Air Force Delays A-10 Retirement Until 2030
The Air Force is extending the life of the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane until at least 2030, pausing the service’s plan to retire the close air support aircraft amid active combat in the Middle East.
Pentagon Cancels $6B GPS Ground System Contract
The Pentagon has canceled its contract with RTX to field a ground segment to manage its most capable GPS satellites, a more than 15-year effort beleaguered by software development issues and cost overages.
AMC Head Looks to Pair B-21 With ‘Capable, Modern Tanker’
An Air Force study now underway could help decide the way forward for the Air Force's next-generation aerial refueling system, the acting head of Air Mobility Command said April 20.
Space Command Laying Foundation for Maneuver Warfare
U.S. Space Command has tasked a team of internal analysts with laying the foundation for a future maneuver warfare strategy that uses advanced, on-orbit mobility to “shatter the enemy’s cohesion,” the command’s top officer said April 13.
F-16 Tests ‘Rusty Dagger’ Extended-Range Missile
The Air Force recently tested the Rusty Dagger, a low-cost cruise missile, with the F-16, one of several industry offerings in the Pentagon's larger effort to field affordable weapons.
Iran War Highlights the Value of Unmanned Aircraft
MQ-9 Reapers used against Iran offer insights as the Air Force develops the next generation of unmanned planes: collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), retired Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell and Douglas A. Birkey write.
Radar Sweep
Navy’s Next Generation F/A-XX Downselect Expected in August
USNI News
The builder of the Navy’s long-awaited next-generation carrier fighter will be picked in the summer, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said April 20.
Latvia Joins the Artemis Accords
Space News
Latvia is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords as part of a new push to use the Accords to foster cooperation on NASA’s lunar exploration ambitions.
Army’s HADES Spy Plane on Track for First Delivery Later This Year
Defense One
The Army’s next-generation spy plane will begin flight tests this summer, then be delivered to the first units later this year.
Caregivers Need Greater Support to Help Assist Veterans, Watchdog Finds
Task & Purpose
Caregivers of seriously injured veterans often don’t know about the mental health support available to them through the Department of Veterans Affairs, which can put additional strain on them and those they care for, according to a recent federal watchdog report.
Iran Talks on Shaky Footing After US Seizure of Ship in Strait of Hormuz
The Washington Post
A second round of face-to-face peace talks between the United States and Iran, planned for this week in Pakistan, remain on shaky footing after Iranian officials threatened not to attend following the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
Trump: ’Lots of Bombs Start Going Off’ if Iran Ceasefire Expires
PBS News
President Donald Trump told PBS News on April 20 that if the ceasefire with Iran expires on April 21, "then lots of bombs start going off.”
Removing Iran’s Enriched Uranium Would Be Difficult—But It Has Been Done Before
The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. has hard-earned experience in shipping highly enriched uranium from foreign countries, but it would confront unique challenges in removing nuclear material from Iran. The U.S. removed 600 kilograms of 90 percent highly enriched uranium from a plant in Kazakhstan in a secret 1994 operation dubbed Project Sapphire. Planes were refueled in flight three times so that the nuclear cargo wouldn’t need to spend time on foreign airfields before arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They were the longest C-5 flights in history.