Meredith Roaten

Johnson City

Land Warfare Reporter at Janes

defense reporter; watching long form video essays on fire tornados in my spare time; formerly @NPR Washington Desk, @gwhatchet

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Articles

US Marine Corps platoon details ACV manoeuvrability, lethality improvements

4 days ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

Amphibious Assault Vehicles swam in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Camp Pendleton, California, during Exercise ‘Quarterly Underway Amphibious Readiness Training 25.3'. (Janes/Meredith Roaten) Marines training to go on the second deployment of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) told Janes the new equipment drives and swims better than the legacy system.
Golden Dome missile defence to cost estimated USD175 billion

2 weeks ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

Boeing-built Ground-Based Midcourse Defense ‚Äď which came into the fleet in 2004 ‚Äď is one of the missile defence capabilities that Golden Dome is expected to modernise. (Boeing)The new vision for missile defence architecture, Golden Dome, is expected to come with a USD175 billion price tag, US President Donald Trump announced on 20 May. Part of that total cost will come from a USD25 billion funding line in the budget reconciliation legislation that is now working its way through Congress.
Pentagon budget 2026: US President Trump to request USD961.6 billion for DoD

1 month ago | janes.com | Zach Rosenberg |Michael Fabey |Carlo Munoz |Meredith Roaten

USS Arkansas, a Virginia-class attack submarine, is scheduled to be launched in 2025. The FY 2026 budget request likely contains funding for additional Virginia-class submarines.
USMC to buy Smart Shooter fire control for interim capability

1 month ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

The US Marine Corps plans to buy 84 kits of the Smart Shooter 2000L for a C-UAS capability for dismounted forces. (Janes/Meredith Roaten) After reprogramming at least USD10 million from its air-defence portfolio, the US Marine Corps (USMC) is buying 84 kits of Smart Shooter fire-control system SMASH 2000L as an interim capability for its dismounted counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) requirement, a service official told Janes on 30 April.
Multi-purpose UGV requirement under development for US Marine Corps

1 month ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

American Rheinmetall Vehicles displayed its first prototype of the Mission Master UGV upgraded for swimming in the surf zone. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)The US Marine Corps (USMC) is looking for an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that can conduct more than one mission, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Humr, deputy director for Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems, announced on 29 April.
US Army kicks off expanded NBC sensor upgrades beyond Stryker

1 month ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

The US Armyâs M1135 Stryker's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) Sensor Suite Upgrade is made up of a FLIR Defense R80D SkyRaider drone integrated with FLIR's MUVE B330 biological detection payload. (Teledyne FLIR)As the US Army is planning upgrades to its initial sensor suite, service officials are looking towards the future and how the package can be added to other vehicles, according to a request for information (RFI) published on 9 April.
Update: Upgraded industry-funded directed energy C-UAS vehicle to appear in US Army training exercise

2 months ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

A US Army Stryker outfitted with a BlueHalo Locust laser performed a demonstration for the service taking down unmanned aircraft systems. (Leonardo DRS) An industry-funded directed energy counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) vehicle is headed to the US Army's Fires Center of Excellence later this year with upgrades, lead integrator Leonardo DRS told Janes on 21 March.
Upgraded industry-funded Directed Energy M-SHORAD to appear in US Army training exercise

2 months ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

A US Army Stryker outfitted with a BlueHalo Locust laser performed a demonstration for the service taking down unmanned aircraft systems. (Leonardo DRS) An industry-funded version of the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) platform is headed to the US Army's Fires Center of Excellence later this year with upgrades, lead integrator Leonardo DRS told Janes on 21 March.
Lawmakers suggest funding decreases for US Army ground vehicles, missile programmes

2 months ago | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Program of Record could lose some advanced procurement for the second increment of its missile if the DoD follows budget lawmaker guidance. (DVIDS) US House of Representatives (HoR) and Senate leaders want the US Army to decrease spending on some major ground vehicle programmes and add more counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) to its fleet, according to a new document obtained by Janes .
US Army to test UAS, UGV voice control through experimental units

Mar 7, 2025 | janes.com | Meredith Roaten

US Army Special Forces' soldiers are able to control UASs using their voices with Primordial Labs' Anura software. (Janes/Meredith Roaten) Soldiers will test a voice command software paired with multiple unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) as part of a series of exercises with US Army Transformation in Contact (TiC) units, executives told Janes on 27 February.