Turkey has begun using tablet computers in the cockpits of its F-16 fighters to help with the rapid integration of new locally-developed weapons. This has interesting parallels with Ukraine’s use of such devices to allow its Soviet-era jets to employ Western air-to-ground weapons — something you can read more about here. The tablet can be Read more about Turkish F-16s Are Using Tablets To Control Locally Made Weapons[…]
In the biggest development for U.S. Air Force tactical air power in more than two decades, Boeing has been announced as the winner of the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) ‘fighter’ initiative. As the centerpiece of the NGAD effort, the new crewed sixth-generation stealth combat jet, now designated the F-47, is set to change Read more about Boeing Wins F-47 Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Contract[…]
[…] Claims that the Joint Strike Fighter has a remote disabling feature are not new, but have resurfaced following the U.S. government’s abrupt decision to cut off military aid and intelligence assistance to Ukraine and new questions about America’s support for NATO under President Donald Trump. Outlets across Europe, including in Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and Read more about How The Kill Switch On Exported F-35s Works[…]
Lockheed Martin says the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter now has a firmly demonstrated ability to act as an in-flight ‘quarterback’ for advanced drones like the U.S. Air Force’s future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) with the help of artificial intelligence-enabled systems. The company states that its testing has also shown a touchscreen tablet-like device is Read more about F-35 AI-Enabled Drone Controller Capability Successfully Demonstrated[…]
British soldiers have successfully trialled for the first time a game-changing weapon that can take down a swarm of drones using radio waves for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies. The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) development system can detect, track and engage a range of threats across land, air Read more about British soldiers successfully test drone killer radiowave weapon for first time[…]
[…] “Right now we’re at a point as generation AI is coming along and it’s a really exciting time. We’re experimenting with ways to use new tools across the entire test process, from test planning to test execution, from test analysis to test reporting. With investments from the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office [CDAO] Read more about USAF Flight Test Boss on use of AI at Edwards[…]
Developed in partnership with Northrop Grumman, the Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS, is the beating heart of the U.S. Army’s future air and missile defense architecture. […] This system networks with current and future sensors and weapons platforms – regardless of source, service, or domain – to create an integrated fire control network that Read more about How The Army Will Use Its Super Integrated Air Defense System[…]
Warfare is changing at a pace unseen in almost a century, as fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East shows. For military commanders, tackling that upheaval demands fast and constant adaptation. Increasingly, that entails playing games. Wargames—long the realm of top brass and classified plans—let strategists test varying scenarios, using different tactics and equipment. Now they Read more about A Million People Play This Video Wargame. So Do Militaries across the world.[…]
Ukraine has developed a balloon-carried electronic surveillance system designed to detect enemy drone operators, which can then be targeted, offering a more comprehensive solution than tackling individual drones. While the current status of the system, known as Aero Azimuth, is unclear, its unveiling points to a resurgence in interest in elevated sensors mounted on aerostats. Read more about Balloon-Based Sensor That Pinpoints Location Of Drone Operators Emerges In Ukraine[…]
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested Saturday night by French authorities on allegations that his social media platform was being used for child pornography, drug trafficking and organized crime. The move sparked debate over free speech worldwide from prominent anti-censorship figures including Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy. Jr. and Edward Snowden. However, “the Read more about Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Upends Kremlin Military Communications[…]
The U.S. Space Force is testing a new ground-based satellite jamming weapon to help keep U.S. military personnel safe from potential “space-enabled” attacks. The tests were conducted by Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM, which is responsible for educating and training U.S. Space Force personnel. The satellite jammer is known as the Remote Modular Read more about Space Force tests small satellite jammer to protect against a ‘space-enabled attack’[…]
For the first time scientists and engineers have successfully fired a high powered laser energy weapon from a British Army combat vehicle. This ground-breaking test, conducted at Dstl’s range in Porton Down, saw the laser weapon neutralise targets at distances in excess of 1km. The high-energy laser weapon mounted on to a British Army Wolfhound Read more about First trial on British Army vehicle for high-powered laser weapon[…]
A fix of a kind has been found for problems with the F-35’s vital Tech Refresh 3 software, or TR-3, which had seen production deliveries suspended for around a year. Deliveries of the stealth fighters will resume “in the near future,” clearing a backlog of jets sitting in storage, although the TR-3 is only installed Read more about After a year of no deliveries, F-35 Deliveries Finally Cleared To Resume, New Jets Will Be Limited To Training[…]
The visualisation of US vs EU spending on NATO going the rounds is pretty suspect: The Blue area contains not just the USA, but also Canada. The US defence budget is incorrect. It fails to take into account that the US is a global player with ambitions and commitments beyond NATO. It doesn’t show that Read more about US / EU NATO Expenditure – is the balance really so lopsided?[…]
[…] The AWARE program, a project of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aims to develop a new version of dextroamphetamine that can be activated or deactivated through exposure to near-infrared light. This would enable near-infrared light emitters in a helmet to selectively activate the stimulant in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, and then Read more about Light-activated speed drugs could keep sleep-deprived military pilots alert[…]
The Ukrainian Air Force is using iPads, or similar tablets in the cockpits of its Soviet-era jets to enable rapid integration of modern Western air-to-ground weapons […] This has been confirmed by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante. While many questions remain about the tablet and how it exactly works, there’s Read more about Ukrainian Fighter Jets “Using iPads” To Control Western Weapons[…]
Last year, the uniquely modified F-16 test jet known as the X-62A, flying in a fully autonomous mode, took part in a first-of-its-kind dogfight against a crewed F-16, the U.S. military has announced. This breakthrough test flight, during which a pilot was in the X-62A’s cockpit as a failsafe, was the culmination of a series Read more about AI Is Now Dogfighting With Fighter Pilots In The Air[…]
[…] Ukrainian troops told the Daily Telegraph that they have been subjected to regular attacks from small drones dropping teargas and other chemicals. The use of such substances, which is known as CS, is banned during wartime under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Moscow was accused of using chemical weapons in a drone assault on the Read more about Russia accused of using chemical gas attacks against Ukrainian soldiers[…]
[…] Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Europe has experienced an uptick in the number of large-scale disruptions of GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). The disruption has been felt near the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and near the Baltic Sea and Arctic. Since December 2023, for instance, the Baltic region has Read more about 63 hour GPS jamming attack over Baltics affects 1600 aircraft over Europe[…]
Ukraine is using a network made up of thousands of acoustic sensors across the country to help detect and track incoming Russian kamikaze drones, alert traditional air defenses in advance, and also dispatch ad hoc drone hunting teams to shoot them down. This is according to the U.S. Air Force’s top officer in Europe who Read more about Thousands Of Networked Microphones Are Tracking Drones In Ukraine[…]
Hackers from the Prana Network group have compromised the mail servers of the Iranian company IRGC Sahara Thunder, which contained an array of data on the production of Shahed-136 attack drones for Russia. Source: a statement by Prana Network, reported by Militarnyi Details: As noted, the IRGC Sahara Thunder company is a fictitious company run Read more about Hackers find out worth of Iranian drones sold to Russia[…]
[…] LaPlante lauded Schmidt’s ability to rapidly field mission data files, packages of information loaded onto F-35s before each flight.”What General Schmidt and his team did, in about a week – week-and-a-half – is turned around these mission data files. That’s the brick that goes into the airplane. And that I think the lessons learned Read more about Israel’s F-35I Combat Experience Is Providing Lessons – showing that ALIS, JIT supply chains and not having control over the software running are disasters waiting to happen[…]
The U.S. Navy is set to demonstrate the ability of an uncrewed underwater vehicle, or UUV, to launch and recover a smaller drone that can both swim and fly. The service says it wants the two platforms to be able to go through the deployment and retrieval processes autonomously — without any human involvement. The Read more about US Navy Uncrewed Submarine Will Launch, Recover Drone That Can Swim, Fly[…]
Senator Tuberville’s blanket hold on general officer nominations reaches its six-month anniversary this week. This all seems to have started with a reckless idea dreamed up by a staffer with no experience in the Senate who then left the Senator’s employment after taking credit for it in a Washington Post exposé. From its shaky foundations, Read more about A US senator has a grip on the Confirmation Process for Military Officers and is using it to blackmail the government[…]
The U.S. Air Force says it has picked aviation startup JetZero to design and build a full-size demonstrator aircraft with a blended wing body, or BWB, configuration. The goal is for the aircraft, which has already received the informal moniker XBW-1, to be flying by 2027. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall made the Read more about Blended Wing Body Demonstrator Jet Contract Awarded By Air Force[…]