Kevin Macmellon is an independent defense writer covering military technology, modern warfare, and global security. He specializes in analyzing weapons systems, defense developments, and open-source intelligence (OSINT).
The U.S. Navy has awarded a combined $76.6 billion package to General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding for the next generation of nuclear-powered submarines. The award covers 14 submarines, marking one of the largest investments in the U.S. undersea fleet. The package
U.S. Central Command has announced an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish a bilateral task force focused on accelerating military artificial intelligence applications. The initiative, named Task Force Talon Synapse, is expected to formally launch in the coming weeks. The task force will be based in Abu
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is a radar-guided missile designed to engage enemy aircraft beyond visual range. It entered U.S. service in 1991 and was developed as a successor to the AIM-7 Sparrow, giving fighter aircraft a more capable “fire-and-
President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises with South Korea, arguing that the drills are costly and send what he described as an inappropriate and hostile signal to North Korea. Trump also pointed to his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The
The U.S. military fired more than 1,300 tactical ballistic missiles during its war with Iran, according to a U.S. official cited by The Washington Post. The weapons were used during the first weeks of the conflict as American forces conducted large-scale strikes against Iranian targets. The
The U.S. Army is backing TALUS, an autonomous logistics vehicle designed to move supplies to troops operating in contested areas. The system is aimed at keeping frontline units supplied without requiring soldiers to make every resupply journey themselves. The TALUS (Tactical Autonomous Logistics Utility System) is an autonomous logistics
$50 Million Vote of Confidence Shield AI has landed a $50 million investment from the U.S. Navy to push ahead with its X-BAT autonomous aircraft, a runway-free combat drone designed to bring long-range firepower to places conventional aircraft cannot reach. The funding comes through the Navy’
Lockheed Martin and a group of technology partners have demonstrated NetSense, an AI-powered system designed to detect, track, and monitor unmanned aircraft using existing 5G network infrastructure. The July demonstration in the Miami area brought together Lockheed Martin, Verizon, NVIDIA, Keysight Technologies, ODC, and Astris AI. Turning 5G Networks
U.S. Central Command is establishing Task Force Falcon Strike, described by CENTCOM as its first-ever multinational, multi-domain attack-drone task force. The initiative is intended to bring U.S. forces and regional partners together to operate one-way attack drones across the air, surface and undersea domains.
RTX’s Raytheon has received a $745 million contract from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to produce and sustain Standard Missile-3 Block IIA (SM-3 IIA) interceptors. The award is intended to strengthen U.S. and allied missile-defense readiness as ballistic-missile threats continue to evolve.
The U.S. Army is moving forward with the HERO 120 loitering munition under a major $982 million multi-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to Mistral Inc. and UVision Inc. The agreement falls under the Army’s Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS) program and covers procurement, fielding, training,
The U.S. Army is expanding its industrial base for the Hydra-70 family of 70mm (2.75-inch) aviation rockets, awarding contracts to four companies as part of a broader effort to increase domestic ammunition production capacity. The move comes as the Army seeks additional industrial sources capable of