Defense Systems

The Space Force is halfway through its two-year experiment of monitoring fitness via smartwatches instead of physical fitness tests. The service’s top enlisted leader recently shared his experience with the program—and how he envisions…

The Air Force’s top tech integration office has been busy deploying cloud-based command and communications tools for air defense. Now, the goal is to take them to operational systems while expanding use of tactical kits, said Brig. Gen.…

Every time a KC-135 lands, it’s greeted by a swarm of maintainers armed with three-ring binders and stacks of paper forms, sometimes tablets or laptops—all necessary to determine and document the plane’s readiness to fly again. Converting…

The Pentagon’s new satellite launch competition between SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin could be delayed if Congress passes a long continuing resolution instead of a full budget for 2025, a space acquisitions official said…

Time was, the U.S. military needed a giant AWACS aircraft packed with people, sensors, and computers to handle sensing and data sharing. Northrop Grumman now says it has a way to do much of that far from the vulnerable skies.NG InSight is a…

Seeking to woo commercial satellite companies to its reserve effort, the Space Force is sifting through industry feedback on what would make a voluntary partnership most beneficial. “We cannot wait for a national war to integrate…

Can a sixth-generation fighter jet cost less than previous generations of fighter jets? U.S. Air Force officials say it’s possible. “The F-35 kind of represents the upper bounds of what we'd like to pay for an individual…

The Pentagon’s biggest quantum challenge isn’t just the tech itself—it’s making the technology relevant and relatable to commanders and troops. But a push to develop and deploy quantum sensors for navigation as a more accurate, less…

The U.S. Army’s search for its next howitzer remains in motion, six months after service leaders scrapped efforts to upgun its current M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.Even as the Army was terminating the…

FORT CARSON, Colo.—For an infantry crew, nothing can replace the experience of riding in a big truck and firing guns at targets hundreds of yards away. Shell cases clinking as they collect on the roof, the smell of diesel and gunpowder, the…