Diving into Trump’s unusual shipbuilding plans, plus an SMD expo floor tour
The Breaking Defense team unpacks three new directives from the White House that could influence the future of the Navy.
Army gears up to ‘engage’ enemy surveillance satellites
The Army's space superiority efforts are focused on countering adversary ISR satellites, as well as conducting "stratospheric warfare," Col. Joe Mroszcyck told Breaking Defense.
Army fires community tackling four ‘capability gaps,’ including magazine depth
Brig. Gen. Robert Mikesh, charged with offensive fires, detailed a quadruple challenge — energetics and propulsion, targeting and seekers, the industrial base and “munitions breadth and depth.”
PHOTOS: SMD 2026
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Space-based interceptor contractors passed first Golden Dome milestone: Guetlein
The Defense Department will not decide whether to produce operational space-based interceptors until after industry demonstrates their feasibility, Gen. Michael Guetlein said.
Army selects air defense unit to prepare for Golden Dome mission
“Leading up to [2028], we're going to do a lot of experimentation and test with this unit to make sure that we're ready to fight with it when it's delivered,” said Lt. Gen. John Rafferty.
Joint force needs kinetic and non-kinetic weapons for space war: Whiting
"We’re a combatant command and we fight to win wars," US Space Command chief Gen. Stephen Whiting told the annual Army SMD conference.
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Engineering decision advantage for the warfighter
Multi-orbit mission capabilities are accelerating decision making across domains.
If funding falters, ‘there’s no Golden Dome,’ Guetlein warns
“Without continued funding, Golden Dome will stop with everything we've already built and delivered,” Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein told reporters today.
Laser weapons for space? US officials see threat, opportunity
Directed-energy and cyber weapons, as well as bombs targeted on communications hubs, all have potential to disable large satellite constellations, said Lt. Gen. Rick Zellmann, deputy commander of US Space Command.
Boeing, Northrop unveil low-cost intercept tech
Boeing plans to offer a cheaper seeker for defensive and offensive military missiles, while Northrop Grumman revealed more about a cannon-based solution to bat down threats like drones and cruise missiles.
Army needs ‘comprehensive missile defeat strategy’ to address air defense challenges
“We need a more comprehensive missile defeat strategy that focuses on interceptors, [but also] equally so on non-kinetic effects, both electronic warfare and directed energy, and the type of targeting in C2 … that will enable us to use that data to make decisions to engage targets faster,” said SMD head Lt. Gen. John Rafferty.