GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in solar drones for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in LiDAR weather forecasting for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in multi-mode regenerative fuel cells for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in LiDAR solid state photodetectors for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in moving target identification (MTI) for the aerospace and defense industry.

The U.S. military forces that entered Europe and fought their way to Berlin by 1945 bore only a passing resemblance to the U.S. military that had existed just five years before. New technologies on the ground, in the air, at sea, and in the electromagnetic spectrum drove systemic adaptation and resulted in massive joint amphibious operations, large-scale strategic bombing, initial trials of remote-controlled aerial attack weapons, as well as combined arms and air-land collaboration on the ground.

Paul Edgar, the associate director of the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security, moderated a discussion with Amb. Kurt Volker, the U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009, and Gen. Tod Wolters, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, about the state of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the future of European security, and the impact of the conflict on global security. The conversation explored the evolution of President Putin’s approach to relations with the West, the changes in Russian foreign policy, and what this may portend for regional security in the future.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in firearm sound suppression for the aerospace and defense industry.

The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex conducted a successful ballistic missile defence test. (US Army)
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and US Navy (USN) successfully demonstrated that the Aegis Weapon System can track and discriminate a medium-range ballistic missile target with countermeasures during a complex target scene, the MDA confirmed on 8 February.
The MDA also confirmed the successful execution of Flight Test Other-23 (FTX-23) or Stellar Sisyphus, a two-part developmental test of sensor tracking and communications link capabilities.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in georeferencing for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in aerial cargo delivery for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in solar EVs for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in coherent LIDAR imaging for the aerospace and defense industry.

The fourth and fifth MQ-28A prototypes have started flight-testing, according to a video released by Boeing. The fifth prototype (on the right) has an IRST system installed on the upper nose surface. This system was not seen on the earlier MQ-28 prototypes. (Boeing)
The Australian government has announced AUD399 million (USD259.5 million) in funding to further develop key systems for the Boeing MQ-28A Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and build three new next-generation Block 2 aircraft.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in hybrid hydrogen-electric powertrain for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in CCFG (close coupled flow guides) for the aerospace and defense industry.

Pratt & Whitney F135 engine on a test stand. (P&W)
Pratt & Whitney anticipates completing its critical design review (CDR) of the F135 engine core upgrade (ECU) in mid-2025, company F135 programme manager Jenn Latka told reporters on 6 February.
“Our design phase is supposed to end in roughly the middle of 2025 [with] the critical design review, and our first engine [goes] to test in 2026,” Latka said. The first ECU-equipped engine is scheduled to enter service in 2029.
“We are on track to hit all of those milestones, design is going very well on ECU,” Latka continued.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in AR/VR navigation interfaces for the aerospace and defense industry.

With the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor fleet still grounded in the wake of a deadly crash nine weeks ago, the effects are being felt all the way up to the U.S. head of state. The White House is now increasingly calling upon other types to fulfill this role. Case in point was the unusual scene along the Hudson River today in Manhattan where tan CH-47F Chinooks accompanied Marine 1 and its twin VH-3D companion to the heliport there. Biden was in the Big Apple for campaign events.

POTUS is in town for just a few hours. And in an usual fashion, his ride and escorts are sticking around.

The U.S. Army says it is cancelling its Future Attack Recon Aircraft (FARA) program which had been centered on the acquisition of a new type of high-speed armed scout helicopter. This is part of a larger restructuring the Army plans for its future fleets of helicopters and other crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
Sikorsky’s Raider X, advanced compound helicopter design seen at the top of this story, and Bell’s 360 Invictus, a more traditional helicopter design seen below, have been competing for FARA since 2020. The Army first announced the FARA program in 2018.

The Army has decided to cancel its multibillion-dollar Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program at the end of fiscal 2024, the service announced Thursday.
The shift is part of a larger reorganization of the Army’s aviation programs that looks to free up resources for other investments in aviation technology — including new unmanned platforms.

After more than a week of rumors, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finally named a new commander for his armed forces, tabbing Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi to replace Gen. Valeri Zaluzhny, who will retire. The controversial move, which followed months of talk of a change being imminent, however, is being met with resistance and trepidation from many in the military and civil society.
“I am grateful to General Zaluzhny for two years of protection.

A new Government Accountability Office report found that service members needing an “urgent” appointment can wait up to a month for a civilian provider.(New Jersey National Guard photo by Spc Jacqueline Robinson).
Service members are seeking mental health care at four times the rate they were 20 years ago, and a new government report found that the wait for an “urgent” appointment can be up to a month for a civilian provider.

MD Helicopter’s has presented its TH530/AH530 series of military helicopters, standing out for its versatility and combat-proven capability.
These helicopters offer an agile and powerful response to changing combat scenarios and can quickly adapt from a training configuration to a full weapons system. With class-leading speed, maneuverability and adaptability, these helicopters can operate effectively even in high-density environments.

The Spanish Navy has provided a very rare perspective of inert torpedo testing it conducted with its first-in-class diesel-electric submarine Isaac Peral.
Featuring some stunning overhead shots, the video linked below gives a very clear view of the tests taking place. It also represents an important moment for Isaac Peral which was only recently commissioned, following longstanding and troubled attempts to introduce the class into service.

Defense contractor Anduril has unveiled a new family of passive infrared sensors called Iris that are tailored for use on aircraft, especially drones. Iris sensors are intended to be readily adaptable for different uses, including as part of missile warning or targeting systems. Iris is being pitched as particularly suitable low-cost option for use as part of an infrared search-and-track system, or IRST, to help crewed and uncrewed aircraft spot and engage aerial threats, especially stealthy ones.

A U.S. flag flies over the grave of an American citizen and a fighter with the International Legion of Ukraine, who was killed in combat against Russian forces. (Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images).
At least 50 American citizens have died in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to a list compiled by Task & Purpose from public sources. Of those 50, the vast majority served at least briefly in the U.S. military, some for long careers.
Most Americans killed in Ukraine went to join the fighting.

The National Guard is increasingly deploying and experimenting with drones of different sizes, as well as advanced technologies to defend the military against intensifying threats associated with enemies’ unmanned aerial systems.
During a press briefing at the Pentagon on Thursday, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson and Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead discussed how these aims fit into the organization’s priorities for 2024.

Anduril Industries, Oceaneering International and Kongsberg Discovery have been awarded contracts to prototype large undersea drones for the U.S. military, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit announced Thursday.
The move comes as the Navy is trying to move toward what it calls a “hybrid fleet” of crewed and uncrewed systems, including a variety of unmanned underwater vessels and unmanned surface vessels. Chief of Naval Operations Adm.

A hacking group claims to have stolen files from an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) front company in Iran that provides fine details about the Shahed-136 Kamikaze drones that Russia has been using to striking Ukraine for 15 months, The recent dump of leaked documents has called into question how much Russia actually paid Iran for the drones, and while we cannot confirm the authenticity of the documents or the general accuracy of the figures they state, they do prompt an important question — what does a Shahed-136 actually cost?

Poland has received U.S. government approval to purchase elements of a new airborne early warning system based on an aerostat — a type of uncrewed tethered airship. While many details about the system are still to come, Poland’s interest in such a capability is notable in itself, coming after the 2016 cancellation of a similar project — known as JLENS — that would have served the U.S. military.
The U.S. military’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the approval of the proposed sale of the aerostat-based Airspace and Surface Radar Reconnaissance systems yesterday.

U.S. Special Operations Command is getting ready for what it’s calling an “assessment event” to examine industry’s air-launched kamikaze drones, with an eye toward rapidly fielding new capabilities.
Ground-launched loitering munitions have proliferated across battlefields in recent years including in Ukraine and the Middle East. Now, SOCOM is looking for similar weapons that can be dropped from a variety of aircraft in its inventory, including gunships, helicopters and large unmanned aerial systems.

The “Peace Phoenix Rising” program to upgrade 139 Taiwanese F-16s to the F-16V (Block 70-72) configuration has concluded, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center announced on Feb 5. The next step in boosting Taiwan’s air defenses is the delivery of 66 newly built F-16s with a comparable configuration, planned for the next two to three years.

The upgrade gives Taiwan’s F-16s a capability equivalent to or greater than most US Air Force F-16s. The program is intended to deter the People’s Republic of China from a military attack on Taiwan.

According to information from the Italian media outlet RID, Russia has completed selling and delivering its Pantsir-S1 short-range aerial systems to Saudi Arabia. This event takes place within the framework of the World Defense Show 2024, held in Riyadh, in an interesting context due to the economic sanctions imposed on Russia due to the Ukrainian conflict.

With this operation, Saudi Arabia becomes the third client in the Persian Gulf to acquire this system, after the UAE and Oman.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter carrying 5 US Marines crashed on the way from Nevada to California.

On February 7, the US Marine Corps announced that rescuers had found the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter one day after it went missing in the Pine Valley area east of San Diego, California.
US officials confirmed that all five marines on the helicopter were killed.
According to the original plan, the CH-53E Super Stallion carried 5 soldiers from Creech Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, to Miramar Air Force Base of the US Marine Corps in San Diego on the night of February 6.

United Nations, human rights officials, warn that Israel’s plan to establish a security buffer zone in the Gaza Strip is a “war crime.”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN) said on February 8 that since October 2023, many cases of the Israeli military destroying civilian buildings and civilian homes, including schools, have been discovered. Schools and universities are located outside the fighting area.

Welcome to Rewind & Reconnoiter. Each week, we’ll ask one of our authors to look back at an article they’ve written for War on the Rocks in light of a current news event. Did their argument hold up? Read more below to find out.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in VTOL drones for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in fire-retardant prepregs for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in surveillance drones for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in turbine 3D printing for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in remote pick up drones for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in flame barrier composites for the aerospace and defense industry.

Missile defence: US allies are empowered against modern infrared threats through the recently secured contracts worth $114m.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in reconfigurable drone pods for the aerospace and defense industry.

Jaguar and Griffon armoured vehicles have been delivered to the French Army as part of the SCORPION programme.

As the world grapples again with the dangers of nuclear weapons use, Aaron sat down with Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Heather Williams, the director of the project on nuclear issues and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss new nuclear dynamics, the meaning of deterrence, and debate about the future of U.S. nuclear weapons strategy.

GlobalData foresees supply chains and operational capabilities being affected as the 3D printing market is expected to exceed $70bn by 2030.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in modular configurable drones for the aerospace and defense industry.

GlobalData uncovers the leading innovators in lighter-than-air drones for the aerospace and defense industry.