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Russian Zircon hypersonic missile.
The nominee for the Pentagon’s first research and engineering chief warned a Senate panel that China and Russia risk outpacing the U.S. in key technology areas like artificial intelligence and hypersonic. Read More
A Marine with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, prepares the newly developed “Black Hornet” unmanned aerial system for flight at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. on Aug. 5, 2016. US Marine Corps Photo
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Marine Corps is moving ahead quickly on equipping its infantry squads with the latest technologies, including small quadcopter drones that will help build their situational awareness on the battlefield. Read More
The following is the Feb. 2, 2018 Congressional Research Service report, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: Overview and Issues for Congress. Read More
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency tests its Sea Hunter unmanned vehicle — the technology demonstration vessel it designed, developed and built through its anti-submarine warfare continuous trail unmanned vessel program, or ACTUV — in Portland, Ore., prior to an April 7 commissioning ceremony. DARPA photo.
LONDON — The U.S. Navy is preparing to take full control of the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program and procure a second craft. Read More
Aug. 17, 2017 LRASM launch from a US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber. Lockheed Martin Photo
The Navy’s next-generation anti-ship missile scored in its first tactical configuration test launching from a B-1B Lancer bomber, Lockheed Martin announced on Friday. Read More
Lt. j.g. Matthew Clark, assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72), talks to sonar technicians about attack options during anti-submarine warfare training. Surface combatants can use active or passive detection to find subs, whereas submarines are limited to passive detection if they want to stay stealthy. DARPA’s MOCCA program would allow submarines to deploy an unmanned underwater vehicle to conduct active sonar search missions on its behalf while staying stealthy. US Navy photo.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE Systems a $4.6 million contract for an unmanned underwater vehicle that would help U.S. Navy submarines detect adversary subs while minimizing their own risk of being detected. Read More
A sailor welds during the ongoing maintinance availability for carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on June 26, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated following Pentagon and Navy press briefings on the FY 2018 budget.
THE PENTAGON – The Department of the Navy’s $180-billion budget request sets out to improve overall readiness of the Navy and the Marine Corps while making only modest asks for new aircraft and ships. Read More
Rear Adm. David J. Hahn, right, relieves Rear Adm. Mat W. Winter as the chief of naval research (CNR) during a change-of-command ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 18, 2016. US Navy photo.
The Navy’s new chief of naval research vowed to work with the research community and the fleet to transition new technologies over the “valley of death,” the perennial problem of operationalizing technology that is made all the more challenging by a strained fleet with little time for experimentation. Read More
The following is a DARPA video of the Sea Hunter Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) during open-water testing off the coast of California and recently set sail with its first payload: a prototype of a low-cost, elevated sensor mast developed through the agency’s Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort. Read More
The Bell V-247 tiltrotor is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that will combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, and would provide long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance and fires capabilities. Bell rendering.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The head of Marine Corps aviation has big plans for the service’s planned large unmanned aerial vehicle set to enter the service in the next decade. Read More
