The Pentagon needs to develop and acquire more agile missile tracking sensors and defeat systems, with a specific focus on regional hypersonic threats and protecting the island of Guam, as adversaries—especially China—increase their offensive capabilities, a new policy statement says.

China flies new UAS; Aero Vodochody’s L-159 upgrade; MDA receives NGI software build; and Lockheed to make PRSM missiles in 2023.

The U.S. Defense Department on Oct. 26 completed the first of two planned sounding rocket launches to test new technologies at hypersonic speed from NASA’s space launch facility in Wallops, Virginia.

The service’s experiment has become the Pentagon’s lead JADC2 proving ground, but more work is needed to connect sensors and shooters.

In August, Lockheed Martin delivered its first flight software package for an updated national missile defense system, the Next Generation Interceptor. 

Expeditionary units could recharge their equipment with laser energy redirected by UAVs.

The U.S. Army has an aggressive schedule for developing and fielding future variants of its surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile as it prioritizes the longest-range variant.

The U.S. Army is testing its ability to fire guided munitions from small uncrewed aircraft systems, bringing its high-tech approach to a capability that has proven its effectiveness in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.