All Department of Defense articles
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NewsDefence leaders in Washington warn of debt default
As lawmakers and the Biden Administration debate raising the US government’s borrowing limit, civilian and uniformed military leaders say unpredictable budgets will set back critical modernisation and procurement programmes.
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News
Pentagon to fund expansion of rocket motor production at Aerojet Rocketdyne
The US Department of Defense (DoD) will provide rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne with some $215 million to modernise facilities and expand production at three sites across the USA.
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In depth
Leaked Pentagon documents estimate heavy aircraft losses on both sides of Ukraine conflict
Unverified estimates from classified US government intelligence materials leaked on social media indicate large numbers of aircraft losses for both Russia and Ukraine, including fixed-wing fighters and helicopters.
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News
Pentagon renews Philippines medevac contract with Erickson
The Oregon-based provider of cargo, casualty evacuation and MRO services landed a contract modification worth nearly $15 million on its existing agreement to provide aeromedical support to the US military in the Philippines.
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News
Pentagon selects Australia’s Hypersonix for reusable hypersonic test platform
The Australian firm Hypersonix was selected by the US military’s technology accelerator to produce a reusable, low-angle vehicle capable of flight speeds at or above Mach 5.
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News
US military aviators see substantially higher rates of cancer than general population
A congressionally-mandated investigation found, when compared to the general population, US military aviation personnel see significantly elevated rates of cancer, including 87% greater incidence of melanoma for aircrew and 19% higher rates of brain and nervous system cancer for ground crew over a 25 year period.
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News
Pentagon signals shift away from just-in-time production model
The US military’s top acquisitions official says the model of industrial production centred on minimising costs through limited warehousing of input materials will fail to meet the country’s materiel needs during a high-intensity conflict.
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News
Lockheed pleased with F-35 numbers in proposed US defence budget
The manufacturer of the advanced fifth-generation jet says the Pentagon’s current proposal for F-35 purchases in the next budget cycle would allow the company to meet its 2023 production target of 156 aircraft.
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News
Bipartisan group of US senators push for sending F-16s to Ukraine
Eight US senators from both major parties have signed a letter to secretary of defense Lloyd Austin calling on the Biden administration to provide Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to the besieged armed forces of Ukraine.
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News
Pentagon and Lockheed resume F-35 deliveries following engine fix
The US military is accepting new deliveries of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters for the first time since December, when a previously unidentified engine issue caused the crash of an F-35B undergoing certification at the company’s assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
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News
Pentagon clears resumption of F-35 engine deliveries
The US government had paused delivery of the fighter’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, following the December crash of a Lockheed Martin F-35B in Texas during pre-delivery flight tests.
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News
US lawmakers describe unknown objects as nothing new after classified brief
After receiving a classified briefing from US defence officials, members of Congress say the recently shot down unidentified aerial objects appear similar to hundreds of other unknown objects reported by American aviators in recent years.
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News
Adjusted radar settings likely behind rash of USA’s unknown object detections
The Pentagon says it has been more closely scrutinising the airspace around North America after an incursion by a Chinese surveillance balloon, including increasing the sensitivity settings on radars that previously were not reporting small, low-speed objects.
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News
US F-22s shoot down unidentified high-altitude object over Alaska
The Pentagon says at the direction of US President Joe Biden fighter aircraft shot down an unknown object off the coast of Alaska around 40,000ft, with military officials describing the craft as posing a hazard to commercial aviation.
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News
Lawmakers frustrated with Pentagon balloon response
Members of Congress are grilling US defence officials about the military’s response to a multi-day incursion into North American airspace by a Chinese surveillance platform, and many are not satisfied with the answers.
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News
Chinese spy balloons have passed over five continents: Pentagon
The US military says what it describes as a Chinese intelligence gathering programme has sent balloon airships all over the globe, including Central and South America, Southeast Asia and Europe.
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News
USAF downs Chinese balloon off Atlantic coast
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors from the US Air Force shot down the surveillance vessel on 4 February off the USA’s East Coast, with Washington denouncing the balloon’s presence as a violation of territorial sovereignty.
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News
Pentagon tracking high-altitude Chinese spy balloon over USA
The US military says it is monitoring a large surveillance balloon travelling over North America that it believes originated in China.
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News
Aurora and General Atomics advance in DARPA seaplane project
The aircraft manufacturers will develop designs for full-scale demonstrators under the ‘Liberty Lifter’ programme, which seeks to produce a heavy lift aircraft that can take-off and land without ground or ship-based infrastructure.
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News
DARPA, Lockheed successfully test experimental hypersonic weapon
It was the second test flight of the scramjet vehicle known as the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, which Lockheed is developing in conjunction with the Pentagon’s secretive research branch.
