DOD Investing in Tech for Base Defense and Drone Swarms

The Pentagon’s science and technology office is investing to develop new solutions for defending far-flung bases, controlling satellites in space, and enabling autonomous drones to collaborate, said Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mission Capabilities Thomas Browning.

Radar Sweep

American Drone Startup Notches Rare Victory in Ukraine

The Wall Street Journal

Above a battlefield littered with failed American drones, California startup Shield AI notched an important victory in Ukraine. The company in August became a rare Western supplier to demonstrate it can withstand the brutal electronic warfare that is downing drones across Ukraine. The country, which has preferred locally made drones, has now requested hundreds of Shield AI systems.

Iran Preparing Major Retaliatory Strike from Iraq Within Days, Israeli Intel Suggests

Axios

Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election, two Israeli sources tell Axios. Israel and Iran have been engaged in an escalating tit-for-tat for weeks. Carrying the attack out through pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and not directly from Iranian territory could be an attempt by Iran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.

Rival Nations Try to ‘Divide, Degrade, Deceive’ US Voters, Experts Say

Military Times

Russia, China, and Iran view next week’s presidential election as an opportunity to weaken American democracy by sowing doubt about the voting process and targeting one of the government’s key tenets—the peaceful transition of power, several cybersecurity and military experts said Oct. 31.

Updating Software at the Speed of Warfighting

Air & Space Forces Magazine

As software has become essential to how the U.S. fights and wins wars, how the Department of Defense goes about modernizing and updating that software has become crucial too. Learn more about how faster software modernization is tying the military together, breaking through bureaucracy along the way.

Lasers, Microwaves, Missiles, Guns Not on the Table for Domestic Drone Defense

The War Zone

The U.S. military isn’t currently interested in fielding kinetic and directed energy capabilities, such as laser and high-power microwave weapons, surface-to-air interceptors, and gun systems, for defending domestic bases and other critical infrastructure from rapidly growing and evolving drone threats. Instead, the focus is on electronic warfare and cyber warfare, and other ‘soft-kill’ options, at least for the time being.

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General Atomics, BAE Collaborate on Electronic Warfare Capabilities for CCAs

Inside Defense

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and BAE Systems are working together to build autonomous electronic warfare functions for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, GA-ASI announced Oct. 31. Through the partnership, BAE and GA-ASI remotely performed electronic attack capabilities in testing using an unmanned MQ-20 Avenger.

Space Force Opens National Security Launch Contracts to New Players

SpaceNews

The U.S. Space Force on Oct. 30 opened the bidding process for emerging space launch providers to compete for national security missions under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 program. The new request for proposals is part of an “on ramp” strategy designed to allow new entrants to vie for contracts alongside SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA).

One More Thing

The Truly Spooky Munitions Shortage for the Pentagon: Silver Bullets

Breaking Defense

With werewolves on the prowl and vampires stalking the shadows, there’s no more valuable munition on Halloween than silver bullets, legendarily capable of felling supernatural foes. The concept of a silver bullet may have its origins in folklore, but the term long ago evolved to signify a simple, quick solution to an intractable problem. ... This Halloween, Breaking Defense has collected a list of times defense leaders have openly wished that a silver bullet would appear, or lamented that one doesn’t seem available. This is a non-exhaustive list of all mostly from 2024, but still gives a sense of how the munitions shortage facing the US and its allies extends to the realm of the mystical.