Washington time, the other shoe dropped, in the form of 500-pound smart bombs […]
New Jersey’s Frelinghuysen Wins HAC-D Chair; Picatinny Must Be Happy
CAPITOL HILL: The recent death of Bill Young, longtime power on the House Appropriations Committee, opened the door to a new chairman of the defense subcommittee. Today New Jersey’s Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen stepped through that door. Frelinghuysen has served on the defense subcommittee since 1999. He was its vice-chairman. The most likely winner from the veteran […]
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Physics AI is different and changes the way defense systems are designed
Models that replicate real-world physics streamline design, testing and iteration processes.