Lena Kovacs

U.S. Defense Department Drafts New Battery Plan to Support Expanding Drone Fleets

U.S. Defense Department Drafts New Battery Plan to Support Expanding Drone Fleets

The Pentagon is tightening its battery playbook as drones spread across the force. Officials confirm a department-wide battery strategy will be published in early 2026. It builds on the 2023 framework and new direction from Congress. The plan ties standards, safety, supply and stockpile policy to growing demand from small UAS, shipboard systems and undersea vehicles. Leaders expect the strategy to align acquisition with industrial capacity and to reduce exposure to fragile mineral supply chains.

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Solicitation Calls for Scalable USVs Ready for Mass Production in 18 Months

Solicitation Calls for Scalable USVs Ready for Mass Production in 18 Months

The U.S. Navy issued a formal solicitation on July 28, 2025, for a new class of unmanned surface vessels-Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC)-designed to move from contract award to prototype delivery within 18 months and then scale production across multiple shipyards. White papers are due August 11 at 18:00 Eastern Time. The program will use Other Transaction Authority under 10 U.S.C § 4022 to speed concept development and at-sea demostration.

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NATO Accelerates Patriot Battery Deliveries to Ukraine Under Fast-Track Orders

NATO Accelerates Patriot Battery Deliveries to Ukraine Under Fast-Track Orders

NATO’s supreme allied commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, has orders to push Patriot air- and missile-defense batteries to Ukraine at a pace faster than any previous transfer in the two-year campaign to reinforce Kyiv’s skies. He told Army officers and industry executives gathered here that planners are already matching available launchers with transport assets so hardware can leave European depots “as soon as coordination ends.”

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Germany Files Request for US Typhon Missile Systems to Enhance Air Defense

Germany Files Request for US Typhon Missile Systems to Enhance Air Defense

Germany has taken the first formal step toward buying the US-built Typhon mid-range missile system. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius lodged the request during two days of talks with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Washington on 14 July, officials in both capitals confirmed. The move ends months of speculation about how Berlin intends to plug the range gap between its existing Patriot batteries and the future European hypersonic weapon now in concept studies.

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Alaska Trial Exposes GPS Jamming Vulnerabilities in U.S. Attack Drone Programs

Alaska Trial Exposes GPS Jamming Vulnerabilities in U.S. Attack Drone Programs

Range crews are not often surprised by conditions in Interior Alaska. They are used to below-freezing temperatures at sunrise rapidly changing to muggy noon haze and gusts off the Yukon River that will lay steel antennas sideways. What no one anticipated during the period 25-28 June Project Artemis was how fast two prototype loitering munitions would fold up when all navigation aids go silent.

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Japan Negotiates Transfer of Abukuma-Class Destroyers and TC-90 Surveillance Aircraft to the Philippines

Japan Negotiates Transfer of Abukuma-Class Destroyers and TC-90 Surveillance Aircraft to the Philippines

Tokyo and Manila are negotiating the transfer of six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts and additional Beechcraft King Air TC-90 maritime surveillance aircraft. Philippine Navy chief Vice Adm. Jose Ma. Ambrosio Ezpeleta says discussions started after Japan signaled its plan to retire the 35-year-old ships.

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Purdue University Opens Hypersonics Applied Research Facility

Purdue University Opens Hypersonics Applied Research Facility

Purdue University in West Lafayette has finished a large step in high-speed flight study. The new Hypersonics Applied Research Facility (HARF) cost about $41 million and covers near 65 000 sq ft. It sits inside the Discovery Park District, close to existing engine and rocket labs. Managers say the building links theory with hardware, letting ideas move from slide deck to test article without months of delay.

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