Dan Schere

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, in one of his first public addresses since stepping into the role a month ago, said the Army will conduct a "manufacturing rodeo" early next year, which he described as a "race between our industrial base partners."

RTX subsidiary Raytheon is developing and testing a variant of its Coyote counter-drone system, known as Coyote Block 2C+RM, the company announced this morning ahead of the annual Association of the United States Army conference. Coyote Block 2C+RM uses a solid-rocket motor to increase the speed of launch and flight, as well as a new seeker and warhead to “defeat all classes of current and emerging drone threats,” according to the announcement. In 15 months, RTX has advanced the Block...

The Army's Flytrap 6.0 counter unmanned aerial system exercise, to be held next May in Latvia, will focus on validating common operating requirements through capability program executives, an official said today at the Association of the United States Army conference. Flytrap is a regular counter-drone exercise the U.S. Army has held with soldiers from the United Kingdom, in which they test new capabilities in order to develop new tactics and technologies. Flytrap 6.0 will include about 1,000 soldiers operating across...

Facing questions about the future of Army modernization programs in the aftermath of a monumental leadership shakeup, the service’s Acting Chief of Staff Gen. Chris LaNeve said today that the Army is not “turning its back on modernization” but must make “thoughtful decisions over where investments are made.” LaNeve, speaking at a luncheon on the second day of the Association of the United States Army conference, reiterated several broad concepts outlined in the service’s operational warfighting guidance “How We...

A three-star general will lead the newly announced Army command focused on autonomy, the service announced today during the Association of the United States Army conference. Army Futures and Concepts Command, a unit within Transformation and Training Command, will be redesignated as Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command, or FASCOM, according to the announcement. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle announced the creation of FASCOM in an Oct. 2 memo, a couple days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced during...

Bell Textron executives say work on the MV-75 Cheyenne II, the eventual replacement for the Black Hawk, is humming along despite hiccups like the stopgap continuing resolution and a communications "blackout" with the Army that occurred this summer. While the CR that began Oct. 1 with the start of fiscal year 2027 runs only through Dec. 11, a longer-term CR would “certainly have schedule impacts,” Carl Coffman, Bell’s vice president of military sales and strategy, said this week. The Defense...

The Defense Department has reached a multiyear framework agreement with BAE Systems for up to 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System laser guidance kits per year for up to seven years, DOD announced today. The framework agreement is conditioned on Congress authorizing and appropriating money. The Pentagon did not provide a dollar figure for the agreement. APKWS laser guidance kits transform unguided 2.75-inch rockets into precision-guided munitions, and the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps as well as allies...

As the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Aviation and Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) moves out on its science and technology development of the Direct Support Fires Technology initiative, the command wants to be more welcoming to industry and is trying out a newer, less-prescriptive testing approach. DEVCOM AvMC is working with 11 vendors as part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) as the service looks to foster technology for fielding inexpensive rockets en masse that are compatible with...

The Army is eyeing July 2028 for a 10-year contract award that would buy 20,800 more Infantry Squad Vehicles, a new document states, as the service assesses potential vendors and acquisition paths -- to include multiyear procurement strategies.

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle said today that the "manufacturing rodeo" he announced two weeks ago will involve oversight to ensure industry is producing capabilities that are relevant to today's battlefield. Telle, who was appointed by President Trump to temporarily replace former Secretary Dan Driscoll in September, told attendees today during a forum in Ft. Wayne, IN hosted by Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) that the U.S. military needs to produce small drones and other capabilities domestically at scale to be...