🗣️ General Dynamics adds voice-control AI to combat vehicles

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence codified the Varkhan unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for service with the Armed Forces after successful field trials.

The 4x4 platform hauls hundreds of kilograms over tens of kilometers, with independent suspension, 200-plus millimeters of ground clearance, and quick-swap batteries.

Varkhan plugs into a wider ecosystem of T-Bone ground control stations, antennas, masts, and repeaters built to keep unmanned systems connected in combat.

US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) will stage its next Falcon Peak counter-drone exercise in a dense urban setting, after nearly a month in the Arizona desert.

Falcon Peak 26.2, the fourth iteration, ran at Yuma and was the first to unite NORTHCOM, the Defense Innovation Unit, Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401, and DHS.

JIATF 401's main takeaway for the urban round is tighter interagency coordination, especially with DHS and the Federal Aviation Administration.

General Dynamics Land Systems partnered with Primordial Labs to bring AI voice control to its combat vehicles, from the M1 Abrams to the next-generation XM30.

Primordial's Anura turns spoken commands into specific vehicle actions without generative AI, and it cannot fire a vehicle's weapons, the companies said.

Smaller future crews will struggle with switches and keyboards on the move, in the dark, and in bad weather, GDLS strategy director Geoff Norman said.

AM General is upgrading its four-decade-old Humvee in three phases, starting with a 250-horsepower engine, an improved transmission, and long-travel suspension.

The engine delivers more than 550 pound-feet of torque and runs on JP-8, F-24, or diesel; phase two adds a modernized dashboard and scalable armor.

Phase three carries the biggest technology changes: drive-by-wire controls, health monitoring, and autonomy-enabled capabilities.

Aventra Defense Systems raised $17.5M in a strategic round led by Konvoy, with Lavrock Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, Sands Capital, and Langford Industries participating.

Piranha, a balloon-deployed autonomous precision payload system, has logged roughly 400 flights demonstrating stratospheric reentry, long-range glide, and kinetic and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) delivery.

The money moves Piranha from field-evaluation quantities into low-rate initial production in Herndon, Virginia, and funds new long-range strike and one-way attack platforms.

Super Hornets fly Blackbeard hypersonic missiles in latest test — Read More

StandardAero brings predictive maintenance to Air Force F100-220 engines — Read More

Romania orders 12 Airbus H225M multirole helicopters — Read More

BAE wins F-35 electronic warfare order for Lots 20-22 — Read More

Lockheed lands $245M for second IRST Block II order — Read More

Thales and 3ME unveil 10-ton BladeHAUL uncrewed hauler — Read More

Army fields TACTMIS to digitize munitions management — Read More

Germany contracts Diehl to fit IRIS-T SLM on F125 frigates — Read More

South Korea launches third KDX-III Batch-II Aegis destroyer — Read More

Trump and Hegseth announce new Maryland shipyard — Read More

BWXT wins $189M contract for naval reactor fuel — Read More

Ursa Major wins $137M for two missile motor programs — Read More

Bonnie Evangelista to lead drone buying at Pentagon's DRPM-UxS — Read More

HII promotes Greg Ennis to Mission Technologies CFO — Read More