A multi-target air-to-air weapon and gun-armed close-support missile are among new projects DARPA plans to launch in fiscal 2021. New approaches to communicating in contested environments, attacking signals and countering laser weapons are also on the list.

With its fiscal 2021 budget request, the U.S. Air Force has consolidated funding for its first three Vanguard science and technology programs, to provide a clearer understanding of efforts to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities.

The U.S. Army has canceled the procurement of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System and the Mobile Intermediate Range Missile programs in the fiscal 2021 budget to free up funding for higher priorities.

European missile manufacturer MBDA has taken a stake in French software analysis company Numalis in a bid to strengthen the artificial-intelligence capabilities of future weapons.

Australia’s request to buy the missiles implies it has chosen the AGM-158C for project Air 3023 Phase 1.

A Lockheed Martin program has become the first casualty in the U.S. Defense Department’s race to deploy a diverse portfolio of hypersonic missiles as soon as possible.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a rocket motor and scramjet propulsion company, will deliver “enabling technologies” for a Northrop Grumman-designed hypersonic interceptor missile in development by DARPA, the company announced Feb. 10.

The Pentagon will launch a Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program and build out its command-and-control system as part of a budget request that seeks $20.3 billion for “Missile Defeat and Defense activities.”