Missile Defense & Weapons

Diehl’s IRIS-T SLM land-based air and missile defense system, which has been heavily used in Ukraine, has exercised its sea legs.

Turkish defense giant Aselsan has taken a lead role in Steel Dome—a homegrown air defense network to counter low-cost multicopter drones and hypersonic missiles.

Cummings Aerospace has announced a 60-km range estimate for the 3D-printed Hellhound S3, a turbojet-powered, subsonic loitering munition and air interceptor.

The companies producing the highly in-demand Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhanced interceptor are continuing to bulk up their production capacity.

Two companies have unveiled starkly different approaches to meeting the U.S. Army’s pending requirement for a Low-Altitude Stalk and Strike Ordnance system.

Ukraine’s ability to take down Russian drones is largely limited by the availability of systems to engage them, rather than the technology to do so, a senior U.S. Army air defense official says.

The U.S. Army expects to begin testing the second iteration of the Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile soon to get a production go-ahead soon after.

A year after the U.S. Army appeared to turn its back on a program to develop a future lower-tier missile interceptor, the program may be back on the agenda.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled its once-secret concept for the proposed, extended-range variant of the Precision Strike Missile, which is known as Increment 4.

Boeing is progressing on its design of an all-new missile for the U.S. Army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability system ahead of an expected downselect next year.

North Korea has unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile designated Hwasong-20, further expanding its arsenal of nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface missiles.

Malaysia has allocated MYR21.7 billion ($5.1 billion) for defense and security in fiscal 2026, representing a 2.9% year-on-year increase.

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.