ARLINGTON, Va.— Retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III was sworn in Jan. 22 as secretary of defense at the Pentagon by Washington Headquarters Services Director David Muir after a morning confirmation vote from the Senate. Austin issued the following message to…

Royal Navy Ready to Deploy a Carrier Strike Group for First Time in a Generation
Adm. Anthony David Radakin, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, said the upcoming deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) carrier strike group exemplifies the Royal Navy’s commitment to global operations. Speaking this week at the Surface Warships 2021…

Raytheon’s Maritime Surveillance Systems Flight-Tested on GA-ASI SeaGuardian for Japan Coast Guard
SAN DIEGO — Japan’s coast guard recently completed successful flight testing of Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) maritime surveillance technologies onboard a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft, the company said in a Jan. 21 release. RI&S provided its SeaVue Expanded Mission Capability (XMC)…

GA-ASI Completes UAV ASW Demonstration of Sonobuoy Dispensing and Remote Processing
SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) recently completed development and test of the world’s first self-contained anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability for an unmanned aircraft system, the company said in a Jan. 19 release. On Nov. 24, GA-ASI…

INDO-PAC Commander Says Chinese Aggressiveness Helps U.S. Make More Friends
ARLINGTON, Va. — China’s political, economic and military aggressiveness is driving Asian countries like India and Vietnam toward closer ties with the United States, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command says. In recent years, China has locked horns politically and sometime…

SOUTHCOM Chief: Maintaining Ties with Latin American Partners is Key in Great Power Competition
ARLINGTON, Va. — Great power competition with an emerging China and a resurgent Russia is driving the United States to seek an all-domain, global positioning advantage, through alliances and partnerships in Latin America, the head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) says….

Northrop Grumman to Enable New F-35 Warfighting Capability
BALTIMORE — Northrop Grumman has received a contract award from Lockheed Martin to enable new functionality to protect the 5th Generation F-35 Lightning II multi-role fighter, Northrop Grumman said in a Jan. 12 release. As part of a collaborative arrangement…

Royal Canadian Navy Welcomes New Commander
OTTAWA – Vice Adm. Craig Baines assumed the duties of commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (CRCN) in a virtual change of command ceremony ceremonies Jan. 12, presided over by Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defense staff (CDS), at…

HII Completes Assembly Building for Navy’s Orca XLUUV Hulls
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries has completed the first phase of its Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence with the construction of a 22,000-square-foot facility, the company said in a Jan. 11 release. The first of two planned buildings…

New Pentagon Counter Drone Strategy: Unify Solutions Search, Avoid Duplicated Efforts
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department’s new strategy to thwart attacks and spying by small unmanned aircraft systems calls for protecting the force at home as well as overseas, while coordinating technology development across the services to avoid redundant programs that…