DefenseNews.com
• Claire Barrett
The U.S. Air Force plans to create a career field dedicated to defending American bases worldwide from drone and missile attacks. Leaders also want a new acquisition office to oversee point-defense capabilities, signaling that base protection is becoming a formal mission rather than an ancillary responsibility.
Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons
Latest source-backed stories
The U.S. Air Force plans to create a career field dedicated to defending American bases worldwide from drone and missile attacks. Leaders also want a new acquisition office to oversee point-defense capabilities, signaling that base protection is becoming a formal mission rather than an ancillary responsibility.
North Korea said it conducted a coordinated strike exercise on September 12 involving attack drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and rocket artillery, disclosing the drill two days later. The unusually broad salvo combined unmanned systems and multiple missile classes in a single exercise.
Lockheed Martin awarded L3Harris an undefinitized contract valued at $4.7 billion to manufacture propulsion systems for PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors. Separately, the company received a roughly $60 million U.S. Air Force award to continue producing cockpit-selectable height-of-burst sensors in Cincinnati.
Finland has agreed to join France’s initiative to develop a European dimension for its nuclear deterrent following confidential government talks. The move opens discussions on joint exercises and possible temporary deployments of French strategic aircraft, extending Finland’s role in European deterrence planning.
The Pentagon is seeking an artificial intelligence system that can rapidly fuse space, missile and intelligence data into operational threat assessments. The effort would place commercial AI closer to the military decision-making loop, with speed and reliability central to converting large volumes of data into actionable assessments.
Baykar has successfully tested its new UAV-300 supersonic ballistic missile from an Akinci uncrewed aircraft, adding another strike option to the platform’s weapons portfolio. The test expands the Turkish UAV maker’s demonstrated air-launched munition capabilities, although no additional details on range, payload or operational deployment were provided.
Australia has declared the AGM-158B JASSM-ER and AGM-158C LRASM operational on its F/A-18F Super Hornets, adding long-range precision land-attack and maritime-strike capabilities to the aircraft. The move expands the Royal Australian Air Force’s ability to conduct standoff operations against both land and maritime targets.
The Royal Australian Air Force has declared initial operational capability for two long-range strike capabilities: JASSM-ER integration on its F/A-18F Super Hornets and LRASM on its P-8A Poseidon fleet. The milestone expands Australia’s ability to conduct stand-off land-attack and anti-ship missions.
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