This week’s experiment used a small zoo of specialized systems remote-controlled by humans, each with its own modest niche, working closely with each other and human forces.

The new combat vehicles must be “optimized for fighting in dense urban terrain.” Fighting in narrow streets, in turn, requires smaller vehicles than the massive M1 — and one way to reduce weight is to take the humans out.

No, the Trophy anti-missile system now going on US tanks won’t accidentally shred friendly troops when it goes off, the manufacturer told me this morning. And, the expert from Rafael Ltd. explained, Trophy will calculate where the enemy fired at you from so you can shred _them_.

UPDATED: Adds SecArmy Esper Roundtable PENTAGON: The figures aren’t final, but the Army hopes to get about $6.8 billion in additional funding for fiscal year 2018 thanks to the recently concluded budget deal, Army Secretary Mark Esper said this morning. The service’s new plan would start delivering a Next Generation Squad Weapon to the infantry… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The Army’s 2019 budget is all about old-school firepower. It’s a plan unmistakably driven by the Russian threat. Artillery, the king of battle, and armored vehicles dominate the service’s request: Joseph Stalin would approve. Meanwhile, helicopters — until this year the service’s top procurement expense — slip to second place. What’s more, the Army… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Army will ask Congress to change current law to help it buy weapons better, Maj. Gen. Bill Hix told reporters. Sure, the service can do and is doing a lot with its existing authorities, he said, such as create a Futures and Modernization Command (FMC), but comprehensive reform requires more. In fact, Lt.… Keep reading →

UPDATED with expert comment AUSA: After 15 years of cancellations and delays, the US Army is pushing through some vital upgrades for its armored vehicles. Service leaders recently ordered sweeping reforms to speed up acquisition, but the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems has already started accelerating. The upgunned Stryker, the Trophy anti-missile system, and,… Keep reading →

AUSA: With the Army increasingly anxious about Russian drones, helicopters, and fighters, it’s racing to revive the Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) forces it largely disbanded after the Cold War. BAE Systems, which makes the heavily armed M2 Bradley troop carrier, is offering a Bradley variant festooned with radars, jamming antennas to shut down drones, anti-aircraft missiles, and… Keep reading →

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND: The Army is rapidly upgunning its 8×8 Stryker vehicles to better deter the Russians in Eastern Europe, as we wrote yesterday. But soldiers are still figuring out how they’ll use the new vehicles. And the service as a whole is struggling to update the entire armored force, from the 20-ton Stryker to… Keep reading →

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND: Two years after the Europe-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment requested more firepower to deter the Russians, 30 millimeter shells and Javelin missiles thundered downrange here at the Army’s oldest proving ground. Even standing at a safe distance, 20 yards from the closest of the two Stryker vehicles, I could feel the muzzle blast… Keep reading →