The 2023 Defence Media Awards

The Winners and Finalists for the 2023 Defence Media Awards

Best Young Journalist – sponsored by NAMMO

Ryan Finnerty

Justin Katz

Irene Loewenson

Josh Luckenbaugh

Winner - Mark Pomerleau

Brandi Vincent

The Best Rotorcraft submission – sponsored by SAIC

Andrew Drwiega -Budget Verses Necessity - How New, How Soon? – Asian Military Review

Winner - Alex Hollings - Did the Army make the right choice with the V-280 Valor? - Sandboxx News

Gareth Jennings - Need for speed: Western militaries seek to expand the envelope of rotorcraft performance - Janes Defence and Intelligence Review

Jen Judson - US Army makes largest helicopter award in 40 years - Defense News

Alex Mladenov - Ukraine’s Army Aviation in Action - Antares

Glenn Sands - Battlefield Born - Air International

The Best Military Propulsion Submission

Mikayla Easley - Physics and cost are shaping Pentagon’s hypersonics paths - DefenseScoop

Alex Hollings - DARPA's new missile hints at truly game-changing technology - Sandboxx News

Jon Lake - The Light Blue Goes Green - Air International

Stephen Losey - The F-35 engine is at a crossroads, with billions of dollars for industry at stake - Defense News

Stew Magnuson - Need for Speed: Air Force Labs Pursue More Powerful, Efficient Engines - National Defense Magazine

Winner - Laura Winter - There’s No Need To Be So Toxic! - The Downlink

The Best Naval Systems Submission - sponsored by General Dynamics

Harry Lye - Dull, Dirty and Dangerous - Shephard Media

Laura Heckmann - Expeditionary Expectations: Navy, Marine Corps at Odds Over Fleet Requirements - National Defense Magazine

Sidharth Kaushal - Sinking Feeling – How Vulnerable are Modern Warships to Anti-Ship Weapons? - European Security & Defence

Winner - Chris Cavas and Chris Servello - The CAVASShips Weekly Podcast

Doug Richardson - Trident II and Standard Missile 6 set Landmarks in Missile Performance - European Security & Defence

Suman Sharma - Directed Energy Weapons at Sea - European Security & Defence

The Best Training, Simulation and Readiness Submission – sponsored by CAE

Giles Ebbutt - Tech refresh: British Army overhauls its simulation capability for a new approach to training - Jane's International Defence Review

Tim Guest - Rescue Beneath the Surface - European Security & Defence

Alex Hollings - An exclusive look at how the Army is training drill sergeants for a new era - Sandboxx News

Winner - Justin Katz & Valerie Insinna - ‘A bloody mess’ with ‘terrible loss of life’: How a China-US conflict over Taiwan could play out - Breaking Defense
  David Oliver - Training at a Higher Level - Armada International

Davis Winkie and Colin Demarest - GI Gmail: US Army launches Google Workspace for troops - Army Times/C4ISRNET

The Best Breaking News Submission - sponsored by BAE Systems

Winner - Mark Cazalet - Assessing the Causes of the Przewodów Incident - European Security & Defence

Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer - Turkey Gives Cluster Bombs to Ukraine - Foreign Policy

Justin Katz & Colin Clark - US Senators raise red flags on AUKUS - Breaking Defense

Stephen Losey - ‘Deterrence the American way’: The new B-21 bomber debuts - Defense News

Steve Trimble - Hobby Club’s Missing Balloon Feared Shot Down By USAF - Aviation Week Network

Davis Winkie - Army pulls ‘Be all you can be’ ads after on-screen narrator arrested - Army Times

The Best Digital Submission - sponsored by McKinsey & Company

Winner - Aviation Week Team - Check 6 Podcast

Breaking Defense's coverage of IDEX

Alex Hollings - Why China and Russia can track the F-35 - Sandboxx on YouTube

Jonathan Lehrfeld, Zamone Perez and Jessica Edwards - Allies to unite to train Ukraine on F-16s - Military Times

Vago Muradian - The Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable

Laura Winter - The Downlink

The Best Land Systems Submission - sponsored by Northrop Grumman

Gordon Arthur - Best of Both Worlds - Shephard Media

Sam Cranny-Evans - Lessons from Ukraine: Armoured Fighting Vehicles - European Security & Defence

Winner -  Jen Judson - Futures Command faces identity crisis as Army shifts mission - Defense News

Kapil Kajal - Battle lines: Indian Army's shift to quick-hitting offensive capability - Janes Defence Weekly

Julian Nettlefold - Mobile Fires Platform– Review of The UK Heavy Artillery Requirement - BATTLESPACE

Mark Pomerleau - Army working to reduce network complexity for brigades and lower level formations - DefenseScoop

The Best Defence Electronics Submission -sponsored by W. L. Gore & Associates

Massimo Annati - Naval Launchers for Chaff-Decoys – Naval units’ main protection from missile attacks - Military Technology

Sydney Freedberg - Dumb and cheap: When facing electronic warfare in Ukraine, small drones’ quantity is quality - Breaking Defense

Bryant Harris - After years of inattention, Congress scrambles to save defense supply chain - Defense News

Mark Pomerleau - The Army has big plans for electronic warfare procurement in fiscal 2024 - DefenseScoop

Richard Scott - Sense and survive: MEWP recapitalization sets a new course for Royal Navy EW capability - AOC Journal of Electromagnetic Dominance

Winner - Thomas Withington - Edge Cases - Shephard Media

The Best Military MRO Submission – sponsored by Northrop Grumman

Shaun Connors - The Long Road - European Security & Defence

Gerrard Cowan - Data for upkeep: Predictive maintenance seeks to leverage AI, digital twins - Janes International Defence Review

Brian Everstine - How Boeing Will Fix the KC-46’s Biggest Issues - Aviation Week Network

Valerie Insinna - ‘It has to work’: Inside the military’s race to solve an ejection seat safety conundrum - Breaking Defense

Winner - Flavia Camargos Pereira - Downloadable Weaponry - Shephard Media

Babak Taghvaee - Keeping Iran’s Phantoms Flying - AirForces Monthly

The Best National Security Space Submission

Courtney Albon - US Space Force plan for rapid satellite launches may finally take off - C4ISRNET

Winner - Theresa Hitchens - International meeting could imperil Pentagon’s radar, intel-gathering systems - Breaking Defense

Garrett Reim and Brian Everstine - Big Military Sats Look For A Place Amid The Smallsat Trend - Aviation Week and Space Technology

Doug Richardson - Space is No Sanctuary - European Security & Defence

Brandi Vincent - From Z-grams to C-notes: Inside Gen. Saltzman’s unique approach to leading America’s digitally focused Space Force - DefenseScoop

Laura Winter - Four Part series on war in space - The Downlink

The Best Un-Manned Systems Submission – sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Winner - Samuel Bendett - The State of Autonomy, AI & Robotics for Russia’s Ground Vehicles - European Security & Defence

Ryan Finnerty - Iranian-made drones recovered in Ukraine contain US components – FlightGlobal

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo - Agnostic’ drone guns can secure US infrastructure, manufacturer says - C4ISRNET

Jon Harper - Air Force preparing for ‘tethered’ and ‘untethered’ CCA drone operations - DefenseScoop

Agnes Helou - As UAV tech spreads, Gulf firms bet on upgrades with drone-to-satellite links - Breaking Defense

Stew Magnuson - Kamikaze Drones: Loitering Munitions Proliferate as Tech Changes Battlefield - National Defense Magazine

The Best Military Aviation Submission - sponsored by Honeywell

Tomas Chlebecek - Mission Not Accomplished – Russian Aerospace - Military Technology

Peter Felstead - Eurofighter Approaches True Maturity as a Combat Air Platform - European Security & Defence

Ed Hunt - Development Direction - Shephard Media

Winner - Reuben Johnson - A Russian Su-34 accidentally bombed a Russian city. Here’s what it tells us about Putin’s forces. - Breaking Defense

Akhil Kadidal - Scorched earth: Myanmar Air Force increases airstrikes across country - Janes Defence Weekly

Davis Winkie - Army’s about-face on contracts extends aviation officers’ service - Army Times

The Best Technology Submission – sponsored by L3Harris

Winner - Sean Carberry - Energetics: Community Warns of China’s Edge Developing Explosive Materials - National Defense Magazine

Mark Cazalet - Dagger Fallen – Assessing Ukraine’s Downing of the Kinzhal Missile - European Security & Defence

Mark Pomerleau - XVIII Airborne Corps, other units test their data prowess at Scarlet Dragon exercise - DefenseScoop

Richard Scott - Breathing fire: UK DragonFire turns the dial on high-power LDEW development - Janes International Defence Review

Brandi Vincent - As it helps combat unlawful fishing internationally, NGA is ‘posturing’ for an AI-driven future – DefenseScoop

Laura Winter - There’s No Need To Be So Toxic! - The Downlink

The Best Cyber Security Submission - sponsored by The Sierra Nevada Corporation

Winner - Gerrard Cowan - Digital future: How cyber will impact multidomain operations - Janes Defence Weekly

Colin Demarest - Advance work in Ukraine blunted Russian cyber advantage, US says - C4ISRNET

Jaspreet Gill - Zero Trust is the Pentagon’s new cyber buzzword. It might not have stopped the Discord leaks. - Breaking Defense

Mark Pomerleau - Digital defenders: A look at the evolution and elevation of America’s Cyber National Mission Force - DefenseScoop

Davis Winkie and Colin Demarest - US Army app with Russian code reaped no user data, service says - Army Times/C4ISRNET

Thomas Withington - Connection Protection - European Security & Defence

The Best Mobile Combat Systems Submission - sponsored by Elbit Systems of America

Sam Cranny-Evans - The Role of Wheeled Vehicles in Peer Conflict and the Tracks vs Wheels Debate - European Security & Defence

Sidney E. Dean - SITREP – The US Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) - European Security & Defence

Jon Harper - Army’s new M10 Booker combat vehicle could receive AI upgrades to aid targeting - DefenseScoop

Alex Hollings - The S-400 myth: Why Russia's air defense prowess is exaggerated - Sandboxx News

Flavia Camargos Pereira - Shielding the infantry - Shephard Media

Winner - Ashley Roque - Last stand for IVAS? New challenges, delays as Army debates future of augmented reality goggles - Breaking Defense

The John Morrocco Award for Best In-depth Defence Reporting - sponsored by Boeing

Sean Carberry - A Convergence in the Pacific: Allies Flex Muscles During RIMPAC Exercise - National Defense Magazine

Jack Detsch - How Ukraine Modernized Its Post-Soviet Military - Foreign Policy

Robbie Gramer and Christina Liu - How Everyone in Washington Became a China Hawk - Foreign Policy

Winner - Shashank Joshi - Battlefield Lessons - Warfare after Ukraine - The Economist

David Saw - Demand and Supply - The Complexities of Artillery and Artillery Ammunition Supply and the War in the Ukraine - European Security & Defence

Judges Commendation - Hope Seck - Robots, Marines and the Ultimate Battle with Bureaucracy - POLITICO Magazine

Davis Winkie - Numbers game: Inside the Army’s end strength scramble - Army Times

Laura Winter - The future of war in space - The Downlink

The Outstanding Achievement Award - sponsored by RTX

The recipients of the Outstanding Achievement Award were Stephen Trimble and David Isby

 A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to David Oliver

The 2024 Defence Media Awards will presented at the National Press Club on the evening of 13^th October.