B-2 Fires Ship-Killing Cruise Missile, Air Force Reveals for First Time
The US Air Force announced on June 29 that a B-2 Spirit had launched an AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile against the decommissioned ex-USS Juneau in a Valiant Shield 2026 sinking exercise two days earlier, roughly 200 nautical miles (370 km) north of the Marianas.
The Read: LRASM shares the AGM-158/JASSM airframe family and the B-2 was already cleared for JASSM and JASSM-ER, so the integration was engineering-tractable. The pairing puts anti-ship strike into the arsenal of a platform previously known for penetrating land attack and nuclear strike, with a weapon whose ~500 nautical mile (~925 km) range means the launcher does not have to enter contested airspace to threaten surface combatants. It also thickens an already-distributed anti-ship kill chain that spans B-1B, F/A-18E/F, F-35 variants (integration underway), F-15E, and P-8A, making the platform-launcher combination harder to model from the adversary side.
B-2 with integrated LRASM \\ USAF
\\ Signal Watch
Hanwha Unveils Striker MUSV Family at Eurosatory 2026 \\ Naval News
Hanwha Systems used Eurosatory to unveil the Striker Medium Uncrewed Surface Vessel family, a 35 m (115 ft), 250-tonne autonomous platform designed around missile firepower rather than the small explosive drones or ISR-focused designs that have defined the USV space so far. The Striker-S carries a containerized Chunmoo missile launcher on its mission deck alongside a 10-tonne modular payload bay, and pairs an AESA radar with a claimed 50 km (31 mi) aerial detection range with a dedicated counter-UAS capability. Hanwha Aerospace is developing a CTM-ASBM anti-ship ballistic missile variant for the platform, based on the 160 km (99 mi) CTM-MR and adding an imaging infrared seeker to GPS/INS guidance to track moving surface vessels. The design occupies a genuinely new point in the USV market, distinct from both the small explosive Ukrainian sea drones and the larger US MUSV marketplace efforts, and is aimed at both the export and domestic Korean markets.
Hanwha's Striker MUSV mission concept \\ Source: Army Recognition
\\ Quick Links
Land & Weapons
Switzerland Rethinks Minefield Breaching With Two-in-One System \\ NextGen Defense
Ukraine Reveals Unique Deep-Strike Solution: A Rocket Launched From Balloons \\ NextGen Defense
UK commits to ‘future’ of long range strike capability \\ UKDJ
Israel Pursues ‘World’s First’ Laser Weapon Capability in Space \\ NextGen Defense
Drones, Counter-Drone & Aviation
China’s Truck-Mounted Electromagnetic Aircraft Catapult Seen In Action For The First Time \\ TWZ
Poland and Turkey’s drone swarm system passes key precision test \\ Defence Blog
GCAP explained: UK, Italy and Japan build industrial framework for next-generation fighter programme \\ Defence Industry Europe
MQ-25 Stingray Demonstrator Goes Aboard USS Nimitz For 250th U.S. Anniversary Celebrations \\ TWZ
From Power Beaming to Drone Hunting: This New US Navy Laser Does Both \\ NextGen Defense
Estonia tested a spy drone that hunts enemy electronics \\ Defence Blog
U.S. Army tests balloon-carried solar stratospheric aircraft \\ Defence Blog
Ukraine Wants Robots To Fight Its Ground War \\ Forbes
Naval
At least six Common Combat Vessels will be built for the Royal Navy \\ Naval News
UK Sacrifices Its Future Destroyer As Part Of Massive Bet On Drones Across Its Forces \\ TWZ
Video: Ukraine’s Massive New Underwater Drone – Sea Trident ST-1000 \\ Naval News
Strategy
UK funds PYRAMID open avionics push for drones, swarms and GCAP \\ AeroTime
Lost in Translation: How A Premier Chinese Think Tank Views U.S.-Chinese Competition \\ War on the Rocks
Ukraine launches TrophyLab portal to give partner states and defense firms controlled access to captured Russian weapons data and samples \\ Defence Industry Europe
UK to invest more than £5 billion in drone transformation across Armed Forces as Defence Investment Plan accelerates autonomy \\ Defence Industry Europe
\\ Beyond the Beam
Austal and others research additive manufacturing \\ Australian Defence
New ceramic solid-state battery for military, aerospace tech survives 302°F heat \\ Interesting Engineering
China launches $210M diamond semiconductor project to power next-generation chips \\ Interesting Engineering
The MEKO® Frigate will replace F126 Frigate for Germany \\ Source: Lockheed Martin
\\ Opportunity Intel
SOCOM interested in developing long-range kamikaze drones \\ DefenseScoop
FAA seeks industry input on future STARS air traffic control sustainment effort \\ Military Aerospace
NASA eyes open-fan engine technology for future airliners \\ Military Aerospace
NASA expands commercial Earth-observation data acquisition program \\ Military Aerospace
Pentagon wants mobile launchers to test missile defense systems \\ Defence Blog
Pentagon seeks to hire ‘hundreds’ of software engineers for 2-year tours \\ Breaking Defense
UK to invest £580 million in Dstl infrastructure and Porton Down facilities for advanced defence science and technology research \\ Defence Industry Europe
Trump administration announces ‘War Force’ effort \\ DefenseScoop
Lithuania receives first €956.3 million SAFE payment under EU plan to accelerate defence investment and strengthen eastern flank \\ Defence Industry Europe
EU and Ukraine unveil $391m initiatives to support dual-use industries \\ Airforce Technology
Pay raises worked: Japan’s military breaks its recruitment crisis \\ Defence Blog
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