When he approved a campaign to reopen shipping in the Red Sea by bombing the Houthi militant group into submission, President Trump wanted to see results within 30 days of the initial strikes two months ago. By Day 31, Mr. Trump, ever leery of drawn-out military entanglements in the Middle East, demanded a progress report, according to administration officials. But the results were not there.
President Donald Trump insists he’s getting a “free, very expensive airplane” from Qatar’s royal family. But it’s not much of a gift for the American taxpayer. The Qatari Defense Ministry is talking to the White House about transferring the luxury-configured Boeing jet to the Pentagon, which would oversee its retrofitting into a makeshift Air Force One. But a private contractor would have to rip it apart to turn the jet into a flying White House for the president with secure communications and classified upgrades, according to former Air Force officials and lawmakers, an expensive and complicated prospect that could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Defense Innovation Unit said May 12 it has selected 12 companies to join its effort to build a secure network of military and commercial communication satellites, which will begin conducting demonstrations later this summer.
When the Space Force recently put out a forward-leaning “warfighting” framework, it included an unusually blunt warning for military commanders: ensure the rules of engagement for space operations aren’t too restrictive, or the US will be at a severe disadvantage in the heavens. That warning was public, but Breaking Defense has learned it comes amid a parallel push by the Space Force and U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) over the last several years to gain more military decision-making control over the use of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons—decision-making authority that has historically been closely held by the president and/or the secretary of defense.
The Trump administration spent at least $21 million transporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay on military aircraft between January 20 and April 8, according to figures provided to Congress by the U.S. military. The naval base there currently holds 32 migrants, according to a defense official, a tiny fraction of the 30,000 that President Donald Trump promised.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on most imports entering the United States April 2, calculated based on the declared value of the goods. Some countries face even higher tariffs or additional trade restrictions. The tariffs pose an additional hurdle for startups that lack the financial resources to absorb unexpected costs, compounding the uncertainty newcomers already face as they try to gain a foothold in the space industry.
President Donald Trump said May 12 that he might travel to Turkey this week for direct talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, but it appeared increasingly unlikely such a conference would happen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that he was ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 in Istanbul.
KC-130T Hercules tanker/transports belonging to the U.S. Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30), the “Bloodhounds,” are gaining the ability to link up to the Starlink satellite constellation to help with long-range missile and other test work out in the Pacific. Adding Starlink to the KC-130Ts underscores the growing importance of SpaceX’s space-based internet service, and its more secure government-focused cousin Starshield, to America’s armed forces, including to support tactical communications needs.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on May 12 that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad's "nuclear blackmail.”
U.S. Space Force has awarded contracts worth a combined $17.6 million to two Colorado-based defense firms to build prototype cloud-based marketplaces that would connect military satellite operations with commercial and government-owned antennas.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps RF-8A Crusaders played an important, often forgotten, high-speed, low-level, and dangerous recon role during a time the world was on the brink.
