Colton Jones

Colton Jones serves as Deputy Editor of Defence Blog, with a specialization in the U.S. defense industrial base. A former member of the United States Air Force, Colton brings firsthand military experience to his analysis of procurement, defense manufacturing, and Pentagon policy. He is one of the blog’s lead writers and most respected defense experts.
Aviation

Lockheed Martin gets $50M missile production deal

The United States Department of War awarded Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control a $50,5 million contract modification on Feb. 12, 2026, supporting continued procurement of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM), according...
Maritime Security

REGENT builds Squire autonomous seaglider drone

U.S.-based innovation company REGENT unveiled its new autonomous unmanned surface and aerial vehicle, known as “Squire,” during a briefing attended by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and senior defense officials in Quonset, Rhode Island. The presentation took...
Aviation

Pentagon awards BAE $145M counter-drone contract

The United States Department of War has awarded BAE Systems a contract with a ceiling of $145 million for the development, manufacturing, and delivery of Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems weapon systems, the department announced Feb. 11, 2026. The...
Army

U.S. Army tests next-generation NGRAP artillery shell

United States Army Yuma Proving Ground is conducting live-fire tests of the Next Generation Rocket Assisted Projectile, a new 155mm artillery round designed to replace the legacy M549A1 and extend the range of current howitzer systems. According to...
Army

Fort Benning hosts Army robotic systems tactics course

The United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Fort Benning launched the first pilot of the Robotic Autonomous Systems Leader Tactics Course (RASLT) on Feb. 10 as part of Army-wide Transforming in Contact initiatives. The three-week...
Army

DARPA launches CLARA high-assurance AI program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon's research and technology arm, issued a solicitation for its Compositional Learning-And-Reasoning for AI Complex Systems Engineering (CLARA) program, inviting proposals for high-assurance artificial intelligence research. The solicitation was released...
Army

U.S. Army seeks counter-drone systems for Red Sands trials

The U.S. Army issued a Request for Information to support market research for the Red Sands Hard Kill Challenge 2026, focused on countering Group 1–3 small unmanned aerial systems, including activities at the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation...
Army

U.S. Air Force buys Chimera FPV drones for special unit

The United States Air Force is buying Chimera small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) from Oak Grove Technologies under a sole-source justification to meet an urgent operational requirement for the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. According...
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