The Pentagon’s top general offered a rare critique of Israel’s war strategy on May 20, warning Israeli troops’ failure to hold ground they had taken from Hamas in northern Gaza could have long-term effects. “Not only do you have to actually go in and clear out whatever adversary you are up against, you have to go in, hold the territory and then you’ve got to stabilize it,” said Gen. C.Q. Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, drawing on his years in the Middle East.
The top U.S. general in Afghanistan during the American military’s 2021 withdrawal repeatedly warned Washington that security would get “very bad, very fast” after troops departed, but the Biden administration still failed to grasp the danger in keeping its embassy open with only nominal protection, he told lawmakers investigating the war’s deadly endgame.
In recent days both Pentagon CIO John Sherman and the House Armed Services Committee have pushed new policies to speed the adoption of commercial software by the Department of Defense. That’s great as far as it goes, DOD and industry officials said at a recent conference. But they argued that beyond cutting red tape, the chronically overworked officials certifying commercial software as cybersecure and safe for government networks also need the technical tools and computing environments to test the software properly.
Recent comments by the Space Force’s top general would suggest the military is growing skeptical of the benefits of in-orbit satellite refueling services offered by the commercial industry. But a senior official said May 17 the military remains very interested in satellite refueling, particularly for high-value geostationary satellites that could gain strategic advantages through increased mobility and longevity.
“Is China building out a satellite network in geosynchronous Earth orbit while deploying a fleet of robot guardians to patrol them? In his final appearance before Congress as assistant defense secretary for space policy, on May 1, John Plumb appeared to suggest as much,” write David D. Chen, a senior analyst for BluePath Labs, and Peter W. Singer, a strategist at New America.
The U.S. Air Force is working in conjunction with the U.S. Space Force and the Air Force Research Laboratory to mount up to seven telescopes in a state conservation district [in Hawaii]. The telescopes would be used to track satellites and other objects in space over the Pacific, the agencies say. An optics lab would also be built.
“An unseen battle rages to preserve the military’s capability for combat in today’s tense global environment. Our nation’s military mental health professionals are at the forefront of this fight—indispensable assets shouldering immense emotional burdens as they fortify the resilience and well-being of those who guard our freedom,” writes Lt. Col. Elisha Parkhill Pippin, an Active-Duty licensed clinical social worker in the U.S. Air Force.
Aurora Flight Sciences has unveiled a refined concept for a fan-in-wing high-speed vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft as it receives funding to proceed to a preliminary design review under a DARPA project to fly an X-plane demonstrator.
Headlines swirled after high-level envoys from the U.S. and Chinese governments met in Geneva last week for their first-ever official bilateral dialogue on artificial intelligence, following an agreement Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping made in November. At the same time, over in Thailand, a lesser-known, well-planned, and deeper-diving exchange on AI also unfolded between professionals from America and China, outside of official channels.
The remains of a hiker who went missing in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado were identified as a 23-year-old Space Force Guardian who was stationed at Schriever Space Force Base. Space Force Sgt. Lucas Macaj was found May 16 on Mills Glacier, near the base of Lamb's Slide within the national park.
Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, finally rocketed into space 60 years later, flying with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company on May 19. Dwight was an Air Force pilot when President John F. Kennedy championed him as a candidate for NASA’s early astronaut corps. But he wasn’t picked for the 1963 class. Dwight, now 90, went through a few minutes of weightlessness with five other passengers aboard the Blue Origin capsule as it skimmed space on a roughly 10-minute flight. He called it “a life changing experience.”
