The Air Force is buying a static version of AUDS for base defense, mounted in a CONEX shipping container for ease of transport and set-up. For the Army, Northrop is proposing to integrate AUDS onto the workhorse Stryker vehicle.

As the US tightens its terms for financing the Israeli military, one of America’s closest allies is beginning to sell its weapons to the US, instead of the other way around. 

WASHINGTON: The Afghan Air Force is about to get a powerful new weapon in what is shaping up to be a bloody year in the 17-year-old war against the Taliban. On Friday, the U.S. Air Force announced an $86 million deal with an American defense contractor Orbital ATK to supply single-engine, turboprop AC-208 airplanes to… Keep reading →

Wall Street investors and Wall Street analysts, along with the Department of Justice, are pondering Disney’s massive acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox, a consolidation that may reshape the entertainment industry landscape. While defense mergers rarely involve anyone’s favorite movies and are financial dwarves compared to ones like 21st Century Fox and Disney, they remain… Keep reading →

A Virginia federal court has thrown out a suit by Orbital ATK, basically arguing that while the company’s arguments might have some merits, the court did not have the legal right to cancel a DARPA program. Orbital ATK is building a system it believes competes directly with the DARPA program, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous… Keep reading →

You may want to read the headline a few times just to make sure you’re not missing the point. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and another one of those billionaires who’ve gotten very excited about the space launch business, wants to fly a really huge plane — built of composites, powered by six 747 engines,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Faced with a lawsuit by Orbital ATK and congressional concerns that its robotic satellite servicing program may violate the National Space Policy, the Office of Secretary of Defense has launched a review of the DARPA program. The news was included in an afternoon DARPA press release announcing the contract award to Space Services Loral (SSL),… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: A robot satellite repair system under development by DARPA has drawn the baleful glances of half-a-dozen congressmen and a lawsuit to block it by aerospace company Orbital ATK. The technology, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, would offer enormous benefits to both the National Reconnaissance Office, operator of our spy satellites, as well as the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Three influential House lawmakers have asked DARPA in a Jan. 25 letter to review a robotic space repair program to see if it violates the National Space Policy by competing with private-sector efforts and to put the program on hold until the review is complete. The National Space Policy requires “that the government not build or… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: Pratt and Whitney, as many assumed, will design and build the engines for the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, leaving B-2 bomber engine maker General Electric out in the cold. Air Fore Secretary Deborah Lee James‘ announcement of Pratt’s role, as well as that of six other subcontractors working with prime Northrop Grumman, during… Keep reading →