Missile Defense & Weapons

China’s People’s Liberation Army has performed a ballistic-missile defense test, hitting a missile in its mid-course phase.

Trials will measure ability to handle applications such as a long-range artillery shell and a Mach 4 air-launched missile.

A new version of the Switchblade 600 will be demonstrated with artificial intelligence (AI) software that allows the loitering munition to automatically identify targets observed by a sensor.

AeroVironment expects a significant increase in demand for loitering munitions after a U.S. government decision to transfer Switchblade loitering munitions to Ukraine led to a wider export authorization for the armed flying systems.

The U.S. Air Force wants to hear from industry on how to sustain the Sentinel nuclear missile system, including its new re-entry vehicle.

A heat-seeking missile concept proposed by Diehl could feature a datalink to support beyond visual range, air-to-air missile intercepts.

Medium-range and surface-to-air versions of the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) are being developed internally.

NASA takes on UAP study; Three-way weapon competition; Gray Wolf development slows; AFRL building “virtual range” for directed energy

The Air Force Research Laboratory has granted a 10-year, $80 million contract to BlueHalo to build a system that models and simulates directed-energy weapons use in wargames.

Northrop Grumman and L3Harris have been selected to form a three-way competition with previously announced Lockheed Martin for a contract to develop the Stand-in Attack Weapon for the U.S. Air Force.

A lack of available aircraft and range time has delayed the testing of the GBU-53/B StormBreaker small-diameter bomb, with initial operational capability expected to slip, according to a new government assessment.

The invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the need for missile defense in a conflict, and a House panel is calling on the U.S. Army to assess if it needs more batteries for the mission and how its Patriot systems should be upgraded.

Lockheed Martin has become the first competitor to receive a Phase 1 award in a bidding process for a contract to develop a new U.S. Air Force air-launched strike missile.

Lawmakers want the Pentagon to broaden its use of advanced technologies for hypersonic and ballistic missile defense by increasing research in directed energy.

In a bid to overcome a “hypersonic valley of death” for high-speed technologies, the U.S. Navy is soliciting ideas for an experimental hypersonic glide body that can be used for testing several payloads at speeds of more than Mach 5 on each flight.

Northrop Grumman has been developing a turbojet-powered loitering munition called Jackal with 300-mph speed and a 15-min. loiter capability at a range of 100 km (62 mi.), the company says.

Boeing has released concepts of two different, carrier-compatible missiles—one powered by a dual-combustion scramjet and the other by a high-supersonic ramjet—for the first time.

The UK is giving some of its M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to Ukraine as the country seeks longer range systems to target Russia’s heavy artillery.

In recent years, Turkey has proved to be a mercurial, if not problematic, partner.

A high-speed sled was recovered after accelerating to around Mach 5.6 on a 10-mi.-long, 9-in.-wide monorail track in the New Mexico desert, the U.S. Air Force said on June 2.

South Korea’s Defense Project Promotion Committee has OK’d spending KRW750 billion ($605 million) to upgrade the country’s MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles from the PAC-2 to the PAC-3 standard.

Dutch to buy more F-35s, MQ-9s; U.S. awards Stinger missile deal; Japan may open weapons sales; and CAE seeks F-35 training centers.

The UK is to upgrade its stock of submarine-launched Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles, improving their range and resilience against jamming threats.

Airbus Helicopters has fired Rafael’s Spike anti-armor missiles from its H145M light utility helicopter as the OEM works to broaden the capabilities of the dual-use platform.

The air-launched Amraam-AXE concept is being developed as a stop-gap solution for fighters that need an beyond visual range air-to-air missile with greater range than the baseline AIM-120 Amraam.