U.S. Soldiers with Field Artillery Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, conduct sling load training with the support of CH-47 Chinook helicopters, assigned to 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Oct. 19, 2021. U.S. Army / Markus Rauchenberger
The Army Brief: IVAS delayed; Connecting aircraft; Hypersonic tests; and more...
Welcome to The Army Brief, a weekly look at the news and ideas shaping the service’s future.
Headset delay. The Army is delaying until next year its future digital headset program, the Integrated Visual Augmentation System or IVAS, to fix some resolution issues, Defense One reports. The headset has twice as wide a view as others currently available.
Linking aircraft. Sikorsky is looking to datalink its future helicopters to F-35 fighters, Defense One reports. The Pentagon wants to increase connectivity between weapons and systems and especially across the services as it looks to a future with more dispersed forces.
Hypersonic experiments. Good and bad news this week for the U.S. military’s efforts to develop hypersonic weapons: one test was successful and, a day later, another failed to launch, Defense One reports. The Army and Navy are working together to design and produce a common hypersonic missile.
Sign up to get The Army Brief every Friday morning from Caitlin M. Kenney, Defense One’s military services reporter. On Oct. 20, 1944, soldiers returned to fight in the Philippines during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, fulfilling Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s promise he made two years earlier when he famously said “I shall return” after being ordered to flee the invading Japanese Army.
From Defense One
China’s Hypersonic Test Raises Questions About US Missile Defense, Deterrence // Patrick Tucker: Basic questions about how to defeat or deter orbital weapons remain undecided.
We ‘Blew It’ On Battling COVID Disinfo, Say Army's Pandemic Response Leaders // Elizabeth Howe: The U.S. Army scrutinized its response to the pandemic, and found fault with its strategic communications efforts.
Pentagon Orders Texas Contractors to Mandate Vaccines for Employees, Despite Governor’s Ban // Marcus Weisgerber: The Defense Department says the federal contractor vaccine order supersedes state laws.