News
Yemen withdraws permission for U.S. anti-terror ground missions –
Angry at the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first commando raid authorized by President Trump, Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terrorist groups in the country, according to American officials.
Business
Orbital ATK sues DARPA over robotic satellite-servicing program –
Orbital ATK Feb. 7 filed a lawsuit against the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, asserting that the agency’s robotic satellite-servicing program violates national space policy.
Army awards $65 million anti-drone contract –
Syracuse Research Corp. has been awarded a $65 million contract for anti-UAV systems.
Patria offers XA APC upgrade package –
Patria has developed and tested an upgraded version of its XA series of 6×6 armored personnel carriers.
U.S. Navy to debut expeditionary fast transport ship as lead vessel at Pacific Partnership 2017 –
In a demonstration of the platform’s wider range of capabilities, the U.S. Navy will debut an expeditionary fast transport ship as the lead platform at an annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief series of exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, the service told Jane’s Feb. 2.
SM-3 Block IIA missile scores hit in first intercept test –
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the Japanese Ministry of Defense and U.S. Navy have successfully conducted a first intercept of a ballistic missile target using a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile.
DARPA program to explore swarming operations –
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has commenced a project to explore how swarms of robots could be used to operate alongside army and marine units at the company level and below.
DGA awards live training program contract –
The French defense procurement agency, the Direction générale de l’armement, has announced the award of a contract to Thales and RUAG Defence France for the French Army’s CERBERE (Centres d’entraînement représentatifs des espaces de bataille et de restitution des engagements) live training program.
China’s AR-2 UAV-capable air-to-surface missile ready for export, says report –
China can now offer foreign users of its Cai Hong (Rainbow) family of unmanned combat aerial vehicles its AR-2 short-range semi-active laser air-to-surface missile for use in anti-terrorism operations and low-intensity conflicts, the state-owned China Daily newspaper reported Feb. 3.
Indo-UK made new Hawk combat aircraft looks to take on China –
India and the United Kingdom have jointly developed a combat ready aircraft that will be on offer to neighboring countries, countering growing Chinese penetration of the defense market in the region.
Army’s more lethal M1A2 SEP v4 Abrams Tank variant will start testing in the 2020s –
The Army is now engineering a far-superior M1A2 SEP v4 Abrams tank variant for the 2020s and beyond –designed to be more lethal, faster, lighter weight, better protected, equipped with new sensors and armed with upgraded, more effective weapons.
Rosatom to create ammunition for Armata tanks –
Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom was commissioned to create ammunition for Russia’s new heavy tracked platform-based tank Armata, the CEO of the tank’s designer and manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, Oleg Siyenko, has told TASS.
Russia’s military hardware exports yield $15 billion for state coffers — PM –
Russia’s military hardware exports yielded about $15 billion for the state coffers in 2016, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Feb. 7.
Defense
Army, Air Force generals back base closures –
The vice chiefs of the Army and Air Force Feb. 7 threw their support behind another round of base closures as a way to save substantial amounts of money that can be put to use for the military’s other needs.
Military chiefs warn of force-readiness struggles –
The U.S. military’s uniformed No. 2s on Tuesday warned that readiness accounts, starved by years of budget instability, are in urgent need of relief.
U.S. Army strategy to acquire Patriot radar replacement expected soon –
The Army is nearing completion of an acquisition strategy to achieve a 360-degree threat detection capability for its future Integrated Air-and-Missile Defense system, according to the deputy program executive officer for Army Missiles and Space.
Army combines sensors in attempt to fly blind –
The Army is experimenting with combinations of sophisticated sensors in an effort to make it safer for pilots to fly in a degraded visual environment, or DVE.
Despite complaints, ACC will not remove posters that assert faith’s importance –
A pair of posters that focus on the importance of faith, which have been on display at Air Combat Command headquarters at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., for years, will not be altered — despite recent complaints about them — according to command officials.
The famed ‘Warthog’ will stick around until at least 2021 –
A-10 Warthog fans can breathe a sigh of relief: The Air Force won’t start retiring the famed close-air support plane until 2021, at the very earliest.
U.S. Marine base relocation efforts resume in Okinawa –
Japan’s government began preliminary construction work Feb. 6 in Okinawa toward relocating the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base within the prefecture, despite strong opposition to the move from Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga.
Veterans
Senate panel unanimously approves VA secretary nominee –
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously approved David Shulkin to be Veterans Affairs secretary Feb. 7.