🪖 Army Tests BLADE Drone-Killing Upgrade

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

🧊 Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy Sent to Monitor Chinese Ships Near Alaska Read More

📡 Pentagon Explores Non-Space GPS Alternatives Read More

🛩️ USAF E-4C “Doomsday Plane” Begins Flight Testing Read More

🪖 Army Tests BLADE Drone-Killing Upgrade on CROWS Read More

🔫 AeroVironment Delivers First AMP-HEL Laser Prototypes to U.S. Army Read More

🎱 Plus 8 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🧊 Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy Sent to Monitor Chinese Ships Near Alaska

• The Coast Guard dispatched the icebreaker Healy to monitor four Chinese naval vessels operating in the Bering Sea near the Aleutian Islands.

• The Chinese ships included a guided-missile destroyer and a replenishment vessel, which stayed outside U.S. territorial waters but within the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

• Officials described the deployment as routine but underscored growing Chinese presence in Arctic waters, where both Washington and Beijing are seeking influence.
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📡 Pentagon Explores Non-Space GPS Alternatives

• Pentagon officials are accelerating efforts to field navigation systems that do not rely on satellites.

• Alternatives under consideration include inertial navigation, low-frequency terrestrial radio, and hybrid approaches combining multiple technologies.

• The push stems from concerns about adversaries’ ability to jam, spoof, or destroy GPS satellites, which would leave U.S. military and civilian infrastructure vulnerable.
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🛩️ USAF E-4C “Doomsday Plane” Begins Flight Testing

• The U.S. Air Force has begun testing the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), its newest airborne command post.

• The platform is designed to ensure continuity of government and nuclear command-and-control in the event of a homeland strike.

• Compared to the aging E-4Bs, the E-4C incorporates hardened communications, electromagnetic pulse protection, and modernized command systems.
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🪖 Army Tests BLADE Drone-Killing Upgrade on CROWS

• During Project Flytrap exercises in Poland, Army troops used the Ballistic Low Altitude Drone Engagement (BLADE) upgrade on a Stryker vehicle to down waves of drones.

• The system integrates with the Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS), originally designed for ground targets, enabling it to detect, track, and shoot drones within 800 meters.

• Operators reported the system could quickly destroy multiple drones in succession, aided by precision radar and C-UAS control software. Officials said BLADE turns CROWS from a purely ground system into a hybrid counter-drone capability.
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🔫 AeroVironment Delivers First AMP-HEL Laser Prototypes to U.S. Army

• AeroVironment delivered two 20kW-class laser weapon prototypes to the Army as part of the Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) Increment 1 program.

• The prototypes integrate the company’s LOCUST Laser Weapon System onto GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicles and were supplied to the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office.

• After assembly in Albuquerque, the systems were tested at Yuma Proving Ground and evaluated for mobility, safety, and effectiveness. Soldiers trained at Fort Sill, with feedback informing ongoing improvements. AV plans to deliver two more prototypes in October 2025 on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles with added radar and C2 systems.
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🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Venezuelan F-16s buzz U.S. Navy destroyer USS Farragut in the Caribbean Read More

• Boeing proposes next-generation “F-Model” Apache as fallback if ITEP engine program falters Read More

🤖 Tech

• Navy reorganizes robotic & autonomous systems programs for efficiency Read More

• Air Force debuts first pilotless cargo flights in Pacific operations Read More

• Safran DSI acquires Attollo Engineering to expand sensing capabilities Read More

🌏 Global

• China’s weaponized AI startups notably absent from Xi’s parade Read More

• Trump suggests renaming Pentagon to “Department of War” Read More

⚙️ Industry

• PBS Aerospace opens U.S. HQ in Georgia to scale turbojet engine production Read More

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