The problem is that “the Army lacks the ability to sense, locate, attack, and protect” across the electromagnetic spectrum, according to a January memo on the new EMSO concept of operations signed by Gen. David Hodne, commander of Transformation and Training Command.

This is partly the result of an acquisition system for electromagnetic spectrum operations, or EMSO, that is too fragmented.

“Currently, EMSO capabilities are spread across different warfighting functions and not fully designed as cohesive technologies that are modular, scalable, and adaptable enough to mitigate modern threats,” the memo notes.

“This prevents the Army from truly leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) for quick decision making to exploit opportunities across the competition continuum.”

Thus, the Army is seeking feedback from industry on both the Army’s new concept of EMSO and a potential Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract for procurement of EW and SIGINT equipment.

The Program Manager Electronic Warfare & Cyber “is exploring an acquisition strategy to provide commercially sourced, worldwide, end-to-end lifecycle management products for the Army’s portfolio of Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) systems,” according to the Army’s Request for Information. Responses are due by March 13.

Among the questions is whether industry is willing to invest money in order to deliver solutions more quickly.

“If the Government were to leverage multi-year procurement contracts, would vendors pay facilitation costs to increase production quantities or significantly improve production schedules for EW/SIGINT Equipment?” the RFI asked.

The Army also wants systems that are tailored for different types of users.

“Fielding a common basis of issue (BOI) across varied formations (e.g., heavy, light, airborne) has proven to be neither cost-effective nor optimal for ensuring battlefield lethality against modern, technologically advanced adversaries,” the RFI noted.

The Army is soliciting feedback on the EMSO concept of operations itself, including the desire for “industry partnerships” cited in the January memo.

“What partnership models would be most effective for the rapid development and fielding of EMSO capabilities?” the RFI asked.

Hodne’s memo envisions speeding up the fielding of new systems by having T2COM program managers work closely with Command and Control/Counter C2 Portfolio Acquisition Executive.

“This approach enables continuous integration and delivery of EMSO capabilities for operations in austere and DDIL [denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited-bandwidth] environments,” the memo said.

The memo also called for a variety of offensive and defensive electromagnetic capabilities, including protocol-based effects that target specific communications protocols, simultaneously identifying and locating multiple enemy emitters, and obscuring friendly electromagnetic signatures from enemy detection. EMSO systems should also have an open architecture that can be integrated with the Next-Generation Command-and-Control framework.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated.

The multi-national drill was part of the U.S.-led exercise Dynamic Front, organized from Jan. 26 to Feb. 13, across five countries and nine training areas.

The event, which involved 23 nations, focused on validating artillery interoperability — how quickly participants could plug different systems together and share the targeting data needed to coordinate long-range strikes across borders.

Allied crews were thrown into the fire by simulating the magnitude and complexity of threats faced by troops in Ukraine. They were expected to conduct 1,500 strikes and intercept between 600 and 1,200 aerial threats daily in a major European conflict scenario, according to U.S. Army officials.

In a press briefing, as quoted by Star and Stripes, Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, leader of the 56th Multi-Domain Command Europe, said the massed artillery fires are meant to create a deterrence effect, with strikes “so unrelenting” that no adversary would dare to attack.

Participating units successfully set up the command systems necessary to coordinate strikes in one-sixth of the time it took in prior editions of the exercise, according to Stars and Stripes.

One of the core systems facilitating connectivity is the encrypted software suite ASCA, or Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities, NATO’s digital language for placing “warheads on foreheads,” as the U.S. military maxim goes.

Aside from digitally connecting different national artillery and command-and-control systems, it also provides live targeting data to troops stationed in other countries.

U.S. officers previously told Defense News that artillerists continuously refine ASCA based on exercise feedback. Over a dozen NATO nations have incorporated the system into their command-and-control suites.

The live fire test saw Apache pilots engage drones flying on ranges at Yuma Proving Ground using the 30x113mm XM1225 Aviation Proximity Explosive, called APEX.

The APEX rounds have proximity fuzes that cause them to detonate when they close in on a target, releasing a wide radius of blast fragments.

The 30mm rounds are designed to be fired at targets requiring precision to hit, such as small boats, drones and enemy combatants, without requiring changes to the Apache’s existing weapon system.

The fragments excelled at destroying drones in flight, the service has stated, in addition to being effective against ground targets.

“The XM1225’s proximity fuze has the potential to increase soft-skinned ground and aerial target vulnerability, providing the Attack [Division] community an additional capability so long as those targets are susceptible to detection, classification, and tracking,” Maj. Vincent Franchino, test pilot and Attack Division chief at Redstone Test Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a statement.

The APEX technology was developed in-house by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Armaments Center, with support from Picatinny Arsenal and Northrop Grumman.

Proximity fuzes have a long history within the U.S. military. The first were developed by the United States during World War II and were used against aircraft and Germany’s V-1 flying bombs.

The move to upgrade helicopter weapons capabilities for drone warfare is part of the Army’s drive to modernize combat units to address and incorporate unmanned systems.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George announced last month that the service will begin fielding the Bell MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft by the end of this year and that larger unmanned aerial systems classed in Groups 3, 4 and 5 are being integrated into Army combat aviation brigades.

The Autonomous Decontamination System, or ADS, would scrub vehicles, critical infrastructure and key terrain.

Equally important, it would allow troops in the field to protect themselves and thus ease the strain on Army chemical warfare units that might not be available when needed.

“The goal of the ADS is to allow squad-sized elements to provide a platoon-sized decontamination capability for critical mission equipment,” according to an Army Request for Information, which is due Feb. 20.

“Contamination mitigation operations are extremely resource-intensive in terms of time, logistics, and personnel,” the document continues. “The ADS will reduce manpower and optimize resources required for decontamination operations while mitigating the risk of exposure of warfighters to chemical and biological warfare agents through robotic means.”

The Joint Project Manager for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Protection, or JPM CBRN Protection, is aiming for mobile systems — including both tethered and untethered robots — that can be transported by light or medium tactical vehicles.

Decontamination bots must perform four functions. These include pre-washing contaminated vehicles or equipment with water, and mapping contamination footprints.

In addition, they must apply decontamination agents while “ideally leveraging the contamination footprint data to apply decontaminants precisely to areas,” the RFI said.

Finally, they must perform a “post-wash with water and a post-decontamination assessment using existing/fielded detector technology.”

The Army is asking contractors to describe the technical capabilities of their systems, such as whether they use GPS, Real-Time Kinematic, Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, or other navigational aids. The level of autonomy should also be specified, including fully autonomous, operator in the loop or manual remote control.

Also important are details on decontamination components, such as the type of nozzle, flow rate and pressure.

ADS robots should be compatible “with various decontaminants, including solids, liquids, and foams (e.g. High Test Hypochlorite (HTH), M333 Joint General-Purpose Decontaminant for Hardened Military Equipment (JGPD-HME),” according to the request.

The U.S. already faces a variety of threats from weapons of mass destruction, ranging from rogue nuclear states such as North Korea — and possibly Iran — to terrorist groups utilizing AI to develop biological weapons. Thus, the Army is looking to modernize its CBRN defense capabilities.

In addition to the Automated Decontamination System project, the Army is upgrading the CBRN version of the Stryker armored vehicle.

The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle Sensor Suite Upgrade, or NBCRV SSU, includes equipping the Stryker with onboard drones that can scout ahead for contaminants without exposing the crew.

“The upgrades will improve maintainability, reliability, and remote maneuverability from threats by including unmanned aerial vehicles, modular mission payload (a system where different equipment components can be easily swapped or added to a platform), a data processing unit, and more,” the Army announced in January 2025.

Yet curiously, the Army recently made CBRN training optional. The updated Army Regulation 350-1 specifies that training modules will be available as needed, but commanders can decide whether to include them in unit readiness.

The memorandum sets out the core principles for acquiring 96.77% of Automecanica’s shares, a Romanian defense company with established production infrastructure and licenses. The targeted closing date for the share purchase agreement is by the end of April 2026, subject to standard closing conditions such as due diligence and regulatory approvals in Romania.

Otokar has won a major contract for the supply of Cobra II 4x4 armored vehicles — an agreement valued at approximately €857 million ($1 billion) for 1,059 vehicles, with a local manufacturing component executed in partnership with Automecanica under a joint venture formed in 2025.

Under this contract 800 of the vehicles will be constructed in Romania. To this end Otokar has established its wholly owned subsidiary Otokar Land Systems SRL.

This subsidiary will take on the acquisition process, with an initial payment of €5 million upon signing of the MoU and the remainder payable at closing. The total enterprise valuation basis used for the share-purchase calculation is approximately €87.8 million, which implies roughly €85 million for the 96.77% stake being targeted.

Automecanica currently holds the facilities and necessary approvals in Romania that are intended to support Otokar’s planned industrial activities—especially related to its ongoing Romanian armored vehicle program.

According to KAP, transferring the shares directly to Otokar is expected to enable activities previously envisaged through a joint venture for the Romania 4x4 tactical wheeled light armored vehicle project to be carried out directly through Automecanica, streamlining execution and strengthening local control.

This week’s announcement follows Otokar’s previous disclosure on Jan. 16, when the company confirmed that Romtehnica has submitted compensation claims totaling approximately 191.85 million Romanian lei (around $45 million at current exchange rates), alleging that the Turkish company failed to meet interim preparation milestones for local production of Cobra II 4x4 tactical armored vehicles in Romania.

Otokar said it has filed a lawsuit to annul the compensation claim but also indicated that it will pay the amount when due while reserving its legal rights.

Otokar had not responded to Defense News’ request for comment on whether the litigation is linked to the Automecanica takeover.

The four tracked vehicles were unveiled at the army’s Montelibretti test range outside Rome in front of an audience including Italy’s defense chief and defense minister as well as managers from Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo, which is teaming with the German firm on the program.

“This is a strategic signal,” said Björn Bernhard, Rheinmetall’s European vehicles head.

“Europe remains fragmented with too many systems, too many supply chains, too little industrial depth. It is unsustainable, it is simply dangerous,” he said in a speech.

The Lynx program “is delivering what Europe urgently needs. Industrial integration instead of national stand alone approaches,” he added, claiming, “Europe is becoming more resilient.”

The delivery of the vehicles follows the signing last week of a defense cooperation deal between Italy and Germany through which the two countries will aim to “reduce fragmentation, foster standardization and interchangeability, increase interoperability between their forces and strengthen the European defense industry.”

The first four vehicles will soon be joined by a fifth, all with a Rheinmetall-supplied turret, while a subsequent 16 Lynx’s, to be delivered between October and the start of 2027, will have a Leonardo-built Hitfist 30mm turret.

The integration of the Italians turrets with Rheinmetall Lynx chassis’ will “most probably” happen at Leonardo’s facility at La Spezia in Italy, or at Iveco Defence Vehicles, the Italian firm Leonardo purchased last year, said Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani.

The first five vehicles will meanwhile also be retrofitted with the Hitfist turret.

Luca Perazzo, Leonardo’s deputy managing director of defense systems, said the Italian Army has an option to acquire another 30 vehicles in the same configuration, which it is expected to exercise in the first half of this year.

The Lynx deal follows the creation in 2024 of joint venture Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles.

Perazzo said that a full, final contract would follow covering five further variants of the Lynx which would carry out 16 different roles. Prototypes of those variants would delivered between 2027 and 2028 before serial production got underway.

“For the first time all the capabilities of an armored brigade will be brought together on one technological backbone,” said Rheinmetall’s Bernhard.

The Italian army also envisages Rheinmetall and Leonardo producing 272 variants of Rheinmetall’s Panther tanks, taking the entire deal to 23 billion euros ($27.5 billion).

Cingolani said the first Panther prototypes were due to be delivered between the end of 2029 and the start of 2030.

Both the Lynx and Panther programs are now qualified for inclusion in the European Union’s SAFE plan, meaning that countries applying for SAFE defense spending loans from the EU can spend the money on the two vehicles, Perazzo told Defense News.

The multi-nation contract will be carried out by Germany-based EuroTrophy GmbH, a joint venture of General Dynamics European Land Systems, Leopard maker KNDS and the Israeli developer. EuroTrophy markets the system to countries in Europe.

The first time the Israeli Trophy was successfully tested and integrated onto a German Leopard 2 tank was in October 2021. It has also been integrated on several other Western armored platforms, including he American M1 Abrams and the Israeli Merkava main battle tanks.

According to Rafael, the list of upcoming vehicle integrations also includes K2 Black Panther tanks, as well as lighter variants on armored vehicles like the Boxer, Patria AMV and Namer.

Rafael markets Trophy as a combat-proven active protection system, designed to detect, track, and neutralize anti-tank threats in real time. The system consists of several sensors, a search radar, a firing computer and an interceptor launcher mounted on the tank.

The system has the ability to engage with a variety of threats and multiple attacks simultaneously and can operate while on the move and in all weather conditions.

According to the Israeli military, during the Iron Swords war Trophy systems intercepted thousands of Kornet missiles and RPG rockets at an estimated rate of 85%.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Association of the United States Army on Tuesday, Gen. Randy George touted the M1E3, which last week made its debut as a pre-prototype at the Detroit Auto Show.

“Obviously, not as fast as the Chevy ZR1,” George said, referring to the flashy Corvette also on display at the show. “But this is a tank that can also hit a target. So it won’t meet that quarter-mile speed, but I know it can hit a target in a tenth of a second at a quarter mile.

The M1E3 is reaching prototype stage six years early, George said, adding that new features are also coming to light.

The “Formula One cockpit” contains a driver interface that “looks like an X-Box controller,” George said, referring to the control device made by Fanatec – a company that designs F1 simulator controls and many popular video game cockpits.

“It’s modular, so it can be updated,” George added.

He also touted the engine made by Caterpillar, transmission made by Michigan-based company SAPA and software through “a bunch of tech companies” enlisted to increase the tank’s awareness and effectiveness.

In a release published from the show, Army officials revealed that the M1E3 would feature GenAI among “a suite of AI-powered digital engineering tools” to help integrate other technologies more quickly and keep it up to date in a perpetually changing modern battlefield.

Unlike the current Abrams, which has a four-person crew including a loader, the M1E3 will have a crew of three and an autoloader, which will help the notoriously heavy Abrams get 25% lighter.

“We’re very excited to get that out — and again, that’s the way of the future here. Nothing should take us five to seven years to produce,” George said. “And when we get an upgrade just like we have with the [infantry fighting vehicles], it should come naturally. We’ve had upgraded engines and upgraded transmissions, and we should expect that. And I know our soldiers expect that with the equipment that’s coming to them.”

While many details are still unknown, officials have also cited advanced protection that accounts for contemporary threats including enemy drones and long-range weapons.

Michigan-based news site MLive reported that the turret on display in Detroit was remote, and featured a 120mm smoothbore main cannon — like the current M1A2 — as well as a Mk. 19 40mm grenade launcher and Javelin missile launcher.

“The crew compartment … it’s going to look a lot like a race car,” Brig. Gen. Troy Denomy, program executive officer for PEO Soldier, told the outlet.

Another new feature for the next-gen tank is a hybrid-electric drivetrain that will reportedly make the vehicle 50% more fuel efficient.

“The M1E3 Abrams represents a bold step forward in modern vehicle design, combining advanced protection, reduced weight and a smaller logistical footprint to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s battlefield,” Michelle Link, the deputy capability program executive, Ground-Combat Platforms, said in a statement.

While the M1E3 was originally slated to reach initial operational capability in 2030, officials said late last year that the first prototypes would be inside active Army formations sometime in 2026.

For George, the new tank program represents a new way of doing business in acquisition that evaluates tradeoffs and doesn’t get bogged down in developing a perfect solution. He described efforts to put more acquisition and contracting functions under a single individual, citing Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for Missiles and Space, as an example.

“I think trades are critically important,” George said. “We may say, hey, it needs to go 100 miles an hour. It needs to do a certain number of things. … Frank can come back to us and basically say, ‘Hey, for 30% less cost, it can go 90 miles an hour, and you can have it in six months, or you can wait to do those things.’ And I think these are important things that were trades that we have not considered and that we need to, moving forward.”

Latvia and Sweden are advancing efforts to engage in long-term cooperation which will include joint training and the deployment of Sweden’s Archers in Latvia starting in 2026. The two countries will establish a joint Archer unit, enabling their militaries to conduct joint exercises, the Latvian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“The purchase of the artillery system is an important step in strengthening the capacity of the National Armed Forces,” Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds said. “It will not only expand our indirect fire capabilities, but also promote closer cooperation with Sweden, ensuring joint training and exchange of experience.”

The purchase agreement covers 18 Archers. Officials did not specify the deal’s worth. The Latvian government’s approval for the program follows the signing of a letter of intent between Riga and Stockholm last June.

Other Archer users include the Ukrainian military and the British Army, which acquired the weapon to replace AS90 donated to Ukraine.

The howitzer buy comes shortly after Latvia’s parliament approved the country’s record-high 2026 defense budget, which foresees spending 4.91% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), or €2.16 billion ($2.51 billion), on the military.

As part of the spending hike, ramping up Latvian indirect fire support capabilities has been identified as one of the “key capability development projects,” according to the nation’s defense ministry.

Latvia has accelerated its self-propelled howitzer acquisition plans following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, similar to its two Baltic State neighbors, Estonia and Lithuania.

The deal, valued in the mid double-digit million euro range, marks Ukraine’s entry into what Rheinmetall describes as a larger-scale procurement program for the next-generation infantry fighting vehicle. The vehicles will be equipped with a two-person Lance turret and configured specifically for Ukrainian Armed Forces requirements.

The decision to procure the Lynx followed extensive testing by Ukrainian forces, according to the German arms giant. The company delivered a single Lynx KF41 to Ukraine in late 2024 for evaluation purposes. Ukraine becomes only the second country to operate the platform, after Hungary, which received its first vehicles from a newly opened Rheinmetall facility in Szeged in December 2025.

Leonardo, Rheinmetall book first Lynx combat vehicle order for Italy

“We are grateful for the trust that Ukraine has placed in us,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in the company’s announcement. He also thanked the German government for its support in paying for the initial batch.

Future procurement phases are expected to include manufacturing directly in Ukraine. In November 2025, the company’s CEO proposed establishing Ukrainian production lines for the Lynx, as well as the Fuchs and Panther vehicles, similar to a model it implemented in Algeria.

The Lynx KF41 is Rheinmetall’s product for the infantry fighting vehicle segment, designed to compete with platforms such as the American Bradley and Swedish CV90. The vehicle features enhanced protection, mobility, and firepower compared to older IFV designs.

Germany has been one of Ukraine’s largest military supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and is second only to the United States’ assistance from before Donald Trump took over at president. Berlin had provided nearly €20 billion ($23.3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine as of Oct. 31, 2025, the most recent data available, with a further €5 billion ($5.8 billion) given in financial and humanitarian assistance.

Third Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment was activated under the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command on Oct. 17, a move that signaled “a significant step in the Army’s ongoing modernization and the expansion of long-range fires capability in the European Theater,” according to the command’s Monday announcement.

Though administratively tied to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York, the new unit falls under the operational control of the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force, part of the 56th Multi-Domain Command-Europe.

The activation “reintroduces a modern long-range precision fires battalion,” the press release said, adding that, for the European theater, “it means greater range, more flexible options and additional tools to deter or respond in a rapidly changing security environment.”

The battalion comprises over 500 soldiers and includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, per the Army. HIMARS is a truck-mounted multiple-rocket launcher that can fire precisely guided rockets up to around 186 miles, depending on the munition, according to the system’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

The unit is also equipped with Mid-Range Capability, or MRC, systems, which are designed to strike even farther away.

Col. Jeffrey Pickler, the task force commander, said in the release that the activation symbolized “commitment to readiness, innovation, and to our allies and partners abroad.”

It remains unknown, however, if — or when — soldiers and equipment will be deployed overseas.

Officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The unit’s activation is part of the Army Transformation Initiative, an effort to reshape the force structure.

The contract was signed by Ivan Anušić, Croatian deputy prime minister and defense minister, in the presence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Dec. 10 during an official visit of Croatian leaders to Berlin.

In his remarks at the official signing event, Plenković said the purchase is facilitated by the European Union’s low-cost loans for defense acquisitions under the bloc’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme. Brussels has made available a debt fund of some €150 billion to enable urgent purchases of new weapons and military gear by its member states, focusing on closing critical capability gaps.

“Of the 1.7 billion euros approved for Croatia, a part of these funds will be used to finance the procurement of 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks,” Plenković was quoted in a statement released by the Croatian ministry.

“Croatia is gradually abandoning eastern military technology and moving to Western technology, and the partnership with Germany, through this and other examples, is one of the ways we continuously strengthen cooperation in the field of defense.”

Under the plan, deliveries of the Leopards for the Croatian land forces are to take place between 2028 and 2030, according to the defense ministry.

Using SAFE funds, Croatia is joining the joint 2A8 acquisition by Germany and a number of other NATO countries. The Croatian Army is set to become another Eastern European military to operate the KNDS-made vehicle, alongside the armed forces of the Czech Republic and Lithuania. The joint procurement also involves the Netherlands and Norway.

The manufacturer unveiled the 2A8 variant of the tank in November, the first comprehensive rebuild for the Leopard series to be rolled out since 1992.

Three enquiries are now underway into the noisy vibrations in the General Dynamics vehicles during an exercise held just after they were given initial operating capability status.

The vehicles were promptly parked as 30 soldiers riding in them took ill, with some reportedly vomiting.

The armored vehicles had been declared fully functioning after nine years of delays to the £6.3 billion ($8.4 billion) program and repeated problems with vibrations.

“Prior to Ajax’s initial operating capability being announced, I asked for and was given assurances in writing by senior Ministry of Defence personnel that the system was safe,” Luke Pollard, the U.K. Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry told the U.K. parliament on Monday.

He added he was now having daily meetings with General Dynamics which has built the vehicles in the U.K.

“Let me be clear, we will take whatever decisions are required to end this saga one way or another,” he said.

So far around 160 vehicles have been built and the U.K. is expected to order 589 of the vehicles.

Shaken and stirred: British Army’s Ajax troubles cast a long shadow

After Pollard spoke, a former minister for defense procurement, James Cartlidge also addressed the parliamentary session.

“These renewed incidents with noise and vibration sound strikingly similar to the problems that I was assured, when I was minister for defense procurement, had been resolved,” he said.

“We have both been misled about the viability of the Ajax program,” he added.

“Surely the only possible conclusion is that the Ajax vehicle is fundamentally flawed,” he said, demanding General Dynamics “must be held to account.”

Cartlidge stated, “I imagine the minister is as furious as I am at being repeatedly given what have turned out to be false assurances by those responsible for the program. He is now left with a binary choice, fix it or fail it.”

Pollard responded, “I too was disgusted when I heard the news of the injuries to our service personnel, especially after the point the vehicles were assured to be safe.”

He held out the possibility that a fix was possible.

“Getting to the bottom to what has happened is really important because the Ajax vehicle has completed 42,000 km of testing without those injuries taking place,” he said, adding, “not all the vehicles on that exercise caused injuries.”

The Huntsman will eventually equip the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade, a formation undergoing a dramatic transformation as a plethora of new equipment is set to arrive.

Australia hasn’t owned a modern self-propelled howitzer in recent decades, and the weapon extends the range of the army’s tube artillery to around 25 miles. The AS9 is an Australianized version of the K9 from Hanwha Aerospace in South Korea.

Maj. Gen. Jason Blain, the head of land systems at the Australian Ministry of Defence, described the AS9 as a “highly mobile, protected and potent self-propelled howitzer, which gives our troops the best possible chance of completing their missions and returning home safely to their families.”

He added: “As soon as the last round leaves the barrel, the AS9 Huntsman is quickly on the move to its next mission, while ensuring our soldiers remain safely behind armored protection.”

The Australian Army is acquiring 30 AS9 Huntsman as well as 15 associated AS10 ammunition resupply vehicles. Hanwha Defence Australia is manufacturing most of these at a new factory near Melbourne.

Brigadier Ben McLennan, commander of 3rd Brigade, said his unit is transitioning to become a heavy armored formation with new assets like the AS9.

Other new kit heading the brigade’s way includes M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles, several types of Abrams-based combat engineering vehicles, and Boxer 8x8 combat reconnaissance vehicles.

The first tranche of the new AS9 howitzers is set to reach soldiers in 2026, with most slated to be delivered by the end of 2027, McLennan told Defense News.

The brigade of 3,000 personnel has already received its full complement of Abrams tanks.

“We’ve received the first batch of combat engineer vehicles too: the Assault Breaching Vehicle and Joint Assault Bridge. We’ll secure the balance of the engineer platforms over the coming 12-18 months,” McLennan said.

Meanwhile, Redback vehicles, also made by Hanwha, are scheduled for delivery starting in 2027 and lasting through 2029 or 2030.

Those vehicles will be preceded slightly with new Boxers around 2028-2029. McLennan’s brigade is second in line for a Boxer complement after Brisbane-based 7th Brigade gets their fill.

McLennan said the arrival of so much new weaponry in such a short span of time presents “a very steep” learning curve, adding: ”These platforms are a step change for us – cognitively, tactically and physically.”

Despite the deadly dominance of drones and loitering munitions in the Ukraine war, McLennan firmly believes there is still a role for heavy armor on contemporary battlefields.

“What the Ukraine-Russian war also shows us is that, the more things change, the more they stay the same,” he said, pointing to longstanding principles like field leadership, vehicle craft and rifle skills.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that Australia hasn’t operated howitzers in recent times, versus never. Hat tip to the staff of the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns for flagging two previous instances in the 1950s and 1960s.

This means that, despite signing a letter of intent with Finland last February, the Cabinet will not authorize the procurement of new eight-wheel-drive rides before the next parliamentary election, expected to be held in March 2026.

The Slovenian government selected the AMV XP last year after canceling the previous Cabinet’s 2022 contract to procure 45 Boxer vehicles from the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), a multinational military-procurement agency.

The planned acquisition of Finnish vehicles was to boost the capabilities of a medium battalion battle group and a medium combat reconnaissance battalion within Slovenia’s military.

Slovenian media have reported on various potential reasons for delaying the AMV XP purchase that were proffered by unnamed government officials.

These include the Cabinet’s requirement for better force protection, including anti-drone measures, and the requirement to involve the domestic industry in the production of their turrets.

However, some local observers believe the actual reason is that the planned purchase could become the largest military procurement in the country’s history, at an estimated €695 million ($811 million), making it unpopular among a segment of Slovenian voters.

Matej Tonin, a member of the European Parliament for the opposition New Slovenia party and the nation’s former defense minister who signed the Boxer deal, criticized the government for the delay. He cited planning projections from the defunct Boxer purchase that would have the army equipped with 35 out of 45 those vehicle by now.

“Instead, we have lost three to four years, and every year acquisitions of military equipment become more and more expensive,” Tonin said.

“The demand has grown dramatically over the past three years, and this has been combined with a high level of inflation,” he added. “My advice to the government would be: don’t start everything from scratch, continue what was already initiated, and check what is needed by the Slovenian military.”

A spokesperson for the Slovenian Ministry of Defense told Defense News the project to purchase Patria vehicles “is ongoing and has not been halted in any way,” but technical add-ons would take more time.

“Due to changes in military conflicts and combat doctrine on modern battlefields, which also require the use of drones and anti-drone protection for effective operation, the Ministry of Defence has decided to upgrade the 8x8 vehicles with modern modular capabilities,” the spokesperson said. “This will take some time, but it is well worth it due to the increased usability of the vehicles.”

Combat Logistics Battalion 4 officially stood up its Headquarters, Alpha and General Service companies during a Nov. 14 ceremony aboard Camp Schwab, Japan, the Marine Corps announced. A fourth combat logistics company, Bravo, is expected to be added in the near future.

The activation of the new formations is geared toward the Marine Corps commandant’s emphasis on building out mobile logistics capable of quickly equipping units across the Indo-Pacific, CLB-4 commanding officer Lt. Col Nathan Green said in a service release.

“This is about outpacing our adversaries in a rapidly evolving operating environment,” Green said, adding that the nature of the theater often warrants quickly adapting.

“If we have to change again, we’ll change again,” Green said.

Commandant Gen. Eric Smith published an update to Force Design 2030 in early October, highlighting the service’s push to make faster decisions and alter course when needed.

“We are modernizing at a time when the character of war is shifting rapidly,” Smith wrote in a preface to the 24-page document. “Adversaries are fielding advanced weapons and employing new methods designed to erode our warfighting advantages. Drones, long-range precision fires, cyber effects and electronic warfare are now daily features of conflict. The lessons drawn from contemporary battlefields underscore what Marines have long understood: combat is unforgiving, and victory belongs to the side that adapts faster, fights harder and endures longer.”

CLB-4 training exercises and joint operations will further impact how the new companies evolve for future fights, Green noted, adding that keeping the Japan-based 4th Marine Regiment and naval expeditionary elements well-equipped in the Indo-Pacific theater will anchor those moves.

As part of the original Force Design 2030, the 4th Marine Regiment was slated to be converted to a Marine littoral regiment based out of Guam.

The most recent program update unveiled by the commandant backtracked on that, however, with the document stating that the regiment “will be retained in III [Marine Expeditionary Force] as a reinforced Marine Infantry Regiment, preserving its core mission while preparing to respond to potential crisis and conflict.”

A Marine Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, told Marine Corps Times that this shift was driven by threat assessments.

“This decision to retain 4th Marine Regiment is informed by recent wargames and analysis which address the growing threat posed by competitors in the Indo-Pacific and, together with other forces in the region, postures the Marine Corps to decisively respond to regional threats, provide integrated deterrence alongside allies and partners, and address emergent crises,” Flanagan said.

“Our current priorities are focused on ensuring that our existing infantry regiments and purpose-built MLRs are equipped and trained to meet the demands of the evolving security environment.”

The goal, according to a market survey published Nov. 20, is to find contractors who can manufacture up to 30,000 XM1208 rounds per year.

The U.S. is currently producing 40,000 artillery shells per month, as America and Europe struggle to ramp up production of howitzer munitions in response to the war in Ukraine.

The Nov. 20 market survey, meanwhile, noted that the XM1208 can be produced by multiple manufacturers.

“Sources shall include their minimum sustaining and maximum capacity rates,” the Army said.

The XM1208, which carries nine M99 Advanced Submunitions, is designed to be fired from both the M109A6/7 Paladin and M777A2 howitzers. It can be fired out to a maximum range of approximately 14 miles, according to a 2025 Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition brochure.

“The ASMs are expelled at a predetermined time in flight using M762/A1 [electronic time] fuze,” the brochure stated. “They are armed while falling, oriented via a ribbon stabilizer, and deliver around 1,200 preformed tungsten fragments approximately 1.5 meters above the target area.”

If the proximity fuze on a submunition fails, there are four back-ups: point detonation upon impact, pyrotechnic and two electronic fuses.

Detonation — or the lack of it — is the impetus behind next-generation cluster shells like the XM1208.

The Army is trying to reconcile two design goals: artillery shells that can launch multiple submunitions, but do so without violating international treaties that ban cluster weapons.

Cluster weapons, which date back to Nazi Luftwaffe bombs in World War II, target the laws of probability. Using a single bomb to dispense a large number of small bomblets increases the chances of a hit, especially for area fire where targets can’t be precisely located.

Facing potential attack by massed Soviet forces, the Army’s solution starting in the 1970s was the Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition, or DPICM. These contained numerous grenade-sized anti-tank and anti-personnel submunitions, ranging from 72 bomblets in the M864 155mm howitzer shell, to 644 submunitions in the M26 rocket fired by the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.

The problem with those munitions was that the bomblets had a dud rate that ranged between 2% and 14%. (For Russian cluster weapons, that figure is 40%.) That meant battlefields could become littered with small unexploded bombs that can kill civilians long after the fighting has ended.

In 2008, the Department of Defense mandated that cluster munitions must have a dud rate no greater than 1%, though that policy was reversed in 2017.

The Army now plans to replace DPICM with the Cannon-Delivered Area Effects Munition, or C-DAEM. The program includes the XM1180 shell to dispense anti-armor bomblets, and the XM1208 to release submunitions against personnel and light vehicles.

Objectives “include delivering enhanced lethality against a broad range of uncertain targets, extending the range and effectiveness against counter-artillery fire, and providing a reliable solution that can operate in GPS-contested environments while mitigating the risk of harm from [unexploded ordnance],” the Army announced after a successful test of the XM1180 in March 2024.

Despite the bad press for DPICM, the Army is likely to keep it around even as next-generation cluster weapons are fielded.

“The military has consistently stated that DPICM is effective and should be retained in inventory for emergency use,” Mark Cancian, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Defense News. “That is unlikely to change because it is a judgment based on testing data and operational experience.

“The key problem with ICM is getting the dud rate under 1% at an acceptable fiscal and weight cost,” Cancian added. “Previous attempts had reduced the dud rate but not below 1%, so the Army’s effort continues.”

The tank will be a new build, the first for the Leopard series since 1992, according to German defense officials, after several previous versions that were modernizations of existing tanks. The German army is slated to get 123 of the behemoths weighing nearly 70 metrics ton, with deliveries beginning in 2027 and to be finalized in 2030.

New features include a locally-produced version of the Trophy active protection system by Israel’s Rafael designed to fend off incoming projectiles. German officials tested Trophy on a previous iteration of the Leopard tank and decided to make it standard equipment for the new series.

According to a Ministry of Defense statement, additional improvements in the A8 variant include better armor and an overall rework of situational-awareness and fire-control features for the crew.

As in previous Leopard iterations, Rheinmetall’s 120mm smooth-bore main cannon will remain part of the weapons package.

The first batch of new Leopards is slated for a Bundeswehr armored formation in Lithuania, Germany’s first permanent deployment of troops outside its borders since World War II. The unit there is part of Berlin’s contributions to securing countries on NATO’s eastern flank that are deemed vulnerable to Russian aggression.

The brigade-strong unit of 5,000 personnel is slated to achieve full operational status in 2027, coinciding with the first year of Leopard 2A8 deliveries.

Besides Germany, order books for the new Leopard are filling up, with Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Norway all planning to add the type to their armies.

The announcement comes amid a ceasefire currently in place on Israel’s northern and southern fronts with Gaza and Lebanon, respectively, and the public criticism by reservists regarding the operational capabilities of various armored vehicles at the end of the Iron Swords war.

In the first year of this two-year war, several IDF armored vehicles were damaged and, according to a military statement at the time, about 90% were returned to operational activity within a short time.

Elbit stated that the contract for the tank upgrades covers six years. The objective is an “extensive renewal of the electronic assemblies of the tanks to extend their operational service life, as well as the upgrade and enhancement of multiple onboard systems,” the company said.

Also part of the work are “high-performance, lightweight, AI-enhanced electro-optical sights that provide panoramic day- and night-time observation, along with advanced target detection, acquisition, and tracking capabilities.”

The Israeli Merkava tank series is currently in its fourth generation, and about 80% of its components are manufactured in Israel.

Until 2010 Israel refused to sell Merkava tanks, and the first and only export deal was signed by the Israeli Ministry of Defense in2014 with a foreign country that officials here have since declined to name.

In 2023 negotiations were held to sell Merkava Mark 2 and Merkava Mark 3 tanks, which were retired from IDF service, to a European country as well as a South American country whose name was also not disclosed, but talks stopped following the Iron Swords war.

Elbit’s announcement comes a day after it published its financial reports for the third quarter of the year, in which it presented a record order backlog of $25.2 billion as of the end of the quarter.

The main growth that the company presented until the end of last September was recorded in the land sector, where sales amounted to $594 million – a growth of 41% compared to the corresponding quarter. The increase was based mainly on demand from European countries, which amounted to about $536 million.

Israel accounted for about a third of the company’s total sales for the quarter, with about $642 million in revenue.

The tank contract announcement comes amid a mysterious sale to the tune of $2.3 billion, which the company reported on Nov. 17. Elbit said details of the transaction are kept under wraps at the behest of the customer.

The vulnerability to such “prompt injection attacks” exists because large language models, the backbone of chatbots that digest hordes of user text to generate responses, cannot distinguish between malicious and trusted user instructions.

“The AI is not smart enough to understand that it has an injection inside, so it carries out something it’s not supposed to do,” Liav Caspi, a former member of the Israel Defense Forces cyberwarfare unit, told Defense News.

In effect, “an enemy has been able to turn somebody from the inside to do what they want,” such as deleting records or biasing decisions, according to Caspi, who co-founded Legit Security, which recently spotted one such security hole in Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot.

“It’s like having a spy in your ranks,” he said.

Former military officials say that, with greater reliance on chatbots and hackers backed by China, Russia and other nations already instructing Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Copilot to create malware and fake personas, a prompt injection that orders the bots themselves to copy files or spread lies looms near.

Microsoft’s annual digital defense report, released last month, for the first time said, “AI systems themselves have become high-value targets, with adversaries amping up use of methods like prompt injection.”

What’s more, the problem of prompt injection has no easy solution, OpenAI and security researchers say.

An attack simply involves hiding malicious instructions — sometimes in white or tiny text — in a chatbot or content that the chatbot reads, such as a blog post or PDF.

For example, a security researcher demonstrated a prompt injection attack against OpenAI’s new AI-based browser, ChatGPT Atlas, in which the chatbot responded, “Trust No AI,” when a user asked for an analysis of a Google Docs file about horses that concealed malicious commands. Also, last month, a researcher tipped Microsoft off to a prompt injection vulnerability in Copilot that may have allowed attackers to trick the chatbot into stealing sensitive data, including emails.

In an emailed statement, Microsoft said its security team continuously tries hacking Copilot to find any prompt injection vulnerabilities, blocks users who try to exploit any found and monitors for abnormal chatbot behavior, among other tactics.

“Microsoft ensures its generative AI systems remain resilient against evolving threats for all our customers, including defense and national security,” the statement said.

Responding publicly to criticism on X, Dane Stuckey, OpenAI’s chief information security officer, wrote that “prompt injection remains a frontier, unsolved security problem, and our adversaries will spend significant time and resources to find ways to make ChatGPT agent fall for these attacks.”

Along the same lines, Caspi said, “You cannot prevent the prompt injection [fully], but you need to limit the impact.” He advised that organizations limit an AI assistant’s access to sensitive data and limit the user’s access to other organizational data.

For instance, the Army has awarded contracts worth at least $11 million to deploy Ask Sage, a tool that lets users restrict which Army data Microsoft Azure OpenAI, Gemini and other AI models can access to run queries and tasks. Ask Sage also isolates Army data from user prompts and external data sources.

Caspi, who is not an Army contractor, likened a prompt injection attack against an organization running Ask Sage to a lockdown situation where “you’ve got this insider, but it’s sitting in one room, and it can’t leave the room or carry out sensitive information.”

Andre Slonopas, a Virginia Army National Guard member and former Army cyber and information operations officer, uses Ask Sage and voiced confidence in the Army’s defensive AI tools, if not those of nuclear power plants or manufacturing entities, largely in rural, poorer areas.

The Virginia National Guard joined with essential services, such as power utilities, to help defend their networks against AI-powered cyberattacks, as part of a September simulation, given that service disruptions can jeopardize military preparations.

Typically, an adversary encrypts its network traffic to evade detection, but, for the sake of an experiment, organizers did not encrypt the AI offender’s traffic because “we wanted the blue team [of humans] to see exactly what the AI was doing,” Slonopas said.

“The blue team was absolutely defeated,” despite being able to watch the AI scanning its networks, creating fake usernames to gain unauthorized access and executing instructions to defeat the team’s systems.

“Whether the AI is doing prompt injection, spoofing or maybe even some sort of a brute force attack, the speed of AI is so unbelievably immense that simply human beings cannot counter it,” and, therefore, “you have to make cybersecurity AI more accessible and more affordable,” Slonopas said.

“If a water utility has to pay, say, $30,000 for a defensive AI license, well, it will amplify one person to be like 40″ or dozens of personnel, he said.

In response to questions, Army Cyber Command spokesperson Kyle Alvarez said in an emailed statement, “Due to the current lapse in appropriations, ARCYBER was unable to accept or respond to any media engagements or requests.”

Army contractors, too, are under attack from state-affiliated AI.

“China is using offensive AI like nobody else,” said Nicolas Chaillan, the founder of Ask Sage and a former U.S. Air Force and Space Force chief software officer.

“We see so many attacks coming after us,” all of which the company has stopped, Chaillan added.

A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the geopolitical sensitivity of the matter, said that China does “appear” to be the most skilled in offensive AI. However, the official added, AI spoofing and translation allow the United States, China, Iran, other countries, hacktivists and financial cybercriminals to masquerade as one another.

For example, the official said, “Right now, with ChatGPT, I can program in Chinese. I don’t speak Chinese, but because of the ChatGPT capabilities that I have, I can do that.”

Aliya Sternstein, J.D., is an investigative journalist who has covered technology, cognition, and national security since Napster shut down, working for various outlets including Atlantic Media, Christian Science Monitor, Daily Beast, Forbes Magazine and Just Security. She is also a research analyst at Georgetown Law.

Taking cover from insurgents, his fireteam had just assembled in the dark in front of a house in Fallujah, Iraq, when the Marines were overwhelmed by the percussive blast of an explosion. About 40 yards in front of them was a mass of flames — the fiery remains of an Iraqi vehicle. Just behind them was the smoking barrel of the 120mm cannon from an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

In the wee hours of Nov. 8, 2004, the Iraq War became very real for Bender, who was embedded with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Division. With a camera in one hand and a 9mm M9 Beretta pistol in the other, the then-20-year-old combat correspondent was momentarily deafened and disoriented by the roar of the near-simultaneous explosions.

“I had never been on the business end of an Abrams before that close,” he recalled in an interview with Military Times. “We worked with tanks for weeks and weeks after that and came to be kind of numb to it. Just being a few feet behind the barrel is much different than being a few feet in front of it as far as the overpressure and blast go.”

20 years later, the Marine Corps can still learn from Fallujah

That’s the kind of gritty realism on display in the documentary “The Last 600 Meters: The Battles of Najaf and Fallujah,” airing on PBS on Monday, the day before Veterans Day and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. The film by Michael Pack tells the story of these deadly engagements through the words and emotions of the U.S. troops who survived them.

The film gets its name from a comment made by Master Sgt. Karl R. Erickson, a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper who equates his mission with looking through his scope at a target: “Foreign policy? I don’t make it. I just deliver the last 600 meters of it.”

The rest of the documentary details what that means for the troops on the ground and in the air over these deadly battlefields, chronicling their courage, commitment and camaraderie through a bloody ordeal.

“We conducted the interviews three years after the battles when memories were fresh,” Pack said in an interview. “But it was hard time to get it on the air then. Everyone had their opinions about the war and it was clouded in politics. We strove to tell these stories without politics from the point of view of the people who were there. Maybe now is a good time to look back and remember what happened.”

What happened was some of the heaviest urban combat by the U.S. military since the 1968 Battle of Hue in Vietnam. Engaging scores of insurgent groups in an uprising similar to the Tet Offensive, U.S. forces fought from house-to-house, alley-to-alley and even face-to-face to retake the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Najaf.

In the film, Jeff Stevenson, then a Marine major, refers to the deadly close-quarters combat as a “three-block war.” Marines and soldiers had to clear each area in succession so enemy fighters would not be able to get behind them.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. military quickly defeated the armies of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. However, the fighting was not over. Insurgents flooded into the country to resist the U.S. takeover. In “The Last 600 Meters,” journalist Thomas E. Ricks described how surprised he was by the situation on the ground:

“Iraq was a much more troubled place than we realized. I remember thinking, ‘I thought this was bad. I hadn’t thought it was going to be this bad.’”

By 2004, insurgents had taken over the two cities. American troops were given the mission of recapturing them. In early August, Army and Marine units pushed into Najaf amid heavy combat. The fiercest fighting took place at the massive Wadi al-Salam cemetery, which features a series of underground tunnels and aboveground monuments — ideal hiding places for ambushes. American forces often resorted to close-quarter combat to clear the seven-square-mile graveyard.

The battle for Najaf ground on throughout the month with heavy losses on both sides. At the center of the city was the Imam Ali Shrine, where enemy fighters had taken refuge. While U.S. Air Force gunships and jets attacked the area around the holy site, Marines and soldiers participated in hand-to-hand fighting to close the gauntlet.

One of the Marines interviewed in the documentary, Lt. Seth Moulton, now a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, was leading a platoon of Marines in the basement of a building when the patrol next to him encountered insurgents. It happened so fast that the Marine on point only had time to react.

“It was so dark and the Marine was clearing this room,” Moulton said in an interview with Military Times. “This guy tried to tackle him and the Marine couldn’t get his gun on him. They got into a ground fight, so the Marine pulled out his bayonet and killed the guy.”

As commandos of the Iraqi security forces prepared to storm the shrine, a negotiated settlement brought an end to the fighting in Najaf. A few months later, U.S. forces moved into Fallujah. In April, a ceasefire was declared, though tensions remained high. On Nov. 7, the attack began anew with American troops pushing the insurgents south through the built-up city to more open terrain.

Bender accompanied India Company into what he called “a sea of violence.” Fallujah was the scene of intense house-to-house fighting against a well-armed and determined enemy.

“There were a number of firefights in open streets, engagements where the asphalt is popcorning around you,” he recalled. “You have absolutely no cover and you are running wide open, trying to return fire. It’s a humbling experience. If you don’t have a relationship with your maker before you get into a situation like that, you will during it.”

One of the most intense moments in “The Last 600 Meters” takes place at “Hell House” in Fallujah. Marines had entered the structure and were shot by insurgents from the second floor. Teams attempted to rescue the men, each in turn being pinned down by machine gun fire and grenades. Trapped, there seemed to be no way to get the wounded Marines out of the kill zone.

Finally, two Marines, 1st Lt. Jesse Grapes and Pfc. Justin Boswood, broke through a barred window of the house into another part of the room. They trained their rifles on the second floor and began blasting away.

“We start unloading on these guys upstairs and these two selfless Marines run across this kill zone — not once, not twice, but four times to pull Marines out,” Grapes said in the film. “We had some Marines who were in pretty bad shape.”

Though 11 seriously wounded were rescued and a dead Marine recovered, the two insurgents remained on the second floor. A satchel charge was used to destroy the building. As Marines inspected the rubble, they found half buried what they thought was a dead insurgent. He was still alive and threw a grenade. The team scrambled for cover, then finished off the resolute enemy fighter.

“In Fallujah, I can honestly say, wow, we certainly don’t agree with their political ideology or their religious ideology,” Grapes says on camera. “We respected the fact that they stood there and faced us and fought us.”

Fighting in Fallujah lasted until Dec. 23 in what became the bloodiest battle for U.S. forces since the Vietnam War. Though traumatic, their experiences served to link them emotionally with their brothers in arms in a way few civilians understand.

“Nothing bonds like shared suffering and sacrifice for a common cause or a higher purpose,” Bender said. “Fallujah was that for us, for those of us in the fight. Those bonds definitely endure.”

He added, “That fireteam, that squad, that battalion — they are my family from the Corps.”

“The Last 600 Meters: The Battles of Najaf and Fallujah” airs Nov. 10 on many PBS stations. It can also be viewed on the PBS app and will later be shown on Prime Video and other streaming services.

Green’s likeness and story are the inspiration behind a new Call of Duty operator bundle launching Friday, making her the first female combat veteran to be featured as a playable Call of Duty character. The bundle launches alongside the new game Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

The character, called 50/50, is outfitted with a bionic arm based on Green’s real-life prosthetic, the Hero RGD, developed by the prosthetics company Open Bionics and supported by the Call of Duty Endowment.

The Hero RGD, short for “rugged,” debuted publicly at the Call of Duty Endowment Bowl in Las Vegas in September. It’s the world’s most advanced bionic arm built for strength and durability, but for Green, it represents much more than technology.

“I love my bionic arm. It gives me balance, it makes me feel whole,” Green said in an interview with Military Times. “As a combat veteran wearing this arm in public, I know it’s about more than just me. Little girls who have lost a limb see someone like them moving forward with confidence.”

Green lost her left arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on May 25, 2004. Being left-handed, she had to relearn everything, from writing to daily tasks.

Her prosthetic is the first of its kind, combining titanium joints and high-strength nylon with a fully wireless muscle-sensor system that allows her to move the hand with speed and precision, according to Open Bionics. The Hero RGD can lift up to 77 pounds and is twice as fast as any other bionic limb available.

The custom version she wears features personalized details, including the date of her injury engraved on the arm, the coordinates of Mount Kilimanjaro, which she recently climbed, and a purple wedding band on the in-game operator, inspired by the one her team recovered from the battlefield after her injury.

Samantha Payne, Open Bionics co-founder and CEO, said she had followed Green’s story for years through her work with the Wounded Warrior Project and immediately knew she was the right person to represent the company’s latest design.

“She exudes strength and a vibrant, live-your-best-life energy,” Payne said. “She is all about living with confidence and helping others overcome. What a wonderful person to align with.”

Payne explained that the Hero RGD was developed over four years at a cost of approximately $2 million. Engineers aimed to make it the strongest, fastest and most reliable prosthetic ever produced.

“Our users are makers, parents, veterans, and builders. They are busy and active. We wanted to build something that could keep up with them,” Payne said. “The RGD is built like a Toyota Camry and runs like a Ferrari. You can’t destroy it.”

Open Bionics continues to expand access to its devices through partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The company confirmed that the VA funds the Hero RGD for eligible veterans and encourages those interested to reach out directly to begin the process.

“We are actively fitting veterans right now,” Payne said. “If you need a prosthetic, contact us. We can help you get one of these through the VA.”

Green’s collaboration with Call of Duty began when the Endowment and Open Bionics partnered to showcase a real veteran’s story through gaming.

“When the Endowment reached out, we saw an opportunity to celebrate a true hero,” Payne said. “This technology was designed to keep up with how veterans live and work, and Danielle embodies that perfectly.”

For Green, the project is also a way to connect with other veterans who are navigating life after service.

“In the military, we never leave anyone behind, and that’s how I see this project,” she said. “This is my way of helping hundreds of thousands of veterans who are looking for a new purpose in life.”

Dan Goldenberg, executive director of the Call of Duty Endowment, said the partnership with Open Bionics and Green represents exactly what the nonprofit strives to highlight.

“It is easy to tell stories of beaten-down veterans or incredible heroics,” Goldenberg said. “But the quiet heroics of pushing through difficulty and going on to do great things are just as important. Veterans are an asset to their communities, and Danielle’s story helps us show that.”

Since 2009, the Call of Duty Endowment has placed over 150,000 veterans in high-quality civilian jobs through its network of top-performing nonprofits. Veterans seeking employment can visit the Endowment’s website for free career support, including résumé help and interview coaching through vetted partner organizations.

Green’s story and her in-game representation now connect two worlds that rarely intersect: veterans’ recovery and mainstream entertainment.

Proceeds from her new operator bundle will support the endowment’s mission to help veterans find meaningful work.

“This isn’t the end of my story,” Green said. “It’s just a new chapter. We are not talking about surviving anymore. We are talking about thriving.”

The son of a German immigrant father, Huchthausen was a rising star in the field of architecture. His strong grasp of design principles and enthusiasm for history brought him accolades for his work and professional success. After receiving a Master’s degree from Harvard, he worked in New York and Boston and eventually became an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota.

Becoming a Monuments Man

Huchthausen’s German heritage was important to him. He studied abroad in Germany on a fellowship for Harvard prior to the war and mastered the language with native proficiency as he worked alongside German museum professionals. His connection with the German language and culture would later become vital to his success as a U.S. Army Monuments Man tasked with preserving valuable historical artifacts.

After World War II broke out, Huchthausen, then age 38, volunteered for military service in 1942, joining the U.S. Army Air Forces. His service in the USAAF would be short-lived, however. Wounded badly by a V-1 “flying bomb” in London in June 1944, he joined the U.S. Army’s European Civil Affairs Division and was selected as a talented candidate for the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program, whose officers were popularly known as “the Monuments Men.” As the Battle of the Bulge raged in December 1944, Huchthausen joined the Ninth Army as its Monuments officer.

Attaining the rank of captain, he was nicknamed “Hutch” by his comrades, who likely struggled to pronounce his German last name.

Huchthausen communicated well with German POWs and local civilians and thus, within a relatively short timeframe, he was able to locate 30 hidden caches of art stashed away by Nazi officials — salvaging both historical German artifacts and looted objects from occupied countries. He was known for being especially hardworking and was admired by his colleagues for his organizational talents and attention to detail.

In the ruins of a royal city

After working briefly in France, he distinguished himself after arriving in the shattered ruins of Aachen, a city ripped apart both by external and internal strife. Its history as the citadel of Emperor Charlemagne, the first ruler of what would become the Holy Roman Empire, gave it special status — not only to locals but to Adolf Hitler, who saw it as a propaganda symbol.

As the U.S. Army approached, Hitler ordered the city to be defended to the last man and destroyed totally rather than surrendered. Local civilians were at first prevented from evacuating by the Schutzstaffel, better known as the SS, and subsequently forced from their homes as Nazi officials prepared for a deadly siege that began in early September and became one of the war’s bloodiest urban battles.

Treated brutally by the SS, many civilians hid in various locations inside the city and tried to break out to safety later. Photos taken by the U.S. Army during the battle of Aachen note that elderly German residents were fired upon by Nazis with automatic weapons as they tried to flee. American soldiers later rescued several infirm elderly women who were nearly gunned down while trying to escape through the ruins.

Once a magnificent structure with its own treasure chamber, Aachen’s cathedral had already suffered bombing damage throughout the war. In the early war years it had been protected by local German youths who formed a volunteer fire brigade to preserve the church.

However, the cathedral was on its last legs. The ferocious battle that ended on Oct. 21 had seen tanks tear through the city and buildings ripped apart by shellfire. The cathedral was in danger of collapse.

Saving the cathedral

Arriving in January 1945, Huchthausen came to the rescue. Creating his own headquarters in the city’s Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, he set about identifying and collecting the cathedral’s numerous altarpieces and artifacts to preserve them. Huchthausen successfully organized and led local German civilians to locate missing objects and start repairing the site.

He used his architectural expertise to rescue what he could. Under his leadership, civilians repaired the roof, preserved paintings and covered bomb-damaged windows. He successfully reinforced the cathedral’s buttresses to stop them from caving in and strengthened the interior structure — saving it from collapse.

Challenged by a reporter about why he cared about preserving a site in the Third Reich, Huchthausen replied that its history was world heritage. “Aachen Cathedral belongs to the world and if we can prevent it from falling in ruins…we are doing a service to the world,” he said.

Killed in action

Tragically, that statement defining his approach to his work was published two days after Huchthausen was killed in action on April 2, 1945. Working closely behind the Ninth Army’s frontlines, Huchthausen and his assistant Lt. Sheldon Keck, formerly a conservator of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, were driving in search of a stolen artifact when they came under fire from a machine gun. Huchthausen was killed instantly, falling on top of his comrade as the vehicle overturned. Keck survived.

Fellow Monuments Man Maj. Walker Hancock wrote a touching tribute to Huchthausen after his death. “The buildings that Hutch hoped, as a young architect, to build will never exist,” he wrote, “but the few people who saw him at his job — friend and enemy — must think more of the human race because of him.”

Huchthausen is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Holland, and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster.

The 50-50 joint venture between the Italian and German firms has signed to supply 21 Rheinmetall Lynx tracked fighting vehicles, part of an eventual planned order of 1,050 vehicles by the Italian army.

David Hoeder, the executive chairman of Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles, said the deal “brings the two companies, as well as two of Europe’s largest countries, closer together. Cooperation is not optional anymore – it is the very essence of our European strategic sovereignty.”

Last year the companies agreed to team up to build the Lynxs and 272 copies of Rheinmetall’s Panther tanks – a €23 billion deal to renew the Italian army’s near-obsolete tracked vehicle inventory.

Both programs will involve assembly in Italy and the use of Leonardo components.

Italy weighs using EU defense loan on new tanks, eying Hungary team-up

The firms said the first five of the Lynx’s would feature the Lance turret while the remaining 16 would be equipped with Leonardo’s Hitfist 30mm turret.

In January this year, the firms said the first five vehicles would be delivered by the end of 2025, adding that Leonardo’s new 30mm X-Gun would also be mounted. The Italian company is also expected to install its own C4I system, electro optic sensor and radar as well as radio.

The Lynx will be produced for Italy in five variants which will in turn carry out 16 roles between them. The variants are: 120mm, 30mm, Mortar, Air Defense and Non-Turreted.

Formerly known as the AICS program by the Italian army, the Lynx purchase is now known as the A2CS – Army Armored Combat System program.

The change, issued by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll last week, compresses what sometimes can be a slow, inconsistent process for tracking soldiers with unknown whereabouts and involves law enforcement sooner.

Commanders now have 48 hours to determine if a soldier’s disappearance is voluntary or the result of something more serious or sinister. During that window, Army leaders are required to alert local Army law enforcement, enter the soldier’s name into the National Crime Information Center database and issue a “be on the lookout” notice and request help from local civilian police.

If the absent soldier is not found after two days, commanders must determine, by a “preponderance of evidence,” the directive says, whether the soldier’s status will change to AWOL, or Absent Without Authorized Leave, or missing under the casualty code DUSTWUN, known as Duty Status - Whereabouts Unknown.

Commanders are told to report as missing any soldier who “indicates the potential for self-harm and is not located during the initial 48 hours,” according to the new policy.

Before this new policy, commanders had 24 hours to account for a soldier before declaring them AWOL unless there was evidence that the disappearance was not voluntary.

The change follows years of criticism after high-profile cases, like the disappearance of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, exposed systemic failures in the Army’s response to missing soldiers. Guillén vanished from a Texas base in 2020 and the Army was initially criticized for perceived lack of urgency around the case.

Her body was discovered months later and the outrage that followed led to an independent committee review, which found that “inaction in critical areas,” had taken root over time, creating what the commission called a “paradigm of benign neglect.”

Natalie Khawam Case, the attorney who represented Guillén and her family, commended the policy update but lamented that it came too late for her client.

“If they had this policy in place at the time Vanessa went missing, the Army would have quickly contacted the police and actually started searching for her themselves,” she told Military Times.

Khawam Case admitted there are no guarantees it would have saved Guillén but she could not help but wonder.

“You never know, it could have prevented her death,” she said.