According to Army officials, the service will remain focused on the Hellfire unmanned aerial system variant as the weapon of choice in arming the Grey Eagle, as industry continues to develop smaller alternatives for the UAS fleet.

A Raytheon-Boeing team competing for the Joint Air to Ground Missile believes Raytheon's recent win in the Small Diameter Bomb II could pay dividends for the Pentagon if the team is selected to build JAGM.

The first battalion to use the Infantry Automatic Rifle will receive it the near the end of this year and deploy with them in mid-2011, according to Marine Corps officials.

The Army continues to experiment with the container launch unit portion of the now-defunct Non Line of Sight Launch System, eying a role for it in firing attack missiles or counter-rocket projectiles, according to service officials.

The Army has awarded Raytheon a contract for the next phase of the Excalibur 1b artillery munition following a lengthy competition against Alliant Techsystems.

The Medium Extended Air Defense System has successfully passed its summary critical design review and will next transition to test and integration activities, according to program officials.

A Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile that has been in development for years is close to becoming operational, according to Adm. Robert Willard, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, who recently spoke to members of the Japanese media in Tokyo, Japan.

The Missile Defense Agency announced last week it has awarded a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin for the construction of the Aegis Ashore test site in Hawaii.

Raytheon has firm-fixed price commitments from suppliers for over 90 percent of the material for the Small Diameter Bomb II and officials do not anticipate many surprises in material costs, according to a company official.

A proposed multibillion-dollar sale to the United Arab Emirates of three Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems made by Lockheed Martin has not yet been finalized despite a recently published Pentagon notice about upcoming contract actions, according to industry and Pentagon sources.

The Missile Defense Agency this week postponed an Airborne Laser Test Bed intercept attempt against a boosting ballistic missile target for the fourth time this month due to problems with the system's tracking laser, according to an Aug. 24 agency statement.

Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly last week touted the capabilities of MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted vehicles as additional sensors for detecting ballistic missile launches.

The Army is wrestling with the question of whether it should again get involved in the costly business of hitting moving targets from afar following the termination of the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, which would have provided that capability, according to service officials.

Lockheed Martin has completed its critical design review of the Medium Extended Air Defense System in preparation for a CDR "summary event" to be conducted this week, according to program officials.

As Northrop Grumman progresses under its Integrated Battle Command System contract, questions remain over how and when the system will be integrated with the Medium Extended Air Defense System and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in the future, according to a company official.

An Army general said he is encouraged by the initial test results of the Alternative Warhead under way at White Sands Missile Range, NM, but more tests will be needed to get a complete picture of the new rounds' effectiveness.

The head of Fleet Forces Command has issued staff guidance designed to combat the shortfalls in manning and subsequent maintenance failures described in the damning Balisle Report, a document leaked to some press outlets earlier this year that criticized the Navy's attempts to reduce manning and change training regimes.

Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has notified Capitol Hill of a significant increase in the cost of a multibillion-dollar program established by lawmakers to destroy chemical weapons stockpiles.

Raytheon has delivered 15 rounds of its Excalibur 1B artillery munition to the Army for testing prior to a delayed competitive contract award now anticipated in the coming months, according to company officials.

Lockheed Martin has conducted two government-sponsored guided test vehicles of its Joint-Air-to-Ground Missile system, the second of which failed to hit the target, according to a company official.