Paris Air Show attendees take note. The Navy needs more new strike fighters to cope with falling readiness rates. Will they be Super Hornets, F-35s or Block III Super Hornets? What mix does the US Navy need as it grapples with boosting the size of the fleet to 355 ships? And what about the MQ-25… Keep reading →

The intent behind the State Department’s new international policy for armed drones is admirable in principle but the declaration’s hoped-for real-world effect will fall short for three reasons. First, the combat effects of drones can be achieved through a variety of military means. Second, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (as the Air Force calls them) are tools whose use is guided by policy… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The 2016 edition of Black Dart, the Defense Department’s formerly classified counter-drone exercise, expands to Eglin Air Force Base this year, in search of more space and more capabilities, including ships. “Eglin will allow us to deliver added uncertainty in the way of providing multiple locations for launching UAS at different distances so we can explore the… Keep reading →

FARNBOROUGH: Raytheon keeps pushing cyber at its air show appearances, clearly convinced that the Pentad’s commitment to building cyber protection in every weapon system from airplanes, to missiles to, well, everything, Opposite its impressive — and never before displayed — wall of missiles, the company’s largest display is a room equipped with two commercial drones and… Keep reading →

ARLINGTON, Va.: The Army aviation chief, Maj. Gen. Michael Lundy, wants to spend the service’s shrunken aircraft acquisition budget — down about 40 percent over the past three years — on manned rather than unmanned aircraft. After all, this is the Army. “We’ve got a lot of unmanned stuff out there,” Lundy told an Association… Keep reading →

LOS ANGELES: We can’t show you a photo but Northrop Grumman is developing an intriguing bird for a DARPA program called the TERN. (The company showed us a model but no photos were allowed.) The company showed a small group of reporters a model of the aircraft, which is designed to land and take off… Keep reading →

The Air Force is expanding its Open Mission Systems standard because it is working so well, Lt. Gen. Robert Otto, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, said in a Monday interview with Breaking Defense. “Our acquisition community is looking to — maybe proliferate is too strong a word — but broaden the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The high-cost, high-controversy centerpieces for the future Navy fleet — the Ford-class aircraft carrier and the F-35C fighter — not only take it in the wrong direction, says a report out today. They double down on a strategic mistake made 20 years ago, when the Navy shortchanged range, argues Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain now… Keep reading →

The U.S. and its allies must immediately engage at the strategic, diplomatic and tactical military levels in Syria and Iraq. The focus for that action should be uncomplicated; defeat ISIL while supporting the Kurds in reshaping our position in Iraq; put the Iran nuclear agreement in the rear view mirror. There is a clear and present danger of miscalculation,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: China’s newest drone, the Caihong 5, appeared in last night’s huge military parade in Beijing. Chinese media are comparing the Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone to America’s MQ-9 Reaper, which with up to four Hellfire missiles and two 500-lb. precision-guided bombs under its wings is the baddest drone known. (Today’s parade is ostensibly put on… Keep reading →