Author: Braxton Taylor
A former Space Force officer who was booted from the service after making unfounded allegations that Marxism was spreading throughout the military has been confirmed by the Senate to be the Air Force’s No. 2 civilian.In a 52-46 party-line vote Thursday, the Senate approved former Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier to become the under secretary of the Air Force.Under secretaries are typically seen as the day-to-day managers of the military services, essentially serving as the chief management officer while the secretary serves as chief executive officer. But for the Air Force, as well as the Navy, President Donald Trump nominated an…
ROYAL AIR FORCE FAIRFORD, England—A new control system will require fewer Patriot missiles to down incoming threats, conserving interceptors as stocks dwindle, a Northrop Grumman official said.The company is equipping the Army’s air-defense battalions with its Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS, which aims to stitch together sensors and weapons to give commanders a clearer picture of the battlespace. That need was on display last month when the U.S. fired more than two dozen Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles coming at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in response to the U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. IBCS-equipped batteries will…
Four of the Army’s newest Reserve lieutenant colonels are a few weeks out from finishing training, after which they’ll put on the uniform for one weekend a month and dedicate their time to advising the Army on “rapid and scalable tech solutions to complex problems,” according to a June news release. In theory, anyway.Though four recently commissioned Silicon Valley leaders are set to graduate from Fort Benning’s direct commission course and join Detachment 201, the Executive Innovation Corps, an Army official told Defense One, there is little detail available about what they’ll be working on or how they’ll be expected to…
In collaboration with Lipsey’s, Smith & Wesson has launched two new ‘Mountain Gun’ revolver models, an N-frame Smith & Wesson Model 610 in 10mm and a K-frame Model 617 in .22 LR. This latest set of S&W and Lipsey’s Mountain Gun models join the existing .44 Mag. and .357 Mag. versions introduced earlier in 2025. The Smith & Wesson Mountain Gun moniker originally applied to select classic big-bore, N-frame, magnum cartridge revolvers built with thinner contour barrels which reduced their overall weight, hence making them lighter and handier to carry either in the backcountry or “in the mountains.” The moniker…
Work resumes on new ICBM silos. Six months after Air Force leaders ordered a pause on the way-over-budget command and launch segments of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, Northrop Grumman has resumed work under a service-approved plan, company executives said Tuesday. “We are back into designing those [launch facilities] and really nailing down with the Air Force the appropriate requirements that will lead us to be able to move faster and potentially reduce costs on the program from the baseline that emerged coming out of the Nunn-McCurdy [breach],” CEO Kathy Warden said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. Defense…
The Mossberg 590R is a variant of the pump-action Mossberg 590 shotgun which has a rotary safety selector that mirrors the safety selector found on AR-15 pattern firearms. Mossberg 590R models also incorporates AR-15 pattern pistol grips and furniture into the 590R. This combination does away with the traditional shotgun stock and allows the shooter to square up behind the gun in a similar manner to shooting an AR. The 590R also includes a Picatinny receiver-mounted optics base that works in tandem with its furniture arrangement. Mossberg is now expanding its 590R pump-action offerings by adding two 590R variants with…
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.—Could “collaborative robots” get Navy submarine projects back on cost and schedule? General Dynamics Electric Boat is seeing results using programmable devices that cut and weld steel. “You’re about to see a show!” a supervisor said, shouting over a soundtrack of whirs and clanging on a manufacturing floor almost the width of a football field. Moments later, bright white sparks flew overhead. A white-and-black robotic arm, assisted by a team of welders, began cutting steel for a module for a Virginia-class attack submarine.It’s a big, time-consuming task. But using robotics can speed up the process of cutting and joining steel. “Big…
This is Part 2 in my series on What Readiness Means to Me. In my last post, I talked about two different aspects of readiness that should be at the top of your mind: physical and mental. In this post I want to hit on another two critical areas of readiness: training and awareness.TrainingAs you’ve probably already guessed, I’m a big believer in getting firearms training. I’ve mentioned it in the past, but I want to share more about my journey and mindset.Shotguns and Disneyland… but Not Mixed Together!I went way back into the AmmoSquared Blog archives and found this…
Hegseth’s Signalgate headache returns. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have perjured himself when he told lawmakers that text messages shared with a journalist in mid-March contained no classified information about a military operation in Yemen, the Washington Post and CNN reported Wednesday, citing a report from the Defense Department’s inspector general. “No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information,” Trump’s Pentagon chief insisted after his unsecured messages became public. However, the Pentagon’s IG says it has evidence Hegseth copied and pasted the Yemen attack plans from an email marked “SECRET” and posted it…
The 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally begins Aug. 1 and continues to Aug. 7. Again this year the annual crowd of more than 500,000 will have the opportunity to see some of the firearm industry’s latest products, get more information from the experts, win prizes, watch live-fire demonstrations and more at the Sturgis Gun Rally. There is no charge to attend. Registration for a chance to win a raffle giveaway is also free. Luth-AR is the title sponsor of the event this year. The long list of other companies on hand make it the ultimate crossover gathering for firearm enthusiasts and…