The U.S. Air Force recently completed Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), validating the capabilities BAE Systems’ advanced system brings to the F-15. EPAWSS provides critical electronic warfare (EW) capabilities for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. “EPAWSS was designed for upgradeability and rapid capability insertion,” said Amy Nesbitt, EPAWSS program manager at BAE Systems. “We’re using agile software development to provide iterative upgrades to fielded EW systems—allowing our customers ..read more

Thales has announced the creation of cortAIx, which brings together the company’s AI capabilities in research, sensors and systems. The firm say that cortAIx is the AI accelerator that will equip armed forces, aircraft manufacturers and all critical infrastructure operators with highly secure solutions to provide them with more efficient data analysis and decision support, whilst taking into account specific constraints such as cybersecurity, embeddability and frugality that are related to critical environments. “With over 600 AI experts, around 100 doctoral students in AI and a top-tier netwo ..read more

Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully launched a ballistic missile target vehicle to support the Missile Defense Agency’s Flight Test Aegis Weapon System 32 (FTM-32), in cooperation with the U.S. Navy. Northrop Grumman launched the Medium-Range Ballistic Missile Type 3 Configuration 2 (MRBM T3c2) Target Vehicle, a threat-representative two-stage, solid rocket-fueled ballistic missile, from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, located on Kauai in Hawaii. “The successful test demonstrated the capability of a ballistic missile defense-configured Aegis ship to detect, track, engage and intercep ..read more

Forget Ukraine, forget Gaza, the only defence story in town this past few days has been the relaxation of regulations governing beards in the British army. King Charles III has signed off on a new policy that allows them to be sported by soldiers after having been banned for over 100 years. Why the change of heart? Well, it comes after lobbying that the ban was old-fashioned and might be dissuading those who might otherwise be tempted to join up. With roughly 52% of the British male population sporting facial hair of some sort or other it has been deemed time that the army caught up with the o ..read more

The U.S. Air Force say that the 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing welcomed the first three F-16 Fighting Falcons ready to take part in the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed programme. VENOM-AFT is designed and funded to accelerate testing of autonomy software on crewed and uncrewed aircraft. VENOM-AFT complements the Autonomy Data and AI Experimentation proving ground at Eglin and informs the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program and other autonomy developers. The next step for the VENOM program is to modify the F-16 aircraft into test platforms to rapidl ..read more

How we discovered the wreck of a torpedoed British ship after a 109-year mystery. A British cargo ship which was torpedoed and sunk during the first world war has finally surrendered its 109-year-old secret. The SS Hartdale was steaming from Glasgow to Alexandria in Egypt with its cargo of coal when it was targeted by a German U-boat in March 1915. The location of the ship had long been a mystery, but my colleagues and I have, at last, pinpointed its final resting place. This article is the opinion of the author Michael Roberts, Bangor University and not necessarily that of the UK Defence Jour ..read more

British weapon supply flights, the first taking off before the invasion started, continue to supply Ukraine with weapons with which to defend itself against invading Russian forces. The supply flights started before the invasion and have not stopped since. However, they now land in Poland near the Ukrainian border. The UK continues to supply #Ukraine with weapons with which to defend itself against Russia. The image shows an RAF transport flight that took place today. The supply flights started before the invasion and have not stopped. They now land near the border in Poland. pic.twitter.com ..read more

Japan has abandoned decades of pacifism in response to Ukraine invasion and increased Chinese pressure on Taiwan. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza, have left tens of thousands dead and sent shockwaves across Europe and the Middle East. But – brutal and tragic as they are – the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are regionally bounded, meaning that most of the rest of the world rolls along, largely unaffected. This will not be the case if armed conflict breaks out in east Asia. Thanks to rising tensions in the Taiwan Straits, Kim Jong Un’s sabre-rattling on the Korean Peninsula, Sino ..read more

After successfully attracting funding from Pepsi, the famous Red Arrows will be painted Blue. The Ministry of Defence said previously that it remains “committed to supporting the Red Arrows” despite a recent report suggesting that it can no longer afford to finance the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic display team. The Red Arrows were recently “saved from the axe”, but a senior defence source told The Express here that the “clock is ticking” for the display team to find more funding. The source said: “Given the financial challenges which the RAF and, indeed, all services are facing, and a ..read more

A leaked consultation document appears to suggest that the Royal Navy will now order a third Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier in response to a resurgent Russia. Sources in the MoD stress that the new ship, HMS Princess Diana, will incorporate lessons learned in the design and build stages of the first two vessels of the class. In light of this development, we’ve spoken to experts involved with the planning consultation. Bryan Robertson, an analyst at defence think tank DMCS (Daily Mail Comment Section), had this to say: “Waste of funds & Human Life! One correctly placed Sma ..read more