A Germany-based artillery brigade is now the first Army unit fully equipped with the service’s next-generation Multiple Launch Rocket System.
In November, soldiers with the 41st Field Artillery Brigade in Grafenwoehr, Germany, completed the replacement of their legacy M270A1 MLRS platforms with the A2 variant, according to an Army release.
“The major difference we have seen with the M270A2 is that they are a little bit faster and more mobile,” said Capt. Kendal Peter, commander of Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st FA Brigade. “They have an improved cab that protects the soldiers which the M270A1 did not have, as well as a myriad of system upgrades that allow us to shoot faster and process missions more efficiently.”
Army eyes autonomous missile launcher and 1,000-kilometer strikes
The M270, which has been in service since the early 1980s, is a tracked system built on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle that can fir..
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COLOGNE, Germany — The German army has received parliamentary approval to buy an initial batch of Elbit-made PULS rocket artillery systems, a decision that could see Berlin look to European munitions suppliers in the future.
The move, announced just before the Christmas holidays as part of a larger raft of funding approvals for Germany’s armed forces, means the Bundeswehr can spend roughly €65 million, or $68 million USD, on five systems.
The PULS pick, offered by Elbit in conjunction with German-French contractor KNDS, puts an end, for now, to a highly contested race for Germany’s next-generation, multiple-rocket launcher system.
Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall had pitched a competing offer, named GMARS, that came with the lineup of Lockheed’s munitions offerings, including the ubiquitous Guided MLRS rockets, baked into it.
In the end, the Lockheed-Rheinmetall offer wasn’t far enough along, a German Ministry of Defense spokesman told Defense News.
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The Army is scouring industry for unmanned aircraft systems to launch from medium- or high-altitude platforms that would perform tasks like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to a request for information posted to the federal business opportunities portal Sam.gov.
The Special Electronic Mission Aircraft Product Directorate, part of the Army’s Fixed-Wing aircraft Project Office, plans to demonstrate operational capability in the fiscal 2026 timeframe, the notice states.
The “Launched Effects” systems, or LE, would be integrated onto “the hardpoints” of an executive jet category aircraft, such as a Bombardier G6500, which would operate above 41,000 feet mean sea level and would reach true airspeed of above 400 knots for more than seven hours. This means the LE and its sensors would need to survive in an air temperature 65 degrees below zero for lengthy durations.
Launched Effects is the service’s term of art for an envisioned unma.. -
The Marine Corps has awarded Oshkosh Defense a contract to integrate Forterra’s autonomy package on the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires ground vehicle, the Pentagon’s first-ever production contract for off-road autonomous driving capability.
The company’s advanced stack and AutoDrive system gives the ROGUE Fires vehicle – built by Oshkosh Defense – off-road, self-driving technology in “nearly any environment,” which moves “beyond Leader-Follower capabilities,” Forterra said in a Jan. 13 statement. Leader-Follower technology uses a lead vehicle to guide other unmanned vehicles behind it.
The deal to integrate the technology comes after two ROGUE Fires Low-Rate Initial Production orders in fiscal 2025.
“By seamlessly integrating cutting-edge autonomous technologies with Oshkosh systems, we’re equipping the Marine Corps to strengthen sea denial capabilities, enhance operational agility, and maintain a decisi.. -
WARSAW, Poland — As Slovakia readies to acquire new battle tanks for its military, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák has announced his ministry is considering the CV90120, a light tracked vehicle, as one of the options.
Meanwhile, local opposition politicians say that, while the vehicle could be an alternative to purchasing main battle tanks, the Slovak defense budget is already strained, and funding for the acquisition is at risk.
Last year, Bratislava unveiled plans to buy new tanks, and local observers say the nation intends to purchase up to 104 such vehicles. Made by BAE Systems Hägglunds, the CV90120 would compete against other tracked vehicles considered by the Slovak ministry, which are said to include new Leopard 2A8 tanks from German manufacturer KNDS or used 2A4s, an older Leopard variant that would be modernized by Slovakia’s defense industry.
Kaliňák claims that buying CV90120s would be significantly less expe.. -
After spending a year working on pilot programs for a future battlefield command-and-control capability, the U.S. Army is on the brink of starting an effort to competitively prototype a next-generation system, according to the service’s program office in charge of the activity.
Next-Generation Command-and-Control, or NGC2, as the Army calls it, represents a new approach to providing commanders and units an “open and modular” command-and-control, or C2, ecosystem “across hardware, software and applications with access to a common and integrated data layer,” the Army said in a statement.
The service’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications and Network, seeking industry feedback ahead of launching the prototyping effort, released a request for information Monday to industry addressing its NGC2 priorities.
“The goal of NGC2 is to help organize and operationalize data for warfighting applications — including real-time operational modeling of the pote.. -
A Polish general was dismissed last week by the nation’s defense minister after reportedly misplacing a batch of anti-tank mines that were later found in an Ikea warehouse, according to Polish news outlet Onet.
Maj. Gen. Artur Kępczyński was fired Jan. 9 for reasons that were not specified by Polish military officials, though numerous local reports suggested the missing explosives were — naturally — the catalyst for his dismissal.
In June 2024, a train carrying more than 1,000 tons of explosives was improperly unloaded by Polish troops, the report said, who mistakenly left the anti-tank mines to continue their rail-bound journey around the country until they were eventually offloaded in the furniture behemoth’s warehouse.
Kępczyński, meanwhile, reportedly kept the mishap from his superiors while furnishing subsequent supply reports that featured false numbers.
That approach appeared to have worked — at least until an Ikea warehouse representative telephone.. -
The U.S. Army is taking a hybrid next-generation tactical vehicle prototype for a spin in snowy Bavarian terrain, according to a report from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa posted to its website.
The GM Defense-developed Next Generation Tactical Vehicle-Hybrid, or NGTV-H, is a diesel-powered, electric light reconnaissance vehicle that the company unveiled at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in October.
The Army introduced the prototype to the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which is conducting testing on the vehicle during Combined Resolve, a recurring U.S. Army exercise held at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
Power struggle: How the US Army is tackling the logistics of battlefield electricity
The service is sending a variety of capabilities to units globally as part of its Transformation in Contact initiative, which allows soldiers and commanders to try new technologies in real operational environments and scenarios to better co.. -
PARIS — Armored-vehicle makers KNDS and Rheinmetall and defense-electronics firm Thales signed the shareholder agreement for the project company that will develop a future main battle tank for Germany and France, moving a step closer to starting actual work on a program held up for years by wrangling between various partners.
KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall and Thales will each hold 25% in the new company, which will be based in Cologne, Germany, with the accord signed in Paris on Jan. 23 deemed essential in creating the joint firm, the companies said in statements. The firms announced their plan to set up the joint entity nearly nine months ago.
On a country level, the work share between France and Germany will be split 50/50. The balance between the various partners “was a little complicated” to set up, Emmanuel Chiva, the head of French armament agency DGA said in May.
The future tank, known as the Main Ground Combat System, is meant to replace the Leopa.. -
Supernova Industries Corp has won a contract to 3D print military-grade energetic materials in a pilot program with an eye on bolstering the U.S. defense industrial base.
“Our technology has the potential to overcome the design constraints of conventional manufacturing methods to produce the next generation of military-grade energetic material components, including solid rocket motors (SRMs), explosives and pyrotechnics,” Roger Antunez, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a statement.
Supernova Industries launched Supernova Defense & Space in Austin, Texas, in 2024 to focus on 3D printing military-grade energetic materials.
Military-grade energetic materials “are necessary for the proper functioning of defense systems,” the statement notes. “However, traditional processing techniques limit their potential. Supernova’s new VLM processing techniques will provide key innovations crucial to enhance safety, ensure material consistency, reduce was..
