Army looks to field loitering munitions next year
The Army is also experimenting with robots integrated with platoons at Fort Moore and Irwin.
SAM SKOVE | DECEMBER 13, 2023
The Army may start fielding loitering munitions by the middle of next year amid a push to adopt innovative technology seen in Ukraine, the head of Army Futures Command said Wednesday.
“I think you’ll see those start delivering in the first half of next year,” Gen. James Rainey said at a media roundtable at the Pentagon. The Army sees the acquisitions process as an “iterative” task, in which the munitions become better and better with each purchase, he added.
The Army in July announced a program for equipping Army brigades with loitering munitions. The effort, dubbed Project LASSO, seeks to put more weapons capable of destroying enemy tanks into the hands of average infantry units.
The Army chose AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600 as the first drone to test for Project LASSO, Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said in October. The units doing the tests will start with more than 100 Switchblade 600s. The Army will invite other companies to compete in follow-on tests, Bush said.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/12/army-looks-field-loitering-munitions-next-year/392756/?oref=d1-skybox-hp
