Despite fire, lengthy deployment, Navy expects only six-month maintenance for USS Ford
The Ford wrapped up its 326-day deployment in May.
Category: Defense
US military must focus on ‘right mix’ of weapons amid stockpile concerns: Official
With lingering questions regarding the depleted U.S. stockpiles due to the war with Iran, the Air Force is looking to build the “right mix” of weapons, not just “replenishing what has been expended,” Brig. Gen. Robert Lyons III said. During the panel, “Rethinking the Stockpile: Building the Right Mix for Future Conflict” at the Air…
‘It’s not science fiction’: US Air Force must build trust in AI, says expert
Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon’s resignation has underscored growing concerns about the risks posed by AI. Coxon said that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Michael Hiatt, chief technology officer of Epirus, has taken a different tack.During a panel regarding counter-drone defenses at the…
US Air Force secretary reveals deployment of on-orbit space control weapons
The U.S. Department of the Air Force deployed on-orbit space control weapons in an effort to meet evolving threats from adversaries and boost space capabilities.Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced Monday at the the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2026 Air, Space & Cyber Conference that the service has on-orbit space control weapons capable of…
US Navy, Boeing ink first MQ-25A Stingray production contract
The Navy awarded a $562 million fixed-price incentive contract to Boeing on Monday to kick off Lot 1 Low Rate Initial Production of the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned tanker, the service announced.Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao teed up the LRIP and deployment announcement in May during a Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing. Boeing’s MQ-25A…
Lockheed to build 4 more Vectis drones, 2027 first flight remains on target
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works will build four more Vectis uncrewed aircraft in addition to the prototype already under construction, the company said Monday, with the first expected to fly by the end of 2027.A full-scale Vectis model was publicly displayed for the first time on Monday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space…
Cold comfort
The arrival of new weapons has often been followed closely by their use against civilian populations for strategic effects. Submarines, bombers, rockets; The Lusitania, Dresden, London. This 20th-century history portends that the emerging capabilities of the 21st century—cyber attacks, information warfare—will be similarly used against civilian targets. The challenge will be all the greater as…
‘Digital employees’ are coming to the Defense Logistics Agency
The Defense Logistics Agency is piloting AI agents that work autonomously—bots that its CIO calls “digital employees.” “This is a new frontier for everyone,” DLA chief information officer Adarryl Roberts told reporters at DLA’s Industry Collider Day on Sept. 9 in Alexandria, Va. The move builds on DLA’s increasing use of robotic process automation, or RPA, and…
Russia is weaponizing US-built AI to make killer drones, cyberattack bots, and fake news
Kremlin-backed actors used Anthropic’s Claude AI to program autonomous lethal drones, improve hacking and influence operations, and avoid detection, the company said Thursday. The report from the U.S.-based AI company is only the latest warning from firms, think tanks, and others that Russia, China, Iran and others are using made-in-America tools to attack targets around…
25 years after 9/11, spy agencies face old lessons and new threats
As Air Force One returned to Washington, D.C., on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, Michael Morell looked out a window and saw an F-16 off the aircraft’s wingtip. Beyond it, the Pentagon was smoldering. Morell, then-President George W. Bush’s intelligence briefer, had spent the day answering the president’s questions and relaying intelligence as the…