Australian Super Hornet spotted with AIM-260 JATM at Gray Flag exercise
A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet was photographed carrying an inert AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile during the Gray Flag 2026 large-force test event, weeks after Australia announced procurement of the weapon. The War Zone and The Aviationist reported the sighting. AIM-260 is designed to replace AIM-120 AMRAAM with extended range and improved kinematics.
Thales Australia develops BladeHAUL autonomous big-rig truck for battlefield logistics
Thales Australia is working on autonomy features for a new heavy cargo robot called BladeHAUL, capable of carrying a 20-foot container or serving as a large mobile battery in the field, Defense News reports. The vehicle is based on a commercial big-rig platform and is intended to reduce the need for human drivers in contested logistics zones. Thales has not disclosed a customer or fielding timeline.
Why it matters: A 20-foot container holds 20 tonnes — autonomous logistics at that scale removes the single biggest manpower constraint in expeditionary operations.
U.S. Navy awards HII $56 million for AUKUS submarine design and engineering support
The U.S. Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding a $56.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical support on nuclear-powered submarines for AUKUS partners Australia and the United Kingdom. Foreign partner funds cover the full cost.
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U.S. State Department approves possible $300 million Tomahawk mission-planning system sale to Australia
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $300 million Foreign Military Sale to Australia covering a Theater Mission Planning Center and associated communications systems for Tomahawk cruise missile strikes. The package adds mission-planning capability to the long-range missiles the Royal Australian Navy began acquiring in 2023.
U.S. Space Force selects Lake Kickapoo, Texas, for final DARC radar to complete deep-space surveillance network with U.K. and Australia by 2030
The U.S. Space Force selected Lake Kickapoo, Texas, as the preferred site for the third and final radar in the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) network. Civil construction is expected to finish in 2029, with operations beginning in 2030. The network, shared with the U.K. and Australia, will provide continuous deep-space tracking.
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