Author: Michael

The military and Federal Aviation Administration will conduct a high-energy laser test over the weekend, the Pentagon announced Friday, confirming DefenseScoop’s reporting earlier this week.
The FAA and Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the Defense Department’s counter-drone hub, will conduct the test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico between March 7-8. The test is intended to advance “the safe use of counter-unmanned aerial systems in the United States” and boost interagency coordination, according to the Pentagon.

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An Army doctrine writer, Lt. Col. Scott McMahan spends most of his days turning wonky military concepts and research data into the manuals that soldiers use to do their jobs. Whether the topic is arctic combat, contested airspace, or deployment guidance, his goal is to make the Army’s basic instruction manuals for each simple enough that a high schooler could easily understand it.
He can now do that much quicker, he says, under an Army push to use artificial intelligence to create doctrines.

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On March 11, 1944, anti-aircraft fire struck a B-24D Liberator bomber, causing to crash off Papua New Guinea.
Eleven airmen, including 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly Jr., were on board the Heaven Can Wait. After an extensive search couldn’t locate their remains, the American Graves Registration Service deemed them unrecoverable in 1950.
Related: This is how the ‘missing man formation’ honors fallen pilots
It is likely they would have remained so, if not for the dogged persistence of Kelly’s family.

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Loitering munitions and first-person-view drones are emerging as top causes of death and bodily harm in modern military conflicts, senators warned Thursday.
At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about the small drone industrial base, multiple lawmakers urged senior defense officials to explore ways to help the U.S. military adapt to drone-specific injury patterns — particularly as the Pentagon hustles to expand its arsenal of uncrewed aircraft and watercraft.
“Small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS, have become a defining feature of warfare.

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Marines will have to tread water for longer and learn more swimming strokes under new, tougher rules for the service’s water survival program.
All Marines must already pass a basic water survival test to graduate from basic training, which covers a series of floatation and swimming skills designed for water emergencies. Many Marines must also requalify each year, often with tougher tests. The new rules further expand those requirements.

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