Master Sgt. Leah Curtin had four years of experience fixing F-15 fighter jets when she showed up to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in 2014 to learn how to fix the much newer F-35 Lightning II. Despite her experience on the older jet, Curtin and her fellow maintainers soon realized that the F-35 is a different sort of beast. “We were kind of trying to figure out how to maintain this brand-new aircraft that is so different from legacy” aircraft, such as the F-15 or F-16, Curtin said.
Chinese reports described the launch of a single satellite, but the U.S. Space Force has detected three objects from the launch. The Chinese space industry and media reports suggest that the launch carried a single Yaogan 36 remote sensing satellite. However, space tracking by the U.S. Space Force's 18th Space Defense Squadron, which focuses on space domain awareness, registered three payloads in roughly 300-mile-altitude (500 km) orbits.
“On Jan. 17, 1991, America launched the most successful air campaign in history against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. At the tip of the spear in those opening attacks were several B-52s, which launched from Barksdale Air Force Base, La. and flew non-stop over 7,000 miles to hit their targets in Iraq. Since then, bombers have played a key role in nearly every subsequent conflict. The reason for this is simple: these aircraft possessed the range, payload, persistence, flexibility, and lethality commanders require to net key objectives when war erupts and results count. However, despite the unrivaled value bombers afford, America has run its investment in these aircraft too thin for too long. The B-21, which will be unveiled Dec. 2, presents a crucial opportunity to reset America’s bomber deficit,” writes retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Generational improvements to combat propulsion performance have never been more pressing for the U.S. as it seeks to ensure continued air dominance in tempestuous theaters like the Indo-Pacific. GE Aerospace's XA100 is the most advanced combat engine in the world, and if implemented it would power a strong future for the F-35.
The Pentagon is looking to hire hundreds of clinicians and mental health professionals in the coming months as part of the initial cohort of its worldwide suicide prevention workforce. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks said DOD is building up a “first-of-its-kind” suicide prevention workforce that will eventually reach an end strength of 2,000 personnel.
The Defense Intelligence Agency is pulling together a group of analysts and experts to monitor competition with China, a world power that Pentagon officials consider the leading threat to U.S. national security. John Kirchhofer, the DIA’s chief of staff, said his agency, which produces, analyzes, and disseminates military intelligence, established a “China mission group” that will reach full operational capacity early next year.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, speaks with Chief Information Officer for the Department of the Air Force Lauren Barrett Knausenberger.
The Defense Department and military services have no shortage of deliverables for 2030. There’s Army modernization, Marine Corps Force Design 2030, and the Joint Operational Training Infrastructure, or JOTI. According to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training Caroline Baxter, the department launched JOTI in 2020 with the intent of fielding by 2030 “a realistic, DoDwide training capability providing realistic, high-end, interoperable, multidomain training against a peer adversary in a contested environment.”
The air forces for the U.S. and Israel started a three-day joint exercise Nov. 29 in the skies over the Mediterranean Sea and Israel to train for potential threats in the Middle East, defense officials for both countries said. “Fighter jets and refuelers from the [Israeli Air Force] and the U.S. Air Force will take part in the exercise and simulate a number of scenarios in the face of regional threats,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Traditionally speaking, any HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter can carry two guns. They come as any combination between the GAU-2C 7.62 mm minigun, the GAU 18/A .50 caliber machine gun, or the M240 machine gun, and worked beautifully so far. Yet some people decided that’s not enough firepower and really went overboard. Some people would be the Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing’s 943rd Rescue Group who, in a bid “to bring more firepower to the fight,” can now equip Pave Hawks with an extra four machine guns.
