Army Coyote Drone Hunting Drones Have Scored 170 Combat Kills
Coyote interceptors represent a key part of the Army's counter-drone arsenal, which it is still trying to expand to tackle evolving threats.
www.twz.com
US Military Updates & Discussions
- Thread starter BMD
- Start date
www.twz.com
Mobile Launcher That Can Fire Four Times More Weapons Than HIMARS Emerges
Lockheed Martin says its new launcher can fire surface-to-air interceptors, as well as ballistic missiles and artillery rockets.
www.twz.com
Boeing's Plan For Modernized AH-64 Apaches Serving Into The 2060s
The AH-64 is more critical than ever to the Army after the cancellation of FARA, but the relevance of attack helicopters is also increasingly being questioned. New engines and avionics are set to give the Apache a new lease of life as it remains at the center of U.S. Army planning.
www.twz.com
Wireless power beaming technology for U.S. Army to be developed by Raytheon - Military Embedded Systems
EL SEGUNDO, California. Raytheon won a contract from the U.S. Army to develop wireless power beaming technology for battlefield applications, the company announced in a statement.
militaryembedded.com
Mobile Launcher That Can Fire Four Times More Weapons Than HIMARS Emerges
Lockheed Martin says its new launcher can fire surface-to-air interceptors, as well as ballistic missiles and artillery rockets.
Rogue Fires Unmanned JLTV Pitched to the U.S. Army - Naval News
The Rogue Fires JLTV brings area denial and anti-ship capabilities to the U.S. Marine Corps, with the U.S. Army expressing interest as well.
www.navalnews.com
Laser Apache helicopter tested for the first time
A laser-armed attack helicopter has been tested in the US, heralding a new frontier for high-tech weapons systems.
AH-64 Apache To Be Tested With Wing-Mounted AESA Radar
The U.S. Army is looking for an active electronically scanned array radar small enough to fit under the Apache's stub wing. The U.S. Army is looking for an E-Scan radar small enough to be carried under the stub wing of an Apache.
www.twz.com
Ex-Google CEO Schmidt to the US Army: Give tanks away, instead buy a ... - Times of India
TECH NEWS : Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt advocates replacing traditional tanks with AI-powered drones, citing their cost-effectiveness in modern warfare, partic
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Sigma howitzer is a game-changer in artillery systems: Weapon of the week
Elbit Systems of America has what it thinks is the next major leap in howitzers, making the Sigma howitzer our weapon of the week.
san.com
The United States has successfully tested the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), also known as the Dark Eagle, a medium-range hypersonic missile. The missile was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The developer of the Dark Eagle missile system is Lockheed Martin. The Dark Eagle hypersonic missile is capable of reaching speeds of over 6,000 km/h, and its range is about 2,775 kilometers. The Dark Eagle missile is designed to deliver a sudden, massive strike. The Dark Eagle missiles are placed in a launch container, two per launcher. The first battery of LRHW Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles was supposed to be deployed by October 2025, but these deadlines may be violated.
As part of the decree of US President Donald Trump on strengthening the border between Mexico and the United States, the transfer of Marine Corps units on MV-22B tiltrotor aircraft has begun.
The Bell V-22 Osprey tiltrotor is a hybrid of an airplane and a helicopter, it made its first flight in 1989. The Bell V-22 tiltrotor was developed for about 30 years by Bell Helicopter and Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, several tens of billions of dollars were spent on the development, there were many scandals.
The power plant of the tiltrotor consists of two Rolls-Royce engines located in rotating nacelles at the ends of the wing. The power plant has an exhaust gas cooling system, this reduces the visibility of the aircraft in the IR range. The engines change their position from vertical to horizontal in about 12 seconds. In general, it can be said that the Bell V-22 tiltrotor is very complex, the fuel supply, engine control and other systems were optimized for a long time, this affected the reliability.
The Bell MV-22 tiltrotor is expensive and difficult to operate; when used in Afghanistan, the engine life was only 200 hours. Despite this, the US military is happy with it. The Bell CV-22B can reach a maximum speed of 565 km/h in airplane mode, 185 km/h in helicopter mode, and the flight altitude is up to 7,620 meters. The tiltrotor can carry 24 paratroopers or 12 wounded on stretchers. The weight of the cargo carried on the external sling is 6,140 kg, inside the cargo cabin - 9,000 kg, the crew is 3 people in the MV-22 or 4 in the CV-22.
The Bell V-22 Osprey tiltrotor is a hybrid of an airplane and a helicopter, it made its first flight in 1989. The Bell V-22 tiltrotor was developed for about 30 years by Bell Helicopter and Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, several tens of billions of dollars were spent on the development, there were many scandals.
The power plant of the tiltrotor consists of two Rolls-Royce engines located in rotating nacelles at the ends of the wing. The power plant has an exhaust gas cooling system, this reduces the visibility of the aircraft in the IR range. The engines change their position from vertical to horizontal in about 12 seconds. In general, it can be said that the Bell V-22 tiltrotor is very complex, the fuel supply, engine control and other systems were optimized for a long time, this affected the reliability.
The Bell MV-22 tiltrotor is expensive and difficult to operate; when used in Afghanistan, the engine life was only 200 hours. Despite this, the US military is happy with it. The Bell CV-22B can reach a maximum speed of 565 km/h in airplane mode, 185 km/h in helicopter mode, and the flight altitude is up to 7,620 meters. The tiltrotor can carry 24 paratroopers or 12 wounded on stretchers. The weight of the cargo carried on the external sling is 6,140 kg, inside the cargo cabin - 9,000 kg, the crew is 3 people in the MV-22 or 4 in the CV-22.
On February 1, the US Air Force carried out strikes on ISIS terrorist group targets in Somalia. F/A-18 aircraft were used for the strikes. The aircraft took off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which was in the Red Sea. The F/A-18s struck caves where ISIS members were hiding.
On March 15, U.S. Central Command began a series of precision strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The U.S. strikes in Yemen could last for weeks. Officially, the goal of the strikes is to protect American interests, deter enemies, and restore freedom of navigation. The strikes are carried out by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the Ticonderoga-class cruisers USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. F/A-18E Super Hornets from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman are also used. The F/A-18E Super Hornets use AGM-154 JSOW guided bombs and other weapons.
Dozens of M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Stryker armored personnel carriers, and M109 Paladin self-propelled guns have arrived in Washington to participate in the parade marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The military parade will take place on June 14. More than nine thousand servicemen will come from all over the country to attend the celebrations. About seven thousand of them will take part in the parade itself.
A large-scale military parade dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the American army was held in Washington, DC, USA. The Continental Army of America appeared on June 14, 1775, uniting all representatives of the North American states to fight the British. It is worth noting that the parade was held on the birthday of US President Donald Trump, who turned 79 years old. The event was attended by servicemen who were dressed in army uniforms from various historical eras. The parade also featured modern and World War II equipment - from Sherman tanks to B-25 bombers. The parade featured M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, M2A3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 155-mm self-propelled guns M109A7 Paladin, HIMARS MLRS, M1256 Stryker armored personnel carriers and other modern equipment.
Ok, so now the US is finally getting into gear with the kind of munition stocks they're actually going to need for the coming war.
I had previously pointed out that the current peacetime reserves they have are woefully insufficient for a full-blown war with China:
These numbers aren't even near enough. If you think 10-15k missiles are enough to take care of China, you're mistaken. You've said it yourself, Russians have expended that number themselves and all they could achieve is at best a stalemate against poor little agrarian Ukraine that's only being half-heartedly supported by the West in terms of supplies (and that's when the bulk of fighting is done by Artillery & Infantry, not missiles).
You need something between 300k and 500k missiles in total to address China definitively. Maybe more. And that too can be done only if you have all of them ready to go on Day 1 of hostilities, which means you should've been running a war economy for at least a couple years prior to that. That's not how things are. If you can only get to that number a few years into the war, you would still at best only delay China's eventual victory over Taiwan because in that time the Chinese would also be able to build out over three to four times that number.
Over 200 SAMs were expended just to shoot down Houthi drones & missiles.
Navy Just Revealed Tally Of Surface-To-Air Missiles Fired In Ongoing Red Sea Fight
Navy surface combatants have fired off hundreds of missiles and five-inch shells to repel Houthi drone and missile attacks.
In a war with China, US stocks will be depleted in less than a few weeks to at best a couple months of fighting. After that it'll come down to industry vs industry. But like I said, after a war over Taiwan has already started, accepting defeat & letting go will no longer be an option for China. They'll dig in for the long haul - every single factory in China will be producing material for the war.
That will do two things. One, it'll make China's ability to resupply shoot through the roof & second, it'll take the bottom out from under most industry that exists in the West, which in one way or the other depends on these Chinese factories for industrial inputs. So Chinese production of low-end stuff (Artillery, missiles with basic chips etc.) will go up while Western production of low-end stuff will come down cuz they have to form a new supply chain & seek help from non-Allied countries.
Going further, AMRAAM & LRASM production rate is also being doubled from current levels:
Air Force, Space Force seek $16B extra for FY26 ‘unfunded priorities’ - Breaking Defense
The services’ unfunded requests, obtained by Breaking Defense, reflect sharp increases compared to last year.
"...While most of the specific details underlying each munitions request is excluded due to classification, the document does explain the separate requests for the air-to-air AMRAAM and ship-killer LRASM, which shares a common airframe with the JASSM missile used against land-based targets. According to the UPL, $738 million for AMRAAM would be able to expand the weapon’s production to 2,400 rounds annually by FY28 and address obsolescence issues, whereas $800 million for LRASM/JASSM would double production from 1,100 to 2,200 rounds per year by FY30. The Air Force would use $200 million of that $800 million pot to secure a second engine source, the document says."
This reinforces what I said before - the current US stocks of missiles are only good enough for a deterrence posture, and entirely insufficient for a full-blown war with China. They're planning on increasing the production rate of PAC-3 MSE from the current ~500 rounds/year (as of 2024) to around ~650/year by 2027, and possibly more afterward. This 30% increase in rate so far is in keeping with the ~300% increase in requirement of PAC-3 stocks from the current 3,700 rounds to nearly 14,000 rounds.
Meanwhile, the production rate of AMRAAM & LRASM is being increased by 100% by 2030...so you can imagine how much higher the total requirement of those rounds may have gone up. Watch this space.
Going further, AMRAAM & LRASM production rate is also being doubled from current levels:
Air Force, Space Force seek $16B extra for FY26 ‘unfunded priorities’ - Breaking Defense
The services’ unfunded requests, obtained by Breaking Defense, reflect sharp increases compared to last year.breakingdefense.com
"...While most of the specific details underlying each munitions request is excluded due to classification, the document does explain the separate requests for the air-to-air AMRAAM and ship-killer LRASM, which shares a common airframe with the JASSM missile used against land-based targets. According to the UPL, $738 million for AMRAAM would be able to expand the weapon’s production to 2,400 rounds annually by FY28 and address obsolescence issues, whereas $800 million for LRASM/JASSM would double production from 1,100 to 2,200 rounds per year by FY30. The Air Force would use $200 million of that $800 million pot to secure a second engine source, the document says."
This reinforces what I said before - the current US stocks of missiles are only good enough for a deterrence posture, and entirely insufficient for a full-blown war with China. They're planning on increasing the production rate of PAC-3 MSE from the current ~500 rounds/year (as of 2024) to around ~650/year by 2027, and possibly more afterward. This 30% increase in rate so far is in keeping with the ~300% increase in requirement of PAC-3 stocks from the current 3,700 rounds to nearly 14,000 rounds.
Meanwhile, the production rate of AMRAAM & LRASM is being increased by 100% by 2030...so you can imagine how much higher the total requirement of those rounds may have gone up. Watch this space.