Oshkosh Shows Off Big Gun JLTV: 30mm Cannon
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Oshkosh has just started delivering Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to replace the military’s iconic and under-armored Humvee, but it’s already got its sights — literally — on the next big thing. The Army is looking for a Light Reconnaissance Vehicle to scout ahead of its infantry units, and after exploring a purpose-built vehicle, it decided… Keep reading →
Gun Truck: Oshkosh Unveils 30mm Chaingun JLTV For Army Recon
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After a summer of speculation and anticipation, truck maker Oshkosh is rolling out the much-awaited upgunned variant of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, meant to scout ahead of Army infantry. While Oshkosh didn’t confirm or deny they were going for the Army’s Light Reconnaissance Vehicle requirement with this upgrade, it’s an extremely open secret. Adding a… Keep reading →
Big Guns For Light Infantry: Mobile Protected Firepower
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This week at Fort Benning, Ga., the Army told some 200 industry representatives from 59 companies what it wants in its next war machine, the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle (MPF). The MPF must be light and nimble enough to accompany foot troops where the massive M1 Abrams cannot go: into dense jungle and narrow streets, up mountains and… Keep reading →
Tiny Drones Win Over Army Grunts; Big Bots? Not So Much
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Tiny drones, no bigger than your palm, were the big stars of an Army experiment in Hawaii, participants told Breaking Defense. Larger ground robots, however, struggled in the jungle. Staff Sergeant James Roe told me he was “blown away” by the PD-100 Black Hornet, a commercially available mini-drone used in PACMAN-I (Pacific Manned-Unmanned Initiative, part of… Keep reading →
Marines, NSA To Bring Smartphones To Rifle Squad
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The Marine Corps and National Security Agency have joined forces to bring cellphones to the battlefield by 2019. Working with the NSA’s new Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program should let the Marines acquire cutting-edge civilian technology swiftly without sacrificing security, said Maj. Kevin Shepherd of Marine Corps Systems Command. The Marine Corps hasn’t chosen a… Keep reading →
Robot Brains Where & When You Want ‘Em
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Classic science fiction imagined evil master computers remote-controlling their mindless robot minions. It imagined good-guy droids that were basically humans in tin suits. But as the actual science of autonomy evolves, reality is looking a lot weirder. The user interface may be in an ordinary Android tablet, but the artificial intelligence itself may reside in… Keep reading →
Biggest Change For Infantry Since WWII: XM25
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WASHINGTON: Buried in a bleak Army budget is a bright nugget of revolution: a precision-guided grenade launcher called the XM25. In difficult development for over a decade, the XM25 will finally enter limited production in 2017. It will be the first radically new small arms technology since 1943. “This has the potential to be a… Keep reading →
Northrop Grumman Scout Truck Is Laser-Ready; Boasts Huge Power Generation
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AUSA: “There’s never been that much power on a vehicle this small,” said Jeff Wood, showing off Northrop Grumman’s new Hellhound scout car. In fact, he told reporters, standing amidst the buzzing chaos of the exhibit space at Washington’s biggest defense conference, “I can power this entire hall with this vehicle.” In a disaster scenario, he… Keep reading →
Trucks From The Sky: Polaris Pitches DAGOR For ULCV
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On Monday, truck makers will submit data to the Army on potential candidates for the Ultra-Light Combat Vehicle. ULCV has to be big enough to carry nine fully equipped infantrymen, small enough to sling-load under a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, and tough enough to parachute out the back of a C-130 or C-17. UCLV is… Keep reading →
SOCOM Builds Iron Man, Piece By Piece
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WASHINGTON: Despite the hype, the US Special Operations Command won’t issue Iron Man-style armor to its troops any time soon. But that’s not the standard by which to assess the success or failure of SOCOM’s much vaunted Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit initiative, the command’s chief weapons buyer says. The value of TALOS lies at least… Keep reading →