Colton Jones

Colton Jones is the deputy editor of Defence Blog. He is a US-based journalist, writer and publisher who specializes in the defense industry in North America and Europe. He has written about emerging technology in military magazines and elsewhere. He is a former Air Force airmen and served at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

German Army receives 20,000 next-generation combat helmets

German industrial group Rheinmetall has announced that Baltskin Viper helmet solution has been chosen as the next Specialised Forces Helmet (Helm SpezKr schwer; Specialised Forces are Ranger-type units of the German Army). The details were given in an...

BAE Systems awarded $184 million for ACV full-rate production

The U.S. Department of Defense and BAE Systems announced on Thursday an agreement worth about $184 million for full-rate production of long-awaited Amphibious Combat Vehicles. Per the contract, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) family of vehicles program has...

U.S. Navy completes two flight tests with the newest Tomahawk cruise missile variant

Raytheon Co., one of the world's largest defense contractors, has announced that the guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) launches a newest cruise missile variant, the Tomahawk Block V, during a missile exercise.  According to a company news...

U.S. Navy awards contract to Kratos for additional BQM-177A target drones

The U.S. Navy has awarded the target drone builder Kratos a contract modification for Full Rate Production (Lot 2) of the BQM-177A subsonic aerial target system. The deal, which was a modification to a previous contract, is worth...

U.S. Air Force to retire 17 of the oldest B-1 bombers in 2021

American plane-maker Boeing has confirmed in a recent company news release that the U.S. Air Force plans to retire 17 of the oldest B-1 B-1B Lancer bombers in 2021. As noted by the company, continuous Lancer's bomber support...

German fighter jets intercept Russian IL-20 surveillance plane

German Eurofighter jets intercepted four Russian Il-20 Coot electronic intelligence aircraft over the Baltics last week, according to a statement from the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe. The Bundeswehr confirmed that the German fighter jets intercepted Russian surveillance...

U.S. Marine Corps’ Light Armored Vehicles to receive new self-sealing fuel tanks

The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, has released a request for information for contractors interested in Self Sealing Fuel Tank (SSFT) for U.S. Marine Corps' Light Armored Vehicles. In a notice posted on the U.S. government’s main...

U.S. Army set to release new solicitation for next-generation vehicles

The U.S. Army plans to publish a new solicitation for the next-generation vehicles that will change the battlefield. According to recent notice at the U.S. government’s main contracting website, the Army Contracting Command, Army Contracting Command – Detroit...