Missile Defense & Weapons

A new, open-architecture air defense system has been evaluated by the U.S. military, and producer SNC is targeting the U.S. Air Force for adoption.

The U.S. Navy has postponed briefings on plans for a new family of ship-based missiles, citing the impact of the ongoing government shutdown.

Rafael has unveiled a jet-powered missile variant of the Spike family of loitering munitions on the eve of the Association of U.S. Army’s annual conference.

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

Ukraine’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16A/B Block 15s could use an electronic warfare pod upgrade, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Oct. 9.

Baykar’s Kizilelma uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) has completed its first weapon releases just days after beginning carriage tests.

L3Harris will offer airborne and electronic warfare variants of the ground-based Vampire counter-UAS now fielded in Ukraine, company executives say.

Taiwan is doubling down on efforts to build a multifaceted uncrewed systems ecosystem, the defense ministry says in a new report.

Washington is determined to reduce its dependency on China for critical minerals essential for defense systems, even if it means sourcing from conflict zones.

South Korea has multiple modernization programs on the agenda to add to its current fleet.

Anduril said Oct. 7 that it has tested successfully on the ground a new propellant technology that aims to extend the range of solid rocket motors for air-to-air missiles.

Ukraine remains committed to producing offensive ballistic missiles for sustained attacks on targets deep behind the Russian front lines, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 6.

North Korea has unveiled a new variant of its Hwasong-11 short-range tactical ballistic missile, this time equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle.

The UK has declared its Sea Venom helicopter-launched anti-ship missile operational, closing a capability gap left open for eight years.

The U.S. Army recently completed initial operational test and evaluation of its Lockheed Martin-made Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1.

The Polish government says it is moving ahead with the purchase of RTX AIM-120D radar-guided air-to-air missiles to equip its F-35 combat aircraft.

The past fiscal year was one for the ages in terms of interest in U.S. missiles abroad.

The European Union says that loitering munitions are emerging as a new field of cooperation under the Permanent Structured Cooperation initiative (Pesco).

The Australian Defense Force is set to double its Lockheed Martin M142 Himars fleet after Washington approved the sale of 48 additional launchers.

AeroVironment is looking to parlay its work on counter-uncrewed air system (C-UAS) laser weapons to go after anticipated business to combat higher-end threats.

The Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit has given the go-ahead for Anduril and Zone 5 to move forward on counter-uncrewed aircraft system efforts.

European missile manufacturer MBDA has been contracted by the Italian government to begin production of a new anti-ship missile for the country’s navy.

The Pentagon has awarded RTX a $5 billion contract for Coyote drone interceptor systems.

The U.S. Navy on Sept 26 released plans to solicit bids in the next fiscal year for contracts that would start development of a new family of surface-launched ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

A new export authorization for Germany carried the RTX AIM-120 Amraam program beyond the 4,000-missile mark so far this year for potential foreign sales.