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What the U.S. has "actually wanted" for quite some time is to unify its specialized airborne heavy platforms into a single eye-in-the-sky that combines the air-to-air functions of the E-3 Sentry, the air-to-ground functions of the E-8 J-STARS, and the electronic warfare / signals intelligence functions of the RC-135 Rivet Joint. There was also some very, very early talk about also introducing early drone command-and-control capabilities as well. That was going to be the E-10 Multi-Sensor Command and Control Aircraft.

Unfortunately, the E-10 concept proved over-ambitious for the current state of technology; they simply couldn't fit all the E-10 "stuff" into the 767-based platform that they wanted, and budget cuts finished off the project. At that time, the plan was just to continue using the E-3 and E-8 for the foreseeable future. However, the E-3 and E-8 are both based on the *utterly ancient* Boeing 707, which is increasingly ridiculous to maintain because of its age and lack of parts. An off-the-shelf Wedgetail purchase would provide a modest improvement in capabilities over the E-3 on a much smaller and more modern platform, but it's basically still treading water with an interim design.

I'm actually in favor of using the Hawkeye as an interim substitute, because contrary to the video, it *does* do the same actual jobs as the E-3 (and even has a *little bit* of unified air-to-ground functionality). It's a proven and relatively inexpensive platform, and it'll be good enough until we can get a proper E-10 reboot into the budget.
 
As biased as I am toward the Air Force, they already have all the cool stealth toys, so honestly I think the Navy should have this one.
 
United States looking to develop a "cheap" ground launched Hypersonic Missile that can be fired from already in use MLRS systems like the M142 HIMARS.

The War Zone said:
Blackbeard, capable of engaging targets hundreds of miles away at hypersonic speeds. The weapon is being developed in parallel with new uncrewed launcher vehicles, but could also be fired from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. With a viable Blackbeard design from the Castelion Corporation, the Army says it would gain a valuable new way to quickly strike targets, including time-sensitive ones on the move, and do so relatively cheaply.

In its proposed budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year, the Army is asking for $25 million to support work on the Blackbeard Ground Launch (Blackbeard GL) effort.

Castelion, the company developing this and other military equipment, was founded by former SpaceX employees in 2022.

 
Battle Order did a half hour long analysis video of how the US Marine Corps Light Armored Recon formations will be evolving in the coming years.



Comments seem to be rife with even older LAR members talking about the even earlier history of these units that wasn't covered in the video.
 


So the DoD doesn't think the US has the industrial base to do both the F-47 and F/A-XX programs at the same time.
 


So the DoD doesn't think the US has the industrial base to do both the F-47 and F/A-XX programs at the same time.

Eh, it is a wierd one.
It us some people at the Pentagon want the US to only use the 47 and not give the Navy thier own, but congress disagrees and that the FA XX seems to be moving into final stages
 


Fuck yeah, Hegseth knows drones are going to be a massive, massive part of future conflicts, and is trying to get the US to the top of the game.
 
They will play a part but at the same time only have a prominent role in more static warfare
 
They will play a part but at the same time only have a prominent role in more static warfare
Eh... i don't think they are any more dependent on static warfare than heavy mortars or towed artillery. Which do benefit a lot from it in relevance... but are still can be quite useful outside of it. Might be even more in line with light mortars in that, as a whole FPV team with some munitions can be packed in a normal small truck or armored vehicle.
 

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