GBU-39: Gotcha.(click to see results) Boeing's GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb Phase I (SDB-I) is a specially shaped 250-pound bomb. Its thin and pointed shape gives it extra punch against buildings and hardened targets, its pop-out wings give it very good glide range, and...
* The Pentagon released a report [PDF] on space export control policy after it reviewed, in cooperation with the Department of State, whether satellites and their components could be taken off the United States Munitions List (USML). They found that other countries...
* NATO, Australia hope to be able to rely on Afghan forces to fight the Taliban by next year: Washington Times | US Joint Chiefs of Staff | NYT | Speech by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. * US Senator Richard Lugar [R-IN], ranking member of the Senate...
* The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) updated its military expenditure database with 2011 numbers. Their estimate of $1.7 trillion is about flat in real terms, once inflation and exchange rate fluctuations are taken into account. Africa...
* The US and the UK have finalized a bilateral defense trade treaty that puts in place a new exemption (§126.17- the UK Exemption) to ITAR(International Traffic in Arms Regulations). See Frequently Asked Questions. * QinetiQ touts BAE's use of its Paramarine advanced...
* South Korea's Daewoo continues to expand its military shipbuilding reach. Fresh off wins in Indonesia (Type 209 submarines) and Britain (MARS support ship/ oilers), it has signed an MoU with Peru for submarines and "multi-role support ships." To turn that into a...
* Britain's Type 45 air defense destroyers Dragon & Defender are finishing up 2nd trials. They share the PAAMS combat system and Aster-30 long-range air defense missiles with France's Horizon Class, which just shot down a Coyote maneuvering supersonic target. * The UK...
AN/PRC-152(click to view full) Radios are vital to US Special Operations Command. Their tactics depend on high levels of training and coordination, and their operations need both high-bandwidth networking and reliable communications when calling for backup. On top of...
* The Pentagon's 2013-2042 annual aviation inventory and funding plan is available via Bloomberg, in a context of aging aircraft. It says 5th generation assets will go from 7% of the current force of manned fighter aircraft to about 25% by FY 2022 based on a F-35...