A new uncrewed air system (UAS) successfully intercepted multiple one-way attack drones. The modified version of T-150 Uncrewed Air System (UAS) conducted the mission during a US Office of the Under Secretary for Research & Engineering (OUSW) experiment.

Developed by BAE Systems subsidiary Malloy Aeronautics, the TRV-150 was equipped with a three-pod launcher firing BAE Systems’ laser-guided APKWS rockets to engage several targets in succession without landing or reloading.

Low-cost precision weapons integrated onto uncrewed platforms

The trials, conducted alongside BAE Systems Maryland-based partner, SURVICE Engineering, demonstrated how low-cost precision weapons can be integrated onto uncrewed platforms to counter the growing drone threats on the battlefield.

“Our customers are facing drone threats right now, so we’ve worked at pace with our partners to move from concept to a proven system, which can engage multiple targets in a single mission,” said Thomas Lancashire, Head of UAS Business Development, BAE Systems’ FalconWorks.

“Military technology is evolving faster than ever and it’s vital that effective capabilities reach those who protect us as quickly as possible. In today’s environment, the speed at which we deliver equipment can be just as important as the system itself,” added Lancashire.

First-ever single-shot firing of a precision munition from T-150

The company revealed that these latest tests build on the first-ever single-shot firing of a precision munition from an adapted T-150 in July last year, extending that capability through the use of a production-ready three-pod launcher system to engage with air targets.

“Supporting the warfighter has been at the core of SURVICE’s mission since its founding over 45 years ago. Bringing the TRV-150 to the US warfighter and now adding APKWS as a proven, precise, and cost-effective capability to our TRV-150 UAS platform is exactly the type of innovation SURVICE was designed to deliver,” said Gregory Thompson, President SURVICE.

Besides its counter-drone role, the platform has also already been deployed with UK armed forces to deliver tactical logistics, most notably with the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group where it carried supplies between ships throughout its eight-month Indo-Pacific deployment last year. The version of the Malloy T-150 involved in these air-to-air targeting trials, known as the TRV-150, was adapted to meet the US Army requirements by industry partner SURVICE Engineering whilst the APKWS modification kit was developed and integrated by BAE Systems FalconWorks division, according to a press release.

SURVICE Engineering is one of several industry partners working with BAE Systems around the world to develop tactical counter-drone systems, combining agility, affordability and operational flexibility within a multi-role configurable concept. The team will now look to build on this success to extend the T-150’s use in this way to the maritime environment, with the aim of ultimately helping protect customers from similar threats at sea, as per the release.

The US Army has awarded the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, a $215 million contract to produce a new generation of launch units for its Javelin anti-tank missile system. The Lightweight Command Launch Unit (LWCLU) is designed to give soldiers improved target-detection capabilities in a smaller, lighter package while remaining compatible with existing and future Javelin missiles.

Announced on October 19, the production contract comes five months after the joint venture delivered its first LWCLUs to the Army. The new launcher is intended to replace the legacy Command Launch Unit (CLU), modernizing a key part of a weapon system used by US forces and international customers.

The upgrade focuses on the equipment soldiers use to find, identify, and engage targets, rather than introducing an entirely new missile. That distinction matters because the launcher’s sensors and targeting interface are central to how the Javelin system operates on the battlefield.

Smaller launcher with 2x target-detection range

The LWCLU is 30% smaller and 25% lighter than the existing Block I Command Launch Unit, according to the companies. It also doubles the target-detection and recognition range, helping soldiers spot and identify potential threats from farther away.

The launcher is more than a housing for the missile. It incorporates the sighting and fire-control equipment used to observe the battlefield, acquire a target, and prepare the weapon for launch. The LWCLU’s updated sensors, displays, and image processing are intended to provide clearer imagery and improve target recognition, including during nighttime operations.

The weight reduction is also significant for infantry. Soldiers may need to carry the launcher over difficult terrain while moving between positions, so a smaller and lighter unit can reduce the physical burden without requiring a change to the missiles themselves.

How Javelin launcher works

The Javelin system consists of a reusable command launch unit and a separate missile housed in a launch tube. The launcher provides the operator with the imaging and targeting interface, while the missile carries its own guidance system.

Once a target is acquired and the missile is launched, Javelin uses an imaging infrared seeker to guide itself toward the target. This fire-and-forget approach lets the operator move after firing instead of continuously steering the missile. Javelin can also attack armored vehicles from above, targeting their comparatively vulnerable upper surfaces, or use a direct-attack mode against other targets.

The LWCLU is designed to work with past, current, and future Javelin variants. That compatibility allows the Army to upgrade the equipment used to operate the weapon without requiring an entirely new missile family.

Production ramps up after initial deliveries

The contract follows earlier investment in the manufacturing process. Raytheon said in May that it invested $22 million to modernize its LWCLU factory in Tucson, Arizona, the increase production speed and capacity. The Javelin Joint Venture also manufactures the system with Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida.

The partnership said it has produced more than 55,000 Javelin missiles and over 12,000 reusable command launch units to date. The latest contract supports the transition from initial deliveries toward broader production of the upgraded launcher.

For the Army, the improvement is a relatively focused modernization: better target observation and recognition, less equipment weight, and continued compatibility with an established missile system.

As militaries place greater emphasis on infantry mobility and rapid target identification, upgrading the launcher could extend the usefulness of the Javelin without requiring soldiers to learn an entirely new weapon system.

Ukraine says it carried out the world's first evacuation of a wounded soldier by aerial drone, using a heavy-lift hexacopter after enemy drones and landmines made conventional ground evacuation too dangerous. NBC News reports: Shared by the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade on Monday, the video shows the soldier strapping himself into a large drone and being flown at what appears to be relatively low altitude over blurred-out territory. The drone carefully lowers him, and the drone operator greets him with "Welcome back to the ground!" The video also shows blurred faces of drone operators who carried out the mission. The post said the unidentified infantryman was wounded at his position. "Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible," the brigade said. "At that point, the specialists in our unit took it upon themselves to attempt something that had never been done before: evacuating a serviceman using an aerial drone," it added. The craft was a heavy-lift hexacopter, it said, originally designed as a bomber by a Ukrainian manufacturer. It looks about twice the size of the soldier in the video. The specialists working on the mission had to ensure the drone could carry a human being without flipping over or swaying excessively, according to the unit.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ukraine’s unprecedented drone rescue of a wounded soldier from the battlefield has shown once again how battlefield necessity can spur innovation. The operation was revealed just days after separate Ukrainian drones designed for casualty evacuation were deployed for frontline testing—taking a step beyond the US military’s decades of experimentation with similar concepts.

The drone evacuation of the injured soldier took place at an undisclosed time and place on the frontline where the presence of Russian drones and landmines made it impractical to send in a wheeled ground robot, according to The Kyiv Independent. On October 19, Ukraine’s Army shared a video of the drone evacuation, showing the wounded soldier securing himself in a harness suspended beneath a heavy hexacopter drone with six rotors before being flown to safety.

“This is a historic event, the next stage of evacuating the wounded, which we will all come to,” said Napalm, a programmer of the 92nd separate assault brigade's unmanned ground systems company, who went by his callsign per Ukrainian military practice, in a statement. “Now the serious systematic work begins, so that such missions are carried out constantly.”

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GM just took the wraps off the electric-drive pickup America’s commercial fleets have been waiting for: a one-ton chassis, dually rear axle and massive capability baked in. The best part? You can have it in any color you want — as long as it’s Army green.

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The Hunter WOLF military robot is one of six private-sector projects chosen for US Army’s Infantry Last Tactical Mile (ILTM) initiative – an advanced research initiative designed to modernize infantry support for soldiers on the battlefield.

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As if to prove that there may not be money for universal childcare or nationalized healthcare but there is ALWAYS more money for war, the US Department of War has awarded Amprius a $75 million grant to convert a civilian EV battery production line to churn out high-energy-density batteries for military drones.

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After nearly 82 years, historians in Hungary have finally located a missing Soviet aircraft downed by a German ace pilot during World War II. After a monthslong investigation that involved painstaking archival dives and eyewitness interviews, a team led by Hungarian Aircraft Wreck Research Association co-founder István Kocsis pinpointed the Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter plane. The aircraft was buried over 17 feet underground roughly 50 miles southeast of Budapest. Despite the poor condition of many of the plane’s components, the recoverable remnants still included portions of the aircraft’s fabric covering and even some of the pilot’s personal items.

“Discoveries of this aircraft type on such a significant scale are extremely rare,” a member of the Hungarian Defense Forces said during a recent press conference announcing the find.

The crash dates back to November 1944, after Soviet Guards Lieutenant Alexander Semyonovich Andrianov encountered German Lieutenant Peter Düttmann above the town of Törtel. Unfortunately for Andrianov, Düttmann was already infamous for his dogfighting abilities, and the Nazi pilot eventually shot down his Soviet foe. Although Andrianov successfully ejected with his parachute, he was later taken prisoner of war. Although Andrianov’s fate is unclear, historians estimate roughly half of all Soviet servicemen taken as POWs died while in German hands.

The Yak-1 fared even worse. Constructed from composite materials like steel tubing, wood, and even fabric, the crash destroyed the aircraft and immediately scattered the wreckage. With no one to claim it, the plane slowly sank into the region’s particularly loose soil over the next eight decades.

Much of the plane remained intact underground, but military archaeologists chose to rely on a recovery strategy called block lifting. Instead of excavating at the site, heavy machinery portioned out hefty chunks of earth that the researchers then carefully cleared one layer at a time. This layer-by-layer method allowed them to identify and preserve numerous smaller pieces of wreckage, including the engine serial number and construction identification that matched Andrianov’s Yak-1. The team also exhumed some of Andrianov’s personal belongings, including a book signed by the pilot.

While much of the wreck was heavily deformed from the crash’s impact, restoration experts are confident they can reconstruct many of the Yak-1’s parts. Once preserved and documented, these sections of the plane will go on public display at Budapest’s Military History Museum while the rest remain safely archived.

The post WWII fighter plane crash found in Hungary after nearly 80 years appeared first on Popular Science.

On October 16, the National Park Service (NPS)announced the latest additions to a growing list of designated World War II Heritage Cities. The park service began the program in 2020, as a way to honor local ties to history. Officials have since celebrated locations across 46 states and two territories, but there are many more places worthy of distinction.

The10 new cities and counties announced today span Alaska all the way to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“These designations highlight the enduring legacy of service, sacrifice, innovation, and industrial achievement…and continue to shape our national story,” NPS Jessica Bowron said in a statement.

According to Bowron, this year’s selections include hubs for military manufacturing, training facilities, and logistical centers integral to Allied campaigns. In Aurora, Colorado, Fitzsimons General Hospital cared for wounded returning service members, while the city of Pendleton, Oregon, featured an airfield that trained B-25 crews that later participated in the Doolittle Raid. Meanwhile, South Charleston, West Virginia’s Naval Ordinance Plant supplied invaluable inventories and was largely staffed by local women and Black workers.

A full list of the latest entrants can be found below:

• Whittier, Alaska 
• Aurora, Colorado
• City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii
• Kootenai County, Idaho
• City of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois
• City of Owensboro and Daviess County, Kentucky
• Savage, Minnesota
• Pendleton, Oregon
• Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

Although the 2026 selection season is closed, the NPS will soon begin accepting nominations for next year.

The post National Park Service names 10 new American World War II Heritage cities appeared first on Popular Science.

Tough times can fuel innovation, and battle-hardened Ukraine has demonstrated that fact of life more than most places in recent years. Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the country has utilized drones and robotics in ways not before seen in large-scale warfare. More recently, Ukraine has introduced a variety of remotely controlled ground vehicles tasked with entering contested territory and resupplying areas or even evacuating wounded troops. But while those wheeled robots help keep soldiers off the front lines, they are also vulnerable. Their air-filled tires are particularly vulnerable, since they can be shot at or break when rolling over barbed wire, shrapnel or even rugged debris. To solve that issue, engineers from a pair of Ukrainian companies developed a new type of 3D-printable tire that doesn’t require any air at all. And it’s already being deployed on front lines. 

The airless wheel is the result of a collaboration between two Print&Live UA, and iSCALE 3D. Their design is proposed to be built for Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGV) that come in various shapes and sizes depending on their task. Instead of a rubber casing filled with pressurized air, these new wheels are 3D printed around a lightweight internal lattice made from durable elastomers and composite polymers. The lattice flexes and springs back over rough terrain, essentially doing the cushioning work that air pressure does in conventional tires, but  without the risk of a  sudden debilitating puncture. 

The tires also feature a rounded tread and enclosed sidewalls which are meant to keep mud, stones and ice from packing in. According to Print&Live UA and iSCALE 3D, the result is  a wheel set far lighter than Western airless alternatives and that keeps working even after taking some damage. Fewer blown out tires, they say, could mean more lives saved. 

“The most important mission of a UGV is not spectacular—it is bringing a wounded person back, or water, medicine and supplies forward,” the companies write on their websites. “Every immobilized vehicle puts people at risk. That is the real purpose of this development.”

“One puncture and the mission ends where the machine stops,” they add. 

No tire factory? No problem 

In addition to the airless design, the 3D printing process makes the new wheels more adaptable. Each set can be tinkered with and adjusted to best suit the type of vehicle they will be equipped on, as well as for the specific mission type they might engage in. Stiffness, shock absorption, and overall geometry can all be tweaked on a computer. The process requires large, industrial-scale printers most hobbyists won’t have in their garage, but it’s still a much smaller, nimbler approach than an entire factory built to roll out one specific product.

“Because the geometry is digital, stiffness and damping are programmed for each UGV type and payload, and a design upgrade is nothing more than a new file,” the companies write. 

The engineers also designed these wheels with the chaos of a battlefield in mind. Each two-piece rim set lets soldiers swap out a damaged tire without the tire-changing machines or presses a conventional repair would need. That flexibility means soldiers can repair or swap tires with simple hand tools in battlefield areas where full workshops aren’t available.

A new R&D hub for defense tech 

Airless UGV wheels are just the latest in a growing list of creative fixes forced by the Russia-Ukraine war. The constant need for better drones and robots has turbocharged the country’s tech sector, which has grown from a handful of defense companies before the invasion to hundreds today. Most of the companies building out the new hardware are Ukrainian, but the war has also attracted a number of American defense startups that have set up shop there, drawn in by the change to their designs in the real world. The country’s capital city  has attracted so much tech sector interest that some have even ascribed it the moniker: “Mil-Tech Valley.”

The post Ukraine’s military robots are getting tires that can’t go flat appeared first on Popular Science.

A man in upstate New York discovered more than cobwebs and missing holiday decorations while recently cleaning out his garage. Behind a small wood plank, homeowner Jason Hurdle spotted a long-forgotten crawlspace stuffed with vintage milk pails, a safe, and a dusty box of files. Hurdle intended to simply toss the papers in the trash, until a perfectly timed gust of wind removed the crate’s lid. Only then did he realize the box’s true contents: dozens of reports labeled “Secret” relating to Stalag Luft 3, an infamous prison camp run by the Nazi Luftwaffe near Germany’s western border during World War II. Over 300 pages of handwritten accounts from U.S. soldiers recounting their brutal incarcerations at the facility under conditions “not fit for humans.”

“I feel the hurt, the pain, and a lot of things these guys have been through,” Hurdle recently told local news outlet WHEC. 

A visit from specialists at the National Archives quickly confirmed the authenticity of the questionnaires, which were compiled in 1945 following Allied liberations of German POW camps. The box was clearly intended for use as evidence of war crimes, which the reports corroborate in tragic detail. Soldiers wrote about living in facilities with “no heat, no beds” while exposed to the elements and vermin. Other troops recalled grueling work on rail lines while witnessing beatings, executions, and even the “cold blooded murder” of surrendering armed forces. Stalag Luft 3 is famously the site of a breakout later recounted by former prisoner Paul Brickhill in the book and 1963 film adaptation, The Great Escape.

“When I first laid them on the table in front of them, the first thing the one agent said was, ‘These are original, we want these,’” added Hurdle.

It’s still unclear how the box ended up inside the garage crawlspace. Hurdle suspects they may have belonged to a retired U.S. Army officer who once lived next door, especially since the box also contained other personal items from the man’s family. In any case, the indispensable historical accounts are now under the care of the National Archives, who have since digitized and unclassified the reports. The entirety of the discovery is now available online to the public.

The post World War II notes linked to ‘The Great Escape’ prison camp found in garage crawlspace appeared first on Popular Science.

Moog and Niron Magnetics will showcase their rare-earth-free actuator solutions at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., in October.

At the event, the companies plan to demonstrate their work using Niron’s Iron Nitride permanent magnets, which convert electrical signals into mechanical motion. The promising technology is being tested for applications including land vehicles and guided munitions.

“The Army is transforming quickly, and the systems soldiers rely on can only move as fast as the supply chains behind them,” said Ryan Aures, Moog Land and Sea Systems engineering director, in a press release. “Our work with Niron is about making sure a disruption never stands between the warfighter and the capability they need.”

The project builds on a collaboration between Moog and Niron announced in December 2025. Moog is testing and qualifying Niron’s Iron Nitride permanent magnets in electromechanical actuators, which would reduce dependency on critical minerals – an innovative solution to a global problem.

Iron Nitride removes rare earth elements

Almost every precision system the Army depends on contains rare earth. “Today almost all of that supply runs through a single foreign source,” said Jonathan Rowntree, CEO of Niron Magnetics.

According to an October 2025 report from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), “China controls up to 90 percent of the world’s critical-mineral processing capacity, including more than 99 percent of processing for three rare earths needed for heat-resistant magnets,” CFR said.

Niron claims that its Iron Nitride technology can produce permanent magnets without rare earth materials–which would eliminate the problem in a world scrambling to move manufacturing to domestic soil.

Critical minerals are used in products ranging from smartphones and vehicles to advanced weapons systems including the F-35.

US moves to expand domestic magnet supply

The U.S. government has also taken steps to expand domestic rare-earth production. According to CFR, the Department of Defense took a 15 percent stake in U.S.-based rare-earth producer MP Materials for $400 million in July 2025.

The Moog-Niron project takes a different approach by developing permanent magnets that do not require rare-earth materials, which would be the ultimate shutdown response to the entire situation if the Army just eliminated the need.

According to the company’s release, Niron has been producing Iron Nitride magnets and conducting customer qualification since 2025. The company expects to begin commercial production within the next 18 months.

Niron says its magnets are already being used in applications spanning artificial intelligence infrastructure, automotive products, industrial equipment and consumer electronics.

For the defense project, Moog is testing and qualifying the magnets specifically in electromechanical actuator systems.

Technology headed to AUSA 2026

The companies will jointly present the technology at Moog’s booth during AUSA 2026. Moog and Niron plan to display Iron Nitride magnets installed in tested motor hardware. The companies said attendees can also speak with engineers about integration, qualification timelines, and supply availability.

Niron, meanwhile, is working to commercialize its Iron Nitride permanent magnets through its proprietary manufacturing platform.

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Japan has demonstrated a coastal tanker using a hydrogen-fired, four-stroke, high-speed engine in what the project describes as a world first.

The 4,800-dwt vessel sailed approximately 20 miles in Osaka Bay during a roughly two-hour demonstration on September 25. The Nippon Foundation reported that the voyage reduced carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.2 tons compared with conventional fossil fuels.

The demonstration forms part of a foundation-sponsored research program supporting the decarbonization of shipping. The tanker combines a hydrogen engine, electric propulsion motors and lithium-ion batteries.

How the tanker’s propulsion system works

The tanker uses electricity generated by a hydrogen engine housed in a container mounted on deck which powers two electric propulsion motors connected to two shafts.

The vessel also carries a hybrid generator and lithium-ion batteries. The batteries smooth the load and help optimize fuel consumption.

In this configuration, the hydrogen engine generates electrical power rather than driving the propeller shafts directly. The electric motors provide propulsion through the vessel’s two shafts.

Yanmar Power Solutions designed the engine used in the project. Its first bench tests were completed in October 2024, when it successfully operated at a rated output of approximately 500 kilowatts.

During those initial tests, the engine used a small amount of diesel oil as a pilot ignition source to burn a premixed combination of hydrogen and air. Subsequent testing worked toward using hydrotreated vegetable oil, known as HVO, for pilot ignition.

The supplied account does not identify which pilot ignition fuel was used during the September demonstration.

The project called for a tanker specifically designed for hydrogen propulsion. Fukuoka Shipbuilding, a member of the project coalition, launched the vessel at its Nagasaki yard on February 14, 2025.

Measuring approximately 344 feet (105 m), the tanker was delivered to Uyeno TransTec in October 2025.

What the demonstration covered

The September 25 voyage tested the tanker’s hydrogen-fired engine while sailing in Osaka Bay. The Nippon Foundation described it as a carbon-neutral demonstration and estimated the carbon dioxide reduction at about 1.2 tons compared with conventional fossil fuels.

Beyond the engine, the project’s scope included developing the fuel supply system and hull design to obtain Approval in Principle from the classification society ClassNK.

The team also developed training and an operating manual for hydrogen-fueled vessels.

According to the foundation and the operator, the demonstration produced experience and knowledge to support hydrogen adoption in domestic coastal shipping. The project’s stated goal is to develop a model and pathway for that adoption.

“This demonstration represents a significant step towards the practical application of hydrogen-fueled zero-emission ships and is expected to contribute to the promotion of decarbonization in Japan’s shipping sector,” said Kazuma Kashiwagi, Director of the Environmental Bureau for Kobe City.

Japan has committed to achieving carbon neutrality in its domestic shipping sector by 2050.

The wider hydrogen vessel program

The Nippon Foundation launched the project in 2022. In June 2023, it assigned three consortia to develop separate demonstrations under its Zero Emission Ship 2050 program.

Alongside the tanker, one team focused on demonstrating a hydrogen fuel cell aboard an offshore wind turbine work vessel. Another worked on a hydrogen-fueled engine for the tugboat “Ten-Oh.”

The program’s first hydrogen fuel-cell demonstration took place in April 2024 aboard the 238-gross-ton passenger vessel Hanaria. Additional demonstrations were scheduled for 2026, alongside work on hydrogen stations to supply fuel.

Other hydrogen shipping projects include Norway’s liquid-hydrogen-fueled ferry MF Hydra and inland barges in Europe.

Cruise operators have also begun testing fuel cells and hydrogen systems to supply electricity for hotel operations and reduce emissions in port.

Since the debut of Garrett P Serviss’ 1898 novel “Edison’s Conquest of Mars,” space-based warfare was relegated to the imagination — but no longer.

In an address on the “State of the Space Force” on Tuesday, reported by Space.com, chief of space operations for the US Space Force General Douglas Schiess informed the public that the Pentagon has definitively deployed active space-based weapons platforms.

“Let me be crystal clear: today, Guardians operate on-orbit weapons that can defend the joint force against space-enabled attacks,” Schiess said. “Space is both a battlefield and the backbone of our joint force.”

Schiess stopped short of providing any details about the weapons, instead sharing a war story of one Space Force operator named “Specialist Gray.”

“Even as alarm red sirens were blaring and incoming missiles targeted her site, she courageously held the line, protecting forces, denying adversary capability, and delivering space effects until her commander had to literally pull her from the console to safety,” Schiess recounted with a dramatic flair. “She locked onto the target, optimized her weapon system and waged electromagnetic warfare against a determined adversary.”

As Space.com notes, those descriptive elements may point to a kind of non-physical platform, like a signal jammer or a microwave emitter, though it’s anyone’s guess what weapon “Specialist Gray” was supposed to be operating.

The news came just ahead of the Space Force’s request for over $71 billion in additional funding for 2027, adding to the over $100 billion it’s already been allocated, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported.

Evidently, the orbital-weapons announcement was meant to give that absurd request some extra oomph — which, if granted, it would represent the single highest one-year budget adjustment received by any US military branch since 1952.

More on space: NASA’s Powerful New Space Telescope, Just Cleared for Launch, Was Developed by an Intelligence Agency to “Spy on America’s Adversaries”

The post Space Force Chief Admits the US Is Actively Utilizing Orbital Weapons appeared first on Futurism.

V2X, a U.S. defense technology company, will help integrate the Air Force’s next-generation Long Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile with B-52 bombers under a $46 million order.

Announced on September 15, the work involves producing carriage equipment that will support the deployment of the new weapon from the B-52 Stratofortress. 

The LRSO will replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile the service currently uses, helping maintain its long-range strike capability against evolving threats.

Based in Reston, Virginia, V2X provides integrated mission solutions across the air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. Its work includes engineering, manufacturing, sustainment, and mission support for defense customers.

Preparing B-52s for the LRSO missile

V2X was awarded a position on the delivery order through the Enterprise-Wide Agile Acquisition Contract, an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract.

Under the order, the company will produce the carriage equipment needed to support the integration of the LRSO weapon system with the B-52. 

The equipment will help prepare the bomber to carry the new cruise missile as the Air Force advances the wider modernization program.

The LRSO is designed for deployment from the B-52 and will replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile currently in service. According to V2X, the transition will ensure that the Air Force retains an effective long-range strike capability for decades to come.

Strengthening the US strategic deterrent

The U.S. Air Force considers the LRSO program a critical modernization effort and an essential part of the country’s strategic deterrent.

V2X said its role in the program reinforces the company’s involvement in advancing next-generation defense capabilities. The carriage equipment will support mission readiness while enabling the Air Force to integrate its new weapon with the existing bomber platform.

“Supporting the modernization of the B-52 and our nation’s strategic deterrent is a responsibility we take seriously,” said Jeremy C. Wensinger, President and Chief Executive Officer of V2X. 

“This award reflects the trust our customer places in V2X to deliver high-quality solutions that enable mission success and support one of the Air Force’s highest modernization priorities,” he added.

Supporting complex defense missions

V2X develops solutions that combine physical and digital environments by aligning people, actions, and technology. The company works across different stages of a critical mission’s lifecycle to improve readiness, strengthen security, and optimize resource management.

Its experience in engineering, manufacturing, sustainment, and mission support enables it to help customers address complex defense challenges and evolving operational requirements.

The LRSO assignment expands that work by placing V2X within a major Air Force modernization program. Its production responsibilities will directly support the equipment required to integrate the cruise missile with the B-52.

Through the effort, V2X will help prepare the bomber fleet for a new generation of long-range weapons as the Air Force moves to replace its currently fielded Air-Launched Cruise Missile.

Nitride Global, a US developer of advanced thermal-management, dielectric, and semiconductor materials, will study a centimeter-scale quantum sensor designed to support navigation when GPS signals are unavailable.

The Wichita-based company announced on September 14 that it had received an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract supporting the Department of the Air Force.

The project will assess the feasibility of a microwave atom-chip quantum sensor for precision navigation and remote-sensing gravimetry.

Known as the Atom-Interferometer Microwave Atom Chip, or A-MAC, the proposed device will be evaluated using Nitride Global’s aluminum oxynitride platform.

Navigation without satellite signals

The project addresses a challenge faced by Airmen and Guardians operating in environments where GPS signals may be jammed, spoofed, or completely unavailable.

Conventional inertial navigation systems accumulate errors over time. Without periodic satellite updates, those errors cause positional uncertainty to increase, restricting how long and how far a platform can operate independently.

Atom interferometers offer a potential alternative because they measure acceleration and rotation against the wavelength of a matter wave. Nitride Global said these systems are among the most stable inertial sensors demonstrated so far.

However, most leading systems still occupy a meter or more of laboratory bench space. According to the company, the principal obstacle to miniaturization is the packaging surrounding the sensor rather than its underlying physics.

Compact microwave atom chips continue to rely on distributed radio-frequency hardware. The resulting heat and phase drift can degrade measurements, making the technology difficult to deploy outside controlled laboratory environments.

Bringing microwave hardware onto one board

Nitride Global’s A-MAC architecture is intended to consolidate the distributed microwave chain onto a single integrated board.

Its thin, conformal AlON dielectric material would allow microwave routing, coupling structures, and trap geometry to be positioned within the same stack. Heat would move outward through metal instead of passing through a bulk ceramic substrate.

The aim is to create a centimeter-scale architecture suitable for platforms with strict size, weight, and power requirements.

Nitride Global will work with Dr. Seth Aubin, associate professor of physics at William & Mary.

Aubin’s atomic physics group will participate as a subcontractor and research partner, bringing more than a decade of work on microwave atom-chip traps and related trapping physics.

During the initial phase, the partners will model the architecture’s thermal behavior, microwave insertion loss, coupling, and possible trap geometries. The work will conclude with a decision gate and technical roadmap for a potential second phase.

From laboratories to contested environments

The technology could eventually support satellite-independent positioning, navigation, and timing across hypersonic vehicles, unmanned aircraft, orbital systems, submerged platforms, autonomous ground vehicles, and UAV interceptors.

Commercial applications could include resource exploration, infrastructure monitoring, and subsurface mapping.

“Quantum inertial sensing has been constrained for the same reason power electronics were constrained a decade ago: the limit is set by the package, not by the physics. If microwave routing and thermal management can be carried on the same material system, the instrument becomes small enough to fly,” said Mahyar Khosravi, CEO of Nitride Global.

The company is now seeking input from aerospace and defense integrators to define the sensor’s form factor, environmental requirements, and performance thresholds.

BAE Systems has unveiled a new electronic warfare family aimed at giving small aircraft stronger protection in contested airspace. The Shadow EW family targets a growing need for compact systems that can fit space-constrained platforms.

The new products focus on electronic sensing and self-protection without demanding the size, weight, or power of traditional systems. BAE Systems also designed them for rapid production, making larger-scale deployment more practical.

The architecture uses commercially available microchips to support computing needs and simplify the supply chain. That approach could help BAE Systems produce systems faster as demand for affordable EW grows.

Compact EW

Small drones and other airborne systems increasingly operate near sophisticated electronic threats. Their limited payload capacity makes traditional EW equipment difficult to integrate.

Shadow EW addresses that constraint with small, lightweight hardware designed around open architecture principles. The systems can also receive software updates after deployment.

That software-defined approach gives operators another way to respond as adversaries change their electronic signatures and tactics. Hardware configurations can also adapt to different platforms and mission requirements.

BAE Systems says the family can support both manned and unmanned aircraft. Its platform-agnostic design aims to preserve valuable payload capacity while adding radio-frequency capabilities.

The systems can support several EW functions, including threat awareness, targeting, deception, and survivability. They can also participate in collaborative electronic effects across multiple platforms.

Commercial chips drive scale

BAE Systems is leaning on commercial components to make high-volume EW production more achievable. Commercial microchips can provide substantial computing performance without requiring specialized hardware for every configuration.

The strategy also reduces dependence on highly customized components. That can simplify procurement and help manufacturers respond more quickly to changing production requirements.

Production scalability sits at the center of Shadow EW’s design philosophy. BAE Systems plans to use established manufacturing methods to support larger orders and faster deliveries.

That matters as the U.S. military explores more affordable ways to equip increasingly numerous autonomous and expendable systems. Electronic warfare capability becomes harder to scale when every platform requires an expensive bespoke solution.

Software keeps EW adaptable

Shadow EW separates much of the system’s adaptability from its physical hardware. Operators can configure capabilities around specific threats and platform architectures.

Software updates provide another path for changing the system after deployment. That flexibility could prove important against adversaries that frequently modify their electronic warfare techniques.

Rebecca Cruz, director of Shadow EW products at BAE Systems, said battlefield conditions are changing rapidly. She said even smaller platforms need adaptable electronic warfare protection.

The family is designed around a configurable approach that lets customers select capabilities suited to individual missions. BAE Systems describes the result as an affordable Electronic Warfare option built for broader fielding.

The company has not disclosed specific performance figures for individual Shadow EW variants. Details such as detection ranges, frequency coverage, power consumption, and platform integration options remain limited.

The engineering approach focuses on shrinking EW hardware while using software to keep the systems adaptable. Commercial-scale manufacturing also helps BAE Systems keep production costs under control.

Chinese researchers have outlined a future tank that could generate its own power and strike targets hundreds of miles away. The concept combines a compact nuclear reactor with a 50-megajoule electromagnetic railgun.

The proposed vehicle would weigh about 60 tonnes. A 10-megawatt-class small modular reactor would supply its electrical power.

Researchers estimate the railgun could accelerate projectiles to roughly 3.5km/s. That could give the weapon a theoretical range of about 280 miles.

Three steps to nuclear power

The development path starts with conventional propulsion. An initial tank would use a 1,500-horsepower diesel generator.

Its 10MJ electromagnetic gun could reach roughly 93 miles. Supercapacitors and flywheels would provide additional energy for high-demand systems.

The first design would also feature 2MJ electromagnetic armor. A second-generation vehicle would increase weapon energy to 20MJ.

Its projected range would rise to roughly 186 miles. That version would carry 10MJ electromagnetic armor and about five tonnes of advanced energy storage.

Researchers also envision solid-state batteries and superconducting storage. An onboard microgrid would coordinate the vehicle’s electrical systems.

The final stage would introduce nuclear propulsion after 2045. That would replace the diesel generator with a compact reactor.

Fitting the tiny reactor

The proposed reactor would use lead-bismuth cooling and produce 10MW of thermal power. Researchers want the reactor package to fit inside just two cubic meters.

Its radiation shielding would weigh no more than three tonnes. The reactor would also need a fuel replacement interval of at least five years.

Those targets create a difficult packaging problem. Engineers must fit the reactor, shielding and power-conversion equipment inside a combat vehicle.

Thermal management presents another hurdle. The reactor would produce substantial heat that engineers must remove from the vehicle.

The system would also need to survive punishing off-road conditions. The researchers say it should withstand shocks approaching 30g.

The railgun creates an even tougher electrical challenge. A 50MJ weapon must release enormous energy within an extremely short pulse.

The reactor could provide steady power, but it cannot instantly deliver the entire firing pulse. Energy storage would need to accumulate power between shots.

That makes the vehicle’s capacitors, batteries, and power electronics critical. Researchers say additional multiphysics simulations and vehicle-level testing remain necessary.

Feeding 50MJ railgun

A nuclear reactor could provide continuous electricity for energy-intensive weapons and sensors. Yet it would also consume space and weight needed for armor, ammunition and crew protection.

A military equipment expert told South China Morning Post that installing a fission reactor in a battle tank remains unrealistic. The expert also pointed to shielding and heat-dissipation requirements.

The expert questioned the practical value of effectively unlimited onboard electricity. Crews still need rest, while tanks still require ammunition and maintenance.

Survivability creates another concern. A destroyed crewed vehicle carrying a reactor could introduce risks beyond losing the platform.

The expert suggested an uncrewed alternative. Such a vehicle could use abundant electricity for lasers, microwave weapons, radar, and electronic warfare.

That approach could transform the concept from a conventional tank into an autonomous, high-power battlefield platform.

The nuclear tank remains a long-term research concept. Its central challenge may be delivering enormous electrical pulses inside a mobile combat vehicle.

The study is published in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Acta Armamentarii.

This is the first public acknowledgment that the U.S. military put a space weapon in Earth's orbit.

It’s common to find things among the sand while strolling along a beach: shells, seaglass, bits of and seaweed. But in Essex, England, a beachgoer found something quite different on the coast of Southend-On-Sea: a World War II explosive.

Southend-On-Sea’s HM Coastguard intervened over the weekend after someone reported a “shell-shaped object” less than half a mile south of a local monument called “The Crowstone.” The team first showed up early in the morning to locate the object and send pictures to the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams. 

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams decided that disposal officers should remain on the scene, but that everyone should go back at low tide to identify the object and execute a plan. When they returned that evening, Southend Coastguard Rescue Officers accompanied Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers to the suspected explosive. 

“It was confirmed to be an old WWII shell that was approximately six inches in diameter,” HM Coastguard Southend On Sea explained in the social media post. “The decision was made to detonate it in situ, where it posed no risk to passing members of [the] public.”

The video in the Facebook post showcases a significant explosion in the distance, shooting a cloud of debris into the air. It’s not the first time this year that the violence of World War II makes itself known again. In the spring, experts safely detonated a 250 kilogram German explosive in Plymouth, UK. But possibly another World War II find in Indonesia had a drastically less fortunate outcome. A suspected shell killed five people when it detonated in a fishing village. 

“As these items can be so dangerous, if you ever see something suspicious or out of place on the beach or in the sea, do not touch it, move it or take it home,” the post continued. “Let the experts decide if it is safe.” 

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