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MQ-9B SeaGuardian®, built by San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is leading the way in transforming naval and maritime operations around the world.
By GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.Enterprise training is key for the Army to train as it fights
The Army’s next training systems contract, called Warfighter Training Readiness Solution, adds enterprise training for multi-domain operations.
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Changing the world for good with the advancements of unmanned aircraft.
By GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
The change would make available all Category I drones currently made by the US, including the long-loitering surveillance and armed systems which have played a key role in Washington’s counterterrorism fights.
By Paul McLeary
TEL AVIV: Five days ago, an undisclosed intelligence agency intercepted a telephone call made by the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in which he was heard ordering his proxies in Iraq to attack the US embassy in Baghdad, as well as other Israeli and American targets, with the aim of taking hostages, Israeli sources say.…
By Arie Egozi and Colin Clark
The Air Force Research Laboratory believes it’s on to something when it comes to long-endurance drone flight.
By Theresa Hitchens
Amid chatter about what aircraft will make their way to Paris, the Air Force going all in.
By Colin Clark
While Washington struggles to update its arms export policies, China is spreading its influence, one drone sale at a time.
By Paul McLeary
Hypersonics: DoD’s development strategy for missiles
Join Breaking Defense for new webinar 6/25 where we bring together senior military leadership and other technical experts to discuss the cutting-edge advancements in hypersonic technology and learn about the DoD’s comprehensive defensive strategy. Webinar is 1 CPE credit eligible.
The iconic weapon of the post-911 era, the Predator, is being retired today. I asked Rick Whittle, who quite simply wrote the book on the subject, to tell our readers why Predator matters both as a weapon and as a concept. See what the man who fired the Predator’s first Hellfire missile — and…
By Richard Whittle
WASHINGTON: Congressional supporters can heave a sigh of relief with word from Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein that the ugly and effective A-10 will keep flying through 2021. But Goldfein seemed to make pretty clear that the plane will probably be retired after that because Close Air Support missions can be carried out by…
By Colin Clark
One of the oddest military drones aborning reinvents a stillborn technology from 1951. That’s because the unmanned aircraft revolution is resurrecting configurations that were tried more than a half century ago but proved impractical with a human pilot inside. The case in point: Northrop Grumman’s new Tern, a drone designed to do everything armed MQ-1 Predators…
By Richard Whittle
PENTAGON: A sleek little model sits on the desk of Lt. Gen. Jon “Dog” Davis, Marine deputy commandant for aviation. What is that, we asked? The next tiltrotor Bell Helicopter Textron hopes the Marine Corps will buy. But it’s not the V-280 Valor, the new manned tiltrotor Bell plans to fly next year. It’s an…
By Richard Whittle
When the Marine Corps developed the V-22 Osprey in the 1980s, the vision was pretty simple: fly troops ashore in amphibious assaults launched from beyond the range of anti-ship missiles. Now they’re turning the Osprey into a gas station. The Marines clearly envision the tiltrotor as a sort of flying Swiss Army knife. One clear example…
By Richard Whittle
Dave Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies, was the first general charged with overseeing drones and the Air Force general in command of the Air Operations Center when the first Predator fired a Hellfire missile. Dave knows drones, their capabilities and the laws and policies governing their use. He provides a…
By David Deptula and Joseph Raskas
The core task of the men and women who buy America’s weapons is to envision the adversaries and environments of tomorrow and buy forces that are up to the challenge. This involves generating a similar set of assumptions to those used by operational strategists. Today, three assumptions underpin U.S. acquisition strategy that will leave tomorrow’s forces…
By Steve Callicutt and Josh Wiitala