The General Dynamics Land Systems Abrams X is a main battle tank for the next generation, featuring reduced weight for improved mobility and transportability and delivering the same tactical range as the M1A2 Abrams with 50% less fuel consumption. The AbramsX’s hybrid power pack supports the U.S. Army’s climate and electrification strategies, enhances silent watch …
Lockheed Martin has delivered a tactically-relevant electric 300 kW-class laser to the US Army. This laser will be put onto a heavy military truck. It is the most powerful laser that Lockheed Martin has produced to date. This 300 kW-class laser is ready to integrate with the DOD demonstration efforts including the U.S. Army’s Indirect …
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are vital for the military for precision warfare but GPS can be jammed by military opponents. DARPA has announced the Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN) program, which aims to create optical atomic clocks with low size, weight, and power (SWaP) that yield timing accuracy and holdover better than GPS atomic clocks …
The Navy—solid state lasers (SSLs), the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG), and the gun-launched guided projectile (GLGP) [aka hypervelocity projectile (HVP)] for about a decade. The US Navy’s proposed FY2022 budget requests research and development funding for continued work on lasers but wants to suspend further work on the EMRG and GLGP programs and requests no research …
The US Navy will place its first at-sea hypersonic missiles aboard one of the service’s three Zumwalt-class destroyers in four years (by 2025). These will likely be hypersonic warheads on regular vertically launched missiles. Hypersonic warheads can go faster and can move around more than regular warheads. Hypersonic weapons go at 5 times the speed …
The expensive and problem-filled F-35 stealth fighter program appears on track to finally getting cut short. The US Air Force is starting a months-long study of tactical aviation requirements that would lead to winding to the F-35 stealth fighter program. The study will look at a force mix that addresses both near- and long-term requirements. …
The US Congress is looking to spend $6 billion in 2021 for a Pacific Deterrence Initiative which would be funding for operations in the Pacific to counter China. The general in charge of the U.S. Air Force in the Pacific would like to see some of it spent on hypersonic weapons. General Wilsbach has no …
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) and Boeing are working together to scale 100 kW-class lasers to 250 kW-class High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system to they can shoot down missiles and not just drones. The HEL weapon system will combine GA-EMS’ scalable distributed gain laser technology, HELLi-ion battery systems and integrated thermal management with Boeing’s …
In 2022, the US Army will field test two high-energy lasers. A 50-kilowatt weapon to destroy enemy drones and incoming artillery rockets and a 300-kW weapon that could potentially shoot down cruise missiles. The US Navy has installed and tested 150 kilowatt lasers and will be testing 300-kilowatt lasers. US Army’s Six Modernization Priorities 1. …
The US army is planning to test-fire a cannon in 2023 with a range of 1000 miles. Current US artillery has 15-45 mile ranges. The benefit of having 1000 mile ranges is that the combat radius of fighter planes is about 700-800 miles unless there is midair refueling. US Aircraft carriers have a strike range …
A team led by Fan Xuejun at the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a type of scramjet that ran continuously for 600 seconds in a ground test, Weihutang, a program on military affairs affiliated with state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), reported on over the weekend. This broke the …
