AFA HQ: We finally learned why the Air Force has been backing away from a new JSTARS: it probably wouldn’t be much use in a real shooting war. That’s the verdict, stated in less unforgiving terms by the head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Holmes, here in a speech. “The question is, how will… Keep reading →

AUSA: 15 years ago, when the Stryker entered Army service, traditionalist treadheads derided the eight-wheel-drive armored vehicle as far too light to fight alongside heavy tracked machines. Today, the Stryker is the middle-weight mainstay of the Army, filling a niche between light trucks like the Humvee and heavy tanks like the M1 Abrams. A big… Keep reading →

AUSA: With the Army increasingly anxious about Russian drones, helicopters, and fighters, it’s racing to revive the Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) forces it largely disbanded after the Cold War. BAE Systems, which makes the heavily armed M2 Bradley troop carrier, is offering a Bradley variant festooned with radars, jamming antennas to shut down drones, anti-aircraft missiles, and… Keep reading →

AUSA: The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is the Army’s new truck, a versatile vehicle in the tradition of the Jeep and the Humvee. Today manufacturer Oshkosh Defense is showing just how versatile the JLTV can be, with two different ways to take down enemy drones, manned aircraft, and ground vehicles. First in our video clip… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: That rumble under your feet you sensed this morning was the earthquake caused by the decision of one of America’s closest allies, Saudis Arabia, to join Turkey in buying Russia’s vaunted S-400 surface to air missile system. The announcement carried extra diplomatic weight as Saudi King Salman was visiting Russia when the Saudis made… Keep reading →

AMARILLO, TEX.: Bell Helicopter is so confident in their new V-280 tilt-rotor prototype that they want the Pentagon to accelerate the Future Vertical Lift program – which they think the V-280 will win – by “five to eight years.” [Click here for our head-to-head comparison of the V-280 and its rival, the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1] That… Keep reading →

ARLINGTON: US Army helicopters can penetrate Russian-style anti-aircraft defenses, service leaders say, but many aircrew are likely to die trying without new technologies, upgrades that the Army can only afford for part of the force. That mismatch between military demand and budgetary supply may force an end to 14 years organizing and modernizing all Combat… Keep reading →

HUNTSVILLE, ALA.: The Army keeps putting more powerful lasers on smaller vehicles. Battlefield lasers in testing today can shoot down snooping quadcopters and other small drones. By the early 2020s, however vehicles mobile enough to keep up with combat brigades – Strykers and FMTV trucks – will have power in the 50 to 100 kilowatt… Keep reading →

HUNTSVILLE, ALA.: If you fly Russian MiG fighters, Sukhoi attack jets, or Hind helicopters, your life just got a little harder — and in the event of war, potentially much shorter. At the Space & Missile Defense conference here, General Dynamics rolled out the latest variant of their eight-wheel-drive Stryker armored vehicle, with the troop… Keep reading →

Yes, the Navy has cut short its Littoral Combat Ship program and started work on a bigger, tougher, better-armed frigate. But the small ships will still be big part of the future fleet, experts we spoke to agreed, and the frigate will carry on much of the LCS legacy. It’s true the Navy’s needs have… Keep reading →