The Air Force is planning to buy Chinese-made DJI drones for training purposes at a Wyoming air base that houses Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

DARPA is asking for submissions for a scramjet-powered missile that can fly more than five times the speed of sound and also evade advanced missile interceptors.

Submissions would “integrate a 50mm ammunition solution to effectively track, engage and defeat Class 1, 2, and 3 UAS threats.” 

More than 100,000 Cold War-era M14 rifles will be sold to the public early next year by the federally approved distribution program.

Steve Feinberg, the deputy secretary of defense, said the department is targeting accelerated or increased procurement for critical programs including wide-area surveillance, air-defense sensors and interceptors, and missile-tracking systems.

The announcement marks the latest in the Pentagon’s efforts to speed weapons testing and production.

The proposal is part of a Pentagon effort to reduce the cost difference between relatively inexpensive incoming enemy drones and the weapons the U.S. has used to shoot them down.  

The deals with Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are expected to allow production of the Patriot and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to triple and quadruple.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a cheaper Patriot missile that would help the U.S. and Ukraine combat supply shortages and unsustainable costs.

The U.S. Army deployed its new hypersonic missile, the Dark Eagle, on Guam during an exercise in June, according to U.S. Pacific Command.