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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mysterious Shipping Container Rocket Launcher Spotted At Trump's Visit To Fort Bragg
A containerized launcher designed to fire the same suite of artillery rockets and ballistic missiles as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) has appeared at the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The ability to launch ballistic missiles, in particular, from what is outwardly indistinguishable from any other shipping container, presents a flexible strike capability that is harder for opponents to spot. Ukraine's recent Operation Spiderweb covert drone attacks highlighted to a dizzying degree the value of even lower-end concealed fires capabilities. The launcher inside the container is visible off to the side in a video, seen below, from President Donald Trump's visit to Fort Bragg today, which was posted online by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. Trump was given demonstrations of various Army capabilities at the base's Holland Drop Zone, including the launch of artillery rockets. A separate launcher, the type of which is not immediately clear, was used to fire those rounds. President Trump arrives at the Holland Drop Zone—Fort Bragg… — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 President Trump also observed paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division jump from a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane and a mock special operations assault involving Green Berets and the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment SOAR). A transporter erector launcher for the Soviet-designed Scud ballistic missile, or a full-scale mockup of one, is also notably present in the footage of the special operations demonstration. Bragg is the Army's main special operations hub, as well as home to the 82nd Airborne Division, among other units. The 82nd Airborne Division — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 FORT BRAGG—@USArmy — Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 10, 2025 TWZ has not been able to quickly find additional information about the containerized launcher, but it is not entirely new. In August 2024, Military Times posted a video of it, seen below, across its social media accounts, but with no additional context. We have reached out to the Army for more details. What is clear is that the containerized launcher, the entire roof of which is designed to open to one side, can accommodate two of the same ammunition 'pods' used as the tracked M270 MRLS and wheeled M142 HIMARS launch vehicles. Pods are available that come loaded with six 227mm guided artillery rockets, a single Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile, or two Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). ATACMS and PrSM, the latter of which is beginning to enter Army service now to replace the former, are both short-range ballistic missiles. Current-generation 227mm artillery rockets in Army inventory can hit targets some 50 miles (around 80 kilometers) away, and a variant with a maximum range of just over 93 miles (150 kilometers) entered production last year. The longest range variant of the ATACMS short-range ballistic missile in Army service today can reach targets out to 186 miles (300 kilometers). The initial version of PrSM, also known as Increment 1, has a range of 310 miles (500 kilometers), but there are also plans to extend that out to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) or more. It's worth noting that a PrSM with a range beyond 620 miles/1,000 kilometers would be categorized as at least a medium-range ballistic missile. The Army is also developing an anti-ship variant of PrSM with a new seeker and is eyeing further versions with 'enhanced lethality payloads' that could include miniature smart bombs and kamikaze drones. The Army is also currently exploring new pods loaded with smaller rockets that could expand the magazine depth of M270 and M142 launcher vehicles, but at the cost of a reduction in range. The service has been experimenting with new launcher vehicles that can fire this same family of munitions, including uncrewed types and a design offering significantly expanded ammunition capacity. Being able to launch this array of rockets and missiles already gives M270 and M142 immense flexibility. A containerized launcher would open up additional possibilities, including the ability to turn any truck that can carry a standard shipping container into a platform capable of firing long-range guided rockets and missiles. This, in turn, could help the Army more readily expand its available launch capacity as required. The containerized launchers could also be deployed in a fixed mode, offering forward operating bases the ability to hold targets at risk dozens, if not hundreds of miles away. This can include providing an on-call form of organic air/fire support for troops operating far from the forward base. The launcher inside the container cannot traverse laterally, but an array of them could be positioned in such a way to provide maximum coverage in all directions. Being a container-based design, whether deployed in a truck-mounted or fixed configuration, they would be readily relocatable from one location to another. The containerized launchers could also be loaded on rail cars and or employed from ships with sufficient open deck space. In any of these modes, the launcher would benefit from its unassuming outward appearance. This would present challenges for opponents when it comes to detection and targeting, since any container could potentially be loaded with rockets or ballistic missiles. As already mentioned, Ukraine just demonstrated the value of concealed launch capabilities in its unprecedented covert drone attacks on multiple Russian air bases. Other countries, including Russia, China, and Iran, have also been developing containerized launch systems for artillery rockets and/or missiles. In terms of naval use, specifically, it's also worth mentioning here that the U.S. Navy is already in the process of fielding a different containerized missile launcher, designed to fire Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and SM-6 multi-purpose missiles, in shipboard and tractor-trailer configurations. The Navy launcher is based on the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) found on various American and foreign warships, and is directly related to the Army's ground-based Typhon system that can also currently fire Tomahawks and SM-6s. How close the containerized launcher seen at Fort Bragg may or may not be to becoming an operational capability is unclear, but its potential value is not hard to see. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army task forces ‘centerpiece' for deterring China: INDOPACOM boss
The head of the largest U.S. combatant command praised the fires capabilities that the Army's multidomain task forces bring to a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. The service's task forces are the 'centerpiece' of how the joint force denies Chinese military access to key areas, said Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual Land Forces Pacific conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Paparo said such units, combined with the Army's firepower, enable land forces to contribute fires that counter China's military aggression in the region. Multidomain task forces are growing and shaping exercises overseas 'We're facing a profoundly consequential moment here in the Indo-Pacific and, accordingly, the world,' Paparo said. In a call with media before the event, Army Gen. Ronald Clark, head of U.S. Army Pacific, further framed the use of the task forces. 'What we have developed over time through the joint force is the capability to flip the script if you will that land forces can provide access to air and maritime capabilities on the land,' Clark said. Units such as the multidomain task force, or MDTF, of which the Army has two operational in the region and is building a third, are 'not easily targetable,' dispersed, easy to camouflage and dominate in time and space for targeting, Clark said. Paparo pointed specifically to the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, and its recent use in the Valiant Shield military exercise in Palau. PrSM's long-range strike capability, coupled with midrange strike capabilities from maritime assets such as the Tomahawk cruise missile and long-range hypersonic weapons at the strategic layer, creates a deterrence posture across the region. PrSM is being used to give even tactical units a beyond 500-kilometer strike, putting them in the strategic fires ranges, Army Times previously reported. Lockheed Martin is currently fielding the Increment 1 version of the PrSM, which has a range of at least 500 kilometers, according to the company. Increment 2 is a land-based, anti-ship seeker. Increment 3 adds lethal payload options, while Increment 4 seeks to push existing ranges beyond 1,000 kilometers. Meanwhile, the Hawaii-based 3rd MDTF is slated to receive a Typhon midrange missile launcher battery, Defense News reported in March. The Lockheed Martin-built system, consisting of a vertical launcher that uses the Navy's Raytheon-built Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles, can strike targets between 500 to 2,000 kilometers. The system has a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers. The 3rd MDTF plans to add hundreds of soldiers to the formation over the next 18 months as it seeks to fill the 2,000-soldier formation. The ultimate configuration will include a headquarters and four battalions, including a long-range precision fires battalion and a sustainment battalion, Defense News previously reported.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cheap drone swarms for helicopter fights — This is just one of the ways Hegseth wants to remake the Army for the next war
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on sweeping changes for the Army. The focus on future warfare includes AI, drones, ammunition stockpiles, and force restructures. The Army and larger military under President Trump have been about the ideas of lethality and readiness. Less crewed helicopters, more cheap drone swarms. That's just one of the directives listed in a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sweeping changes to the US Army. Hegseth envisions a future Army in which drone swarms capable of overwhelming enemies replace crewed helicopters and augment the remainder of that fighting force. There's much more to the plan though. The defense secretary's memo addressed to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was shared on Thursday and included strategic transformations, force restructuring, and cuts to certain programs and systems. The plan represents one of the largest Army overhauls since the Cold War, and the initiative is expected to cost billions. Some planned changes, like plans to give every division 1,000 drones within the next two years, have clear timelines and immediate impacts. Others, such as "modernizing language training programs to improve mission effectiveness," are vague. Hegseth has directed Driscoll to "transform the Army now for future warfare." Within the next two years, every Army division will have uncrewed aerial systems. Counter-UAS systems, too, should be integrated into maneuver platoons by then and maneuver companies by the following year, 2027. By 2027, the Army should also be fielding long-range missiles that can strike moving land and maritime targets. Some Army systems that could fit that bill include the surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the Mid-Range Capability Typhon system, and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. The service should also achieve dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum and air-littoral spaces, both of which have been deemed critical subdomains for future wars, and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at the Army's theater, corps, and division headquarters. Among the directives is a call to "modernize the organic industrial base to generate the ammunition stockpiles necessary to sustain national defense during wartime," with a goal of full operations by 2028. Driscoll recently told BI that strengthening the defense industrial base and deepening the Army's magazine was a priority for him, especially when thinking about a possible war with China, an Indo-Pacific power and top rival. In line with that thinking, the memo directs the Army to strengthen its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding the Army's caches of warfighting equipment, conducting military exercises with allies and partners, and rotating deployments in the region. US President Donald Trump, Hegseth, Driscoll, and other officials have all identified countering China as a top priority. "The President gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "To achieve this, the US Army must prioritize defending our homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region." The emphasis on heavily transforming the Army ahead of 2027 raises questions about the motivations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese People's Liberation Army to be ready to execute an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Though that goal does not mean action is guaranteed, US military officials have used China's deadline as a readiness guide. Hegseth and others in the Trump administration have highlighted their intentions to cut what they deem as wasteful spending in the Pentagon. The Army memo goes into that but still leaves some questions unanswered. The defense secretary is instructing the Army to substantially rework its force structure, which includes merging headquarters to synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic fires, implementing space-based capabilities, and adopting uncrewed systems. As already noted, Hegseth's memo also includes a plan to "reduce and restructure crewed attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries." It also includes plans to "divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units" across the Army. Major reforms are intended for some Army headquarters, including the merging of Army Futures Command and Doctrine Command into one and Forces Command and US Army North and South into a single entity focused on homeland defense and Western allies. Additionally, some weapons systems and capabilities deemed obsolete are being axed, including certain crewed aircraft programs, ground vehicles like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, and outdated UAVs. Driscoll's staff recently told BI that some legacy systems could be on the chopping block in pursuit of lethality. Workforce reduction is also a priority and falls in line with larger priorities from Hegseth and Trump. Information in the memo on this is sparse. It calls on the Army to "optimize force structure to achieve maximum readiness" and "prioritize merit and skill needed for today's battlefield across the uniform and civilian workforce." Revisions to civilian hiring and firing policies and cuts to general officer positions are planned. When asked about Hegseth's priority for a "learner, more lethal force" and what that means for the workforce, Col. David Butler, communications adviser to Chief of Staff of the Army, told BI that the likely intention is to make cuts to "staff and bureaucracies," not maneuver or warfighting formations. Butler said Army leadership believes cutting those areas will lighten the organizational structure and "better serve the warfighter." Conversations around a "leaner" Army have been a major topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, sources told the Army was quietly considering a reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops. The Army labeled the story "wrong," writing on X that it was "building more combat power while reducing staff and overhead." Many of these changes indicate sweeping plans and reforms for the Army. Talking to Fox News on Friday, Driscoll said that while "these are hard decisions," especially ones around legacy systems and weapons reform. That said, "the old way of doing war with no longer suffice," he explained. The Army secretary said he and the service have been "empowered to go make the hard decisions and the hard changes to reallocate our dollars to best position our soldiers to be the most lethal that they can be." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Cheap drone swarms for helicopter fights — This is just one of the ways Hegseth wants to remake the Army for the next war
Less crewed helicopters, more cheap drone swarms. That's just one of the directives listed in a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sweeping changes to the US Army. Hegseth envisions a future Army in which drone swarms capable of overwhelming enemies replace crewed helicopters and augment the remainder of that fighting force. There's much more to the plan though. The defense secretary's memo addressed to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was shared on Thursday and included strategic transformations, force restructuring, and cuts to certain programs and systems. The plan represents one of the largest Army overhauls since the Cold War, and the initiative is expected to cost billions. Some planned changes, like plans to give every division 1,000 drones within the next two years, have clear timelines and immediate impacts. Others, such as "modernizing language training programs to improve mission effectiveness," are vague. Drones, ammunition, and the Indo-Pacific Hegseth has directed Driscoll to "transform the Army now for future warfare." Within the next two years, every Army division will have uncrewed aerial systems. Counter-UAS systems, too, should be integrated into maneuver platoons by then and maneuver companies by the following year, 2027. By 2027, the Army should also be fielding long-range missiles that can strike moving land and maritime targets. Some Army systems that could fit that bill include the surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the Mid-Range Capability Typhon system, and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. The service should also achieve dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum and air-littoral spaces, both of which have been deemed critical subdomains for future wars, and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at the Army's theater, corps, and division headquarters. Among the directives is a call to "modernize the organic industrial base to generate the ammunition stockpiles necessary to sustain national defense during wartime," with a goal of full operations by 2028. Driscoll recently told BI that strengthening the defense industrial base and deepening the Army's magazine was a priority for him, especially when thinking about a possible war with China, an Indo-Pacific power and top rival. In line with that thinking, the memo directs the Army to strengthen its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding the Army's caches of warfighting equipment, conducting military exercises with allies and partners, and rotating deployments in the region. US President Donald Trump, Hegseth, Driscoll, and other officials have all identified countering China as a top priority. "The President gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "To achieve this, the US Army must prioritize defending our homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region." The emphasis on heavily transforming the Army ahead of 2027 raises questions about the motivations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese People's Liberation Army to be ready to execute an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Though that goal does not mean action is guaranteed, US military officials have used China's deadline as a readiness guide. 'A leaner, more lethal force' Hegseth and others in the Trump administration have highlighted their intentions to cut what they deem as wasteful spending in the Pentagon. The Army memo goes into that but still leaves some questions unanswered. The defense secretary is instructing the Army to substantially rework its force structure, which includes merging headquarters to synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic fires, implementing space-based capabilities, and adopting uncrewed systems. As already noted, Hegseth's memo also includes a plan to "reduce and restructure crewed attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries." It also includes plans to "divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units" across the Army. Major reforms are intended for some Army headquarters, including the merging of Army Futures Command and Doctrine Command into one and Forces Command and US Army North and South into a single entity focused on homeland defense and Western allies. Additionally, some weapons systems and capabilities deemed obsolete are being axed, including certain crewed aircraft programs, ground vehicles like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, and outdated UAVs. Driscoll's staff recently told BI that some legacy systems could be on the chopping block in pursuit of lethality. Workforce reduction is also a priority and falls in line with larger priorities from Hegseth and Trump. Information in the memo on this is sparse. It calls on the Army to "optimize force structure to achieve maximum readiness" and "prioritize merit and skill needed for today's battlefield across the uniform and civilian workforce." Revisions to civilian hiring and firing policies and cuts to general officer positions are planned. When asked about Hegseth's priority for a "learner, more lethal force" and what that means for the workforce, Col. David Butler, communications adviser to Chief of Staff of the Army, told BI that the likely intention is to make cuts to "staff and bureaucracies," not maneuver or warfighting formations. Butler said Army leadership believes cutting those areas will lighten the organizational structure and "better serve the warfighter." Conversations around a "leaner" Army have been a major topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, sources told the Army was quietly considering a reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops. The Army labeled the story "wrong," writing on X that it was "building more combat power while reducing staff and overhead." Hard decisions for the Army Many of these changes indicate sweeping plans and reforms for the Army. Talking to Fox News on Friday, Driscoll said that while "these are hard decisions," especially ones around legacy systems and weapons reform. That said, "the old way of doing war with no longer suffice," he explained. The Army secretary said he and the service have been "empowered to go make the hard decisions and the hard changes to reallocate our dollars to best position our soldiers to be the most lethal that they can be."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
PRsM Ballistic Missiles Loaded With Coyote Drones, Hatchet Mini Smart Bombs Eyed By Army
Future versions of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile for the U.S. Army could carry Coyote drones or Hatchet miniature glide bombs, according to Lockheed Martin. The Army has previously talked about potentially loading PrSMs with swarming munitions and other 'enhanced' payloads, but without providing more specific details. Becky Withrow, director of strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin, talked about future payload and other aspects of the PrSM program with TWZ's Howard Altman on the floor of the annual Modern Day Marine exposition yesterday. The Army is currently in the process of fielding PrSM, but versions of the missile could also be of interest to the Marine Corps. The Army has so far outlined plans for four incremental PrSM developments on top of the baseline Increment 1 missiles. Increment 2 is centered on the development of a new dual seeker system that enables the engagement of moving targets on land or at sea. Increment 4 is about increasing PrSM's range from just under 310 miles (500 kilometers) to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), and Increment 5 aims to extend that reach even further. Increment 3, which the Army now envisions as coming after Increment 4, is about 'enhanced lethality.' For Increment 3, the Army 'will put a different warhead in there,' Lockheed Martin's Withrow explained. 'They have yet to decide. It's still in the S&T [science and technology] community. So they're looking at various warhead options.' 'I know they've looked at things like Coyote, they've looked at Hatchet, things like that,' Withrow added, stressing that she was not aware of any final decision having been made. Withrow did not specify what version of Coyote might go into a future Increment 3 PrSM. Manufacturer Raytheon has publicly shown three members of the Coyote family to date: the original electric motor-driven pusher propeller design with its pop-out wings and tails (now known as Block 1), the jet-powered Block 2 counter-drone interceptor, and the Coyote LE SR (Launched Effect, Short-Range), another jet-powered type previously known as Block 3. Block 1 and 3 Coyotes are modular in design and can be configured in multiple ways, including as loitering munitions, as well as to perform reconnaissance and surveillance, electronic warfare, and other missions. The Army has previously released a graphic, seen below, depicting a PrSM releasing drones with some broad visual similarities to the Coyote Block 1. Earlier this year, Raytheon announced successful tests of Coyote LE SRs from a Bell 407 helicopter and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle – the latter of which TWZ was first to report on – and has described that version as being designed to be 'platform and payload-agnostic.' Hatchet is a roughly six-pound precision glide bomb that can be fitted with a dual-mode GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) and semi-active laser guidance package. Laser guidance allows for the engagement of moving targets as long as they can be lazed either by the launching platform or another offboard source. Manufacturer Northrop Grumman has said that other terminal guidance options, including electro-optical/infrared seekers with automated target recognition capability, could also be in Hatchet's future. Northrop Grumman also claims that the advanced design of Hatchet's three-pound warhead makes it 50 to 80 percent as lethal as a 500-pound-class bomb, depending on the target type. Point-detonating, delayed, and air-bursting fuze options are available. A single PrSM carrying a load of small precision munitions like Hatchet would give the Army the ability to strike multiple targets by launching just one missile. If the missile could release its submunitions at multiple points along its flight trajectory, it would expand the total area in which targets could be prosecuted. A group of GPS/INS-guided munitions like Hatchet could be pre-programmed to hit specific points over a wide area, but at a set distance apart in a grid, offering coverage akin to that a cluster munitions. The functional range of any version of PrSM could be extended by loading it with powered submunitions like Coyote, which could then fly further on their target areas after release. Swarms of loitering munitions could also use their endurance hunt targets autonomously after being launched into areas where enemy forces are broadly known to exist, but their exact positions are unknown. An Increment 3 PrSM might be used to rapidly 'seed' parts of the battlefield with loitering munitions as an area denial tactic, as well. A swarm could include drones configured for other missions, including electronic warfare and reconnaissance. Increment 3 PrSMs carrying various types of precision munitions could be particularly useful in suppressing or destroying enemy air defenses, especially mobile systems that might otherwise be hard to find and fix. The idea of using ground-based artillery and other indirect fire capabilities as tools to help clear paths for friendly aircraft is hardly new to the Army. The service has also put forward the idea of using high-altitude balloons to deploy swarms of loitering munitions deep inside enemy-controlled territory. Overall, an Increment 3 would offer a highly survivable delivery system for deploying swarming payloads deep into contested or denied areas. Multiple wargames, including ones conducted under the auspices of the U.S. military, have offered significant evidence that swarms of relatively cheap networked drones with high degrees of autonomy, including ones configured as loitering munitions, could have game-changing impacts in future high-end conflicts. With all this in mind, it is also interesting to note that China's Guangdong Aerodynamic Research Academy (GARA) unveiled a concept for an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide weapon loaded with different types of submunitions, including supersonic missiles and drones, at last year's Zhuhai Airshow. You can read more about the GDF-600 here. GDF-600 hypersonic vehicle with cluster submunitions from Gara. Launch mass 5000 kg, payload 1200 kg. Speed up to Mach 7, range 200-600 km, maximum trajectory altitude up to 40 km. 1/n#ChinaAirshow2024 — Michael Jerdev (@MuxelAero) November 10, 2024 At the same time, it is important to note that launching submunitions from a ballistic missile that could be traveling at high supersonic, if not hypersonic speeds (defined as anything above Mach 5), presents challenges. This is primarily due to physical and thermal stresses, especially at the time of separation. More fragile payloads designed to travel at subsonic speeds, like drones, would also require some means of safely slowing down after their initial release. Maneuvers that bleed off energy prior to release could help mitigate these issues, as well. This all may help explain why PrSM's Increment 3 now comes after Increment 4. Regardless, the Army is clearly still interested in the additional capabilities that a PrSM loaded with precision munitions or drones could offer, and we now know the service has been looking at Coyote and Hatchet specifically as potential options. Contact the author: joe@
