The $4.75 billion air defense deal gives NATO a significant new defense against growing Russian threats in the Baltic.

AFA ORLANDO: The Air Force, which relies on large vulnerable targets known as JSTARS, AWACS, Rivet Joint and other aircraft, knows it may need to shift its reliance on big, largely indefensible planes to fused networks of sensors as they are doing with JSTARS. That was the word from Gen. Mike Holmes here today when… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The Air Force was eclipsed as the biggest budget winner this year, partially because of its decision to begin shifting from current weapons to new ones. The Army, which has greatly increased its commitment to land weapons, increased 14.9 percent and the Air Force is up 14.1 percent. Meanwhile the Navy Department — which includes… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Before we go any further, this story is based on direct observations of what was believed to be the so-called Zuma satellite, as well as a lot of spookily sourced information, most of it from a single source who shall not be identified. First, nobody who doesn’t have extremely high clearance really knows if… Keep reading →

The Army’s embattled missile defense network, IBCS, passed a major field test at Yuma Proving Ground in October, contractor Northrop Grumman announced today. In stark contrast to chronic software crashes early on, the command-and-control system accurately tracked everything from drones to helicopters to fighter jets, both Army aircraft and Marine ones. (It’s hit ballistic and… Keep reading →

BALTIMORE: The Pentagon has fallen in love with Silicon Valley — though it’s largely unrequited — but traditional defense firms argue there are some things only they can do. One striking example: this Northrop Grumman factory, where the company makes its own microchips “from sand” with unique security features that are not available from commercial vendors.… Keep reading →

CORRECTED: Inserted Photo Of Minuteman III; Removed Photo Of Titan WASHINGTON: Gen. Robin Rand, the Air Force bomber and missile boss, really wants new jet engines for his aging B-52s. The service has invited interested companies to a two-day information session in December and Boeing and Rolls-Royce are already publicly campaigning for the contract. But,… Keep reading →

CRYSTAL CITY: When the Navy publishes its Request For Proposals to design a new frigate, probably today, there should be no surprises for industry. That’s by, well, design. In stark contrast to the predecessor program, the Littoral Combat Ship, where the Navy changed key specs midway through construction at great expense, the frigate is a… Keep reading →

AFA: In what may be a hint of things to come, the head of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office says his office is keeping a close eye on the B-21 bomber’s stealth costs. While he didn’t indicate there were any cost overruns or scheduler problems, the fact that RCO Director Randall Walden mentioned this… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Northrop Grumman‘s IBCS network could revolutionize how the Army does air and missile defense, if they can get the software to stop crashing. Since Pentagon testers found in February 2016 that the system had to abort, on average, every six to eight hours, the program has worked hard to make the software “more robust,”… Keep reading →