Missile Defense & Weapons

With its fiscal 2021 budget request, the U.S. Air Force has consolidated funding for its first three Vanguard science and technology programs, to provide a clearer understanding of efforts to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities.

The U.S. Army has canceled the procurement of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System and the Mobile Intermediate Range Missile programs in the fiscal 2021 budget to free up funding for higher priorities.

Making airlifters and refuelers more survivable and capable emerges as new priority.

European missile manufacturer MBDA has taken a stake in French software analysis company Numalis in a bid to strengthen the artificial-intelligence capabilities of future weapons.

Australia’s request to buy the missiles implies it has chosen the AGM-158C for project Air 3023 Phase 1.

A Lockheed Martin program has become the first casualty in the U.S. Defense Department’s race to deploy a diverse portfolio of hypersonic missiles as soon as possible.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a rocket motor and scramjet propulsion company, will deliver “enabling technologies” for a Northrop Grumman-designed hypersonic interceptor missile in development by DARPA, the company announced Feb. 10.

The Pentagon will launch a Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program and build out its command-and-control system as part of a budget request that seeks $20.3 billion for “Missile Defeat and Defense activities.”

The Trump administration’s fiscal 2021 defense budget request is “flat” for the Pentagon but doubles down on space, hypersonic and cyber capabilities against China, Russia and others and would make recent changes to the national security structure “irreversible,” officials said Feb 10.

The U.S. Defense Department plans to increase spending on hypersonic offensive and defensive capabilities in fiscal 2021.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) has acquired “Fire Weaver,” a networked sensor-to-shooter system. The system is expected to serve the Israel

Drone swarms are a new threat, and Singapore has an answer.

From the rise and fall of research dollars to signs of a successful reorganization of space acquisitions, experts at the Center for Strategic and

UK gains P-8 maritime patroller; L3Harris spacecraft clears design hurdle; IAI makes deals in India; Germany scraps UAV purchase plan.

The U.S. Navy has moved to greatly expand the role of P-8A maritime patrol aircraft by proposing to integrate several new types of missiles, bombs, mines and advanced decoys.

Northrop Grumman is already banking on winning the U.S. military’s contract for providing the next generation of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.

As Pentagon officials come to grips with challenges facing hypersonic boost-glide missiles, air-breathing alternatives are gaining speed.

How will U.S. refuel aircraft?; Poland set to sign for F-35s; Raytheon’s new missile-warning data contract; Russia to export the Mi-38.

After Singapore, Indonesia likely to order first. The Philippines has narrowed its choice down to the F-16 and Gripen.

The city-state’s air bases are increasingly vulnerable. It obviously sees STOVL as an answer.

The U.S. defense research agency awarded Northrop a $13 million, one-year contract under the Glide Breaker program.

Most in industry and government see high-level, multinational efforts as a pipe dream, leaving airlines to fend for themselves.

Israel’s precision weapons are sold all over the world, but struggled to break into world’s most lucrative market until recently

Optical sensors have joined Israel’s elaborate and increasingly more powerful air surveillance network

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.