March 14, 2023 | International, Naval
Experts are warning that, as the U.S., Britain and Australia move ahead on an expanded military pact, Canada's omission from that group suggests a larger problem with how this country is perceived by its friends.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/aukus-national-defence-britain-australia-1.6777498
May 31, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The increase of 13 percent over last year's budget request includes the transfer of some satellite communications efforts from the U.S. Army and Navy.
October 2, 2020 | International, Land, Security
Jen Judson WASHINGTON — General Dynamics Land Systems has secured a $1.2 billion contract at the close of the fiscal year to build and deliver the U.S. Army's Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system, or IM-SHORAD. The Stryker combat vehicle-based system includes a mission equipment package designed by Leonardo DRS. That mission equipment package includes Raytheon's Stinger vehicle missile launcher. The estimated completion date of the contract is Sept. 30, 2025, according to a Defense Department contract announcement. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order. GDLS officials told Defense News on Oct. 1 that the initial order for the contract, worth $230 million, is for 28 vehicles, and that the company has begun ordering material and laying out production for those vehicles. The first vehicle under this contract will roll off the line in roughly 18 months, but the first platoon will be fielded in March 2021 and the first battalion (of 32 vehicles) will be fielded in September 2021 using prototypes already built to fill it out. A second battalion will be fielded in 2022. The Army wrapped up developmental testing for the SHORAD system after experiencing a minor “hiccup” that, when paired with complications due to the coronavirus pandemic, set the program back by a few weeks, Maj. Gen. Robert Rasch, the service's program executive officer for missiles and space, said Aug. 5. The production contract award came on time. It took just 19 months from the time the service generated the requirement to the first delivery of a platform for testing, answering an urgent call in 2016 from U.S. Army Europe to fill the short-range air defense capability gap. The service received the requirement to build the system in February 2018. After a shoot-off in the desert of White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and subsequent evaluations of vendors, the Army selected a Stryker combat vehicle-based system with the Leonardo DRS mission equipment package. Training has already begun at White Sands in preparation for an early user assessment in the latter part of the year. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/01/general-dynamics-gets-12-billion-to-build-short-range-air-defense-systems-for-us-army/
March 17, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The aircraft, which will support efforts to increase the cadence of hypersonic flight testing, is scheduled to fly for the first time in early 2024.