Subtlety, Thy Name Is Northrop Grumman

Much of the Air Force’s new long-range strike bomber program is shrouded in mystery. But that doesn’t mean the advertising about it has to be. The above image was taken at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, Maryland, during this week’s Air Force Association Air & Space Conference. Northrop Grumman locked down the single biggest physical piece…

New US Ship News – Subs delivered and christened; big amphib on shakedown, new patrol boat handed over and more

USS NORTH DAKOTA (SSN 784) prepares to get underway for sea trials in the predawn hours of an August morning. (General Dynamics Electric Boat/US Navy) It’s been a busy summer for US shipbuilders, with ships delivered or launched for the US Navy, Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command, and new research ships launched for academic…

VIDEO: Inside Raytheon’s SM-3, SM-6 Missile Interceptor Factory

HUNTSVILLE, ALA — In a one-story gray building with a bright red pin striping about two-thirds of the way up its side, a nondescript 70,000 square-foot factory sits behind three 21-foot tall missiles. Tucked inside the fences of the Redstone Arsenal — a sprawling Army base just minutes from downtown Huntsville — is where defense giant Raytheon assembles ship-launched missile interceptors,…

Israel’s Deadliest Submarines Are Nearly Ready

Israel’s new Dolphin II-class submarines are the largest undersea craft built in Germany since the Second World War, and when they reach active service they’re expected to take their place among the world’s most effective subs. Three submarines are in various stages of construction at ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Kiel, Germany – the TANIN, RAHAV,…

Marine Corps Pioneering Unmanned Helo Headed for Storage

  After almost three years in Afghanistan, 2,150 flight hours and more than 1,950 sorties, the Marine Corps’ two K-MAX unmanned helicopters are being put out to pasture in central New York State. The unmanned rotary wing aircraft—which hauled a total of 4.5 million lbs. of cargo across southern Afghanistan since December 2011 for Marines…

DoD OCO Requests $700M for Bombs and Ammo

As the congressional oversight panels continue their review of the Pentagon’s $58.6 billion 2015 Overseas Contingency Operations budget request, much of the focus has been on the high-profile items, such as a $4 billion request for a new counterterrorism fund and $1 billion to boost US military presence in Europe. But the request includes $53 billion…

Hagel to Visit US Submarine, Fighter, Helicopter Bases

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will leave Wednesday on a two-day domestic trip that includes a stop at the much-watched F-35 joint strike fighter schoolhouse at Eglin Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle. During the visit, Hagel plans to stress the Pentagon’s commitment to the multinational, multiservice program, despite the fleet being grounded following a…