Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on April 9 rebuffed arguments that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, saying he’s seen no evidence to suggest it. “We don’t have any evidence of genocide being [committed]” by Israel in Gaza, Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a budget hearing, where his testimony was interrupted several times by protesters.
The Kremlin said on April 9 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping plan to have contacts but it gave no time frame for a possible Putin visit to Beijing. Asked about a possible Putin visit to China, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Beijing could be seen as preparation for “upcoming contacts at the highest level.”
The State Department has greenlighted an emergency $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv’s Hawk missile systems. The U.S. announced the move April 9 saying that Ukraine has an urgent need for the maintenance support to keep the missile system running.
The Pentagon has provided Ukraine with thousands of Iranian-origin weapons seized en route to Houthi militants in Yemen, U.S. officials said April 9, marking the Biden administration’s latest infusion of emergency support for Kyiv while a multibillion-dollar aid package remains stalled in Congress.
While the Pentagon is standing up a new Joint Task Force-Micronesia under the direction of a two-star admiral, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers his team is still studying the pros and cons of a regional, operational joint force headquarters. “What I’ve asked my team to do is look at this and do an assessment to make sure that we get it right, and we understand the operational and cost issues,” Austin told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee today.
Access to affordable housing, reliable child care, and top public schools in communities near bases where military families reside contribute to military readiness and retention, said Sharene Brown, the wife of Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She emphasized April 9 during a panel discussion at the American Defense Communities’ national summit that community-based resources have value for service members.
In episode 176 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, host John “Slick” Baum and team explore key takeaways from the 2025 Air Force and Space Force budget requests. Congress also needs to ensure Airmen and Guardian end strength is aligned with demand. The reality is that the defense budget caps drove hard choices for this cycle and it’s crucial that Congress reconsider the levels of risk in play and align funding accordingly.
The Air Force reduced budget projections for its next-generation stealth bomber, Northrop Grumman Corp.’s B-21 Raider, by under $2 billion over the next two fiscal years thanks in part to lower prices negotiated with contractors.
Senior Airman Kostiantyn “KK” Khymchenko barely spoke a word of English when he arrived in the U.S. from Ukraine in 2019. A little less than three years later, Khymchenko’s translations during multiple deployments may have helped save countless lives and other resources since Russia launched a military invasion of neighboring Ukraine in early 2022.
Last fall, a Space Force guardian went where no one from the newest military branch had gone before: Army Ranger School. Space Force Capt. Daniel Reynolds in October became the first in his service to graduate from the prestigious training program, setting a precedent for other guardians and further cementing the service’s place in the joint force. That trailblazing accomplishment earned Reynolds Military Times’ 2024 Guardian of the Year award.
The National Reconnaissance Office will soon launch the first group of satellites to begin building the spy agency’s future network of intelligence satellites. “We've already launched a number of demonstration satellites over the last few years to verify cost and performance….This launch will be the first launch of an actual operational system. This system will increase timeliness of access, diversity of communication pathways, and enhance our resilience,” said Troy Meink, the principal deputy director of the NRO.
A proposed transfer of Air National Guard space units into the Space Force will not set a precedent that will allow other services to absorb portions of the Guard, the Air Force’s top leader said April 9. The Defense Department on March 29 delivered a legislative proposal to Congress detailing the move, which would require Congress to override existing law that mandates a governor’s approval for changes to a Guard unit. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told lawmakers the proposed transfer would involve around 700 Guard members, who will eventually settle into roles in the Space Force.
The Pentagon’s first tranche of systems for its secretive Replicator initiative includes counter-drone assets in addition to different-sized unmanned surface vessels and loitering munitions, DefenseScoop has learned. Since unveiling the effort in August 2023, Defense Department leadership has declined to publicly identify specific Replicator-enabling systems and programs. But broadly, it all marks the U.S. military’s new and ambitious plan to counter China’s military buildup by fielding thousands of “autonomous” systems across multiple warfighting domains by August 2025.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed the need to invest in housing when pressed April 9 on how the Pentagon will ensure that any privatized barracks are not plagued with the same problems as privatized military family housing. Appearing at a wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin was asked by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., about how proposals to privatize barracks will avoid the same issues that family housing has faced.
The U.S. Space Force’s budget continues to inch upward, but the service’s funding growth has been tempered by broader fiscal pressures facing the Pentagon. The military branch focused on defending American interests in space received $29 billion in funding for fiscal year 2024 as part of a broader multi-agency spending package passed by Congress on March 21. While below the $30 billion the Space Force had requested, the approved funding represents an increase from the $26.3 billion enacted for fiscal 2023.
Transitioning from active duty to civilian life can be a daunting task for members of the military. One thing that often comes as a surprise is finding out that a Defense Department military identification card is no longer valid, and that some of the benefits tied to the cards suddenly stop working.
