🧠 Japan Plans AI Anti-Ship Missiles That “Talk” and Team Up Mid-Flight

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

🕵️‍♂️ Army’s Short-Range Recon Program Pivots for Drone-Saturated Battlefields — Read More

🎮 XTEND Wins Deal to Field FPV “Attack-Drone Kits” to U.S. Small Teams — Read More

🛩️ Super Tucano Levels Up: Embraer Adds Counter-UAS Mission Set — Read More

🛡️ ROK Navy’s New Destroyer Formation Runs First Fleet-Level Missile-Defense Wargames — Read More

🧠 Japan Plans AI Anti-Ship Missiles That “Talk” and Team Up Mid-Flight — Read More

🎱 Plus 8 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🕵️‍♂️ Army’s Short-Range Recon Program Pivots for Drone-Saturated Battlefields — Read More

• The Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance effort is accelerating deployment of the “Black Widow” class small UAS, reflecting changes in tactics driven by Ukraine-style conflicts. The program emphasizes rapid scale, low-cost attritability, and unit-level ISR to keep pace with proliferating drones and EW threats at the edge.

• Leaders frame SRR as a doctrinal shift: push more autonomy and sensing to squads, shorten kill chains, and accept faster refresh cycles. SRR platforms are intended to be fielded broadly across DoD with simplified training and sustainment to keep tempo high.

• The approach trades exquisite endurance for mass and portability, with procurement pathways tailored for speed. Officials signal further increments are coming, allowing modular payload swaps and iterative upgrades as counter-UAS and denial environments evolve.

🎮 XTEND Wins Deal to Field FPV “Attack-Drone Kits” to U.S. Small Teams — Read More

• XTEND secured a multi-million-dollar award to deliver ACQME-DK lethal small-UAS kits—plus training—to Department of War small tactical team operators, underscoring the military’s shift toward close-quarter, modular one-way attack (OWA) capabilities.

• Related releases describe AI-enabled OWA kits and affordability as central aims, with SO/LIC’s capability office sponsoring development to counter near-peer and irregular threats in complex terrain.

• The package complements broader Army small-drone initiatives, arming dismounted units with attritable strike options that can be fielded quickly and updated via software—mirroring lessons from current conflicts.

🛩️ Super Tucano Levels Up: Embraer Adds Counter-UAS Mission Set — Read More

• Embraer announced plans to expand the A-29 Super Tucano’s mission portfolio to include counter-UAS, adding sensors and effectors aimed at detecting and defeating small drones alongside its light-attack/ISR roles.

• A companion company statement highlights formal C-UAS capability development under way, signaling demand from air arms that need affordable platforms to police airspace against low-cost threats.

• The upgrade aligns with global trends: proliferating sUAS, budget pressure, and the need for rugged aircraft that can operate from austere strips while integrating modern avionics, data links, and counter-drone toolkits.

🛡️ ROK Navy’s New Destroyer Formation Runs First Fleet-Level Missile-Defense Wargames — Read More

• South Korea’s navy conducted its first fleet-level maritime training event for a new destroyer surface action formation, practicing integrated air and missile defense and multi-ship coordination after recent reorganizations.

• The wargames stressed sensor-to-shooter connectivity and layered defenses across the formation, part of deterrence signaling amid regional missile threats.

• Officials framed the exercise as a baseline for larger, more frequent fleet events that will refine command relationships and accelerate readiness for complex air and missile defense scenarios.

🧠 Japan Plans AI Anti-Ship Missiles That “Talk” and Team Up Mid-Flight — Read More

• Japan’s defense ministry is launching a program to develop AI-enabled anti-ship missiles that share data and coordinate tactics in flight—hunting in “packs” to overwhelm warship defenses. Human-on-the-loop control remains central.

• The concept foresees dynamic re-tasking, collaborative targeting, and adaptive routing against evolving threats, reflecting lessons from electronic warfare-dense maritime fights.

• Early work will establish architectures for mid-air comms, autonomy safeguards, and integration with existing launch platforms as Tokyo deepens standoff strike options with allied interoperability in mind.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• SAFE Structure Designs to modernize USAF T-38 Talon maintenance tooling and test stands under new contracts. — Read More

🛡️ Land

• India fields 500+ impact- and blast-resistant 3D-printed bunkers from MiCoB for rapid fortification. — Read More

🌊 Sea

• With Sweden in NATO, Baltic Sea becomes “a lake full of NATO submarines,” reshaping deterrence calculus and patrol patterns. — Read More

• Navy awards General Dynamics NASSCO $1.7B for two more John Lewis-class fleet oilers (T-AO-215/216). — Read More

• North Korea protests Hegseth’s visit and USS George Washington port call in South Korea amid heightened tensions. — Read More

🧠 AI & C2

• Defense science insiders say a former DoGE leader could catalyze overdue change at ONR. — Read More

• China’s new amphibious HQ-13 SHORAD integrates radar and launchers on a Type 05 chassis to counter drones, helos, and missiles. — Read More

• UAE launches an AI-drone challenge to spur autonomous flight innovation and edge-AI payloads. — Read More

Thanks for reading today’s Defense Brief. If you found it useful, consider forwarding it to a friend or colleague who'd appreciate staying sharp on defense tech and military news.