'There's an Arms Race': Sikorsky Nears Key 4-Year Deal for Black Hawks as Army Plans More Buys

U.S. Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Gabe Cherian, a crew chief, looks out the door of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to ensure clearance to land at the Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Sikorsky is finalizing negotiations with the Department of War to produce Black Hawks, its workhorse helicopter, in Stratford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, for another four years. Those talks come as the U.S. Army looks ahead to getting its hands on Bell Textron’s MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft called “transformational” by one officer recently and a machine that might […]

New Army Fitness Test: No More Ball Yeet, Higher Standards for Combat Arms

Sprint-drag-carry portion of the Army Combat Fitness Test

The Army is set to make sweeping changes to its fitness test, according to an internal memo obtained by Military.com. The overhaul includes a rebranding of the test, the elimination of its most criticized event, and the introduction of new performance standards for soldiers in combat roles. First, the test will no longer be the […]

The Army Needs Hundreds of Officers to Leave Combat Arms

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Romello Christian, an infantry platoon leader assigned to B Company 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, kneels behind cover with his platoon during a simulated assault as part of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Exportable (JPMRC-X) exercise at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines.

The Army is seeking 300 lieutenants from oversaturated combat arms fields to voluntarily transfer into understaffed roles. Lieutenants currently branched in armor, infantry, combat engineer and field artillery can apply between Jan. 7 and Feb. 17 to transfer to adjutant general, air defense, finance, logistics and signal corps, the service announced in November. Additionally, the […]

Congress Tells Army to Set Higher Fitness Standards for Combat Arms Soldiers

Army Combat Fitness Test at Blue Mountain Track at Fort Indiantown Gap

Congress is set to direct the Army to boost fitness standards for most combat-arms jobs through a compromise defense policy bill unveiled Wednesday. The must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets funding and policy priorities for the Pentagon, directs the service to increase the baseline standards in the Army Combat Fitness Test, or […]