Pentagon Awards $7.8 Billion in Contracts for Hundreds of New Missiles
In a pair of major contracts announced July 31, the Pentagon awarded a combined $7.8 billion for new missiles, including JASSM and AMRAAM.
USAFE, AMC, AFMC Could Lose 4-Star Commanders
At least three high-profile four-star Air Force commands could be downgraded to three-star roles, as the Pentagon presses to shrink the number of generals throughout the Department of Defense, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
C-130 Maintainers Show Herk-ulean Strength At Pacific Exercise
C-130 Hercules maintainers worked through tropical heat on Guam to keep the transport planes running troops and equipment across the Department-Level Exercise series.
Space Force Aims to Share Classified Threat Info with Industry
The Space Force's neighborhood watch-style initiative to share information with the private sector about threats to space assets will eventually grow to include classified intelligence, the general in charge said last week.
Senate Confirms Bratton for Space Vice Chief, Anderson to Lead AFRICOM
The Space Force has a new No. 2 officer, and U.S. Africa Command has its first ever leader from the Air Force. The Senate voted to confirm Lt. Gen. Shawn W. Bratton as Vice Chief of Space Operations and Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson as commander of AFRICOM on July 31. Both men will also pin on fourth stars.
Radar Sweep
Trump Says He Repositioned Nuclear Subs in Veiled Threat to Russia
The Washington Post
President Donald Trump on Aug. 1 said he deployed two nuclear submarines into tactical positions after online threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, escalating tensions between the two nuclear superpowers as Trump’s frustration against Moscow mounts.
Pentagon to Keep Sharing Key Satellite Data for Hurricane Forecasting Despite Planned Cutoff
The Associated Press
The U.S. Department of Defense will now continue sharing key data collected by three weather satellites that help forecasters track hurricanes. Meteorologists and scientists had warned of risks to accurate and timely storm tracking without the information when officials made plans to stop providing it beyond the end of this month.
OPINION: A More Contested Indo-Pacific Needs a New Kind of Exercise
Breaking Defense
“The Indo-Pacific has always been important, but that importance grows each day. Which is why the Air Force is right now staging a complex, month-long exercise across the Indo-Pacific known as Resolute Force Pacific, or REFORPAC. We have to be prepared for what can happen in the most important sector of the world,” writes Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces.
New Missile Defense Radar Lands in Guam to Be Put to the Test
Defense News
The U.S. Army’s new missile defense radar has landed in Guam and is preparing to be put to the test. The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, arrived in Guam earlier this month with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visiting Task Force Talon, the unit that will manage the LTAMDS radars on the island, over the weekend.
SOCOM Getting New Commander After Frank Bradley Earns Senate Confirmation
DefenseScoop
U.S. Special Operations Command is getting a new leader after a voice vote by the Senate to confirm Vice Adm. Frank Bradley as its commander. Bradley, a Navy SEAL officer who most recently commanded Joint Special Operations Command, will also get a fourth star.
Joby, L3Harris Team Up to Pitch New, Hybrid VTOL Aircraft to DOD
Breaking Defense
Joby Aviation, a startup known for all-electric air taxis, today announced that the company will partner with defense firm L3Harris to pitch a new, gas turbine hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for military customers.
The Army’s Giant Data Deal with Palantir Is a Harbinger: Service CIO
Defense One
The Army collapsed 75 data and software contracts into one deal potentially worth $10 billion—a deal won by Palantir—and it’s just the beginning of how the service wants to buy software.
Air Force Security Kills Driver Who Attempted to Breach Base
Task & Purpose
Security forces at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base shot and killed a civilian who attempted to illegally enter the base in a car late at night. The incident happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 1 when a car approached the main gate at the northern side of the base in Tuscon, Ariz.
U-2 Just Set New Records on the 70th Anniversary of Its First Flight
The War Zone
To celebrate the anniversary of its first flight 70 years ago to the day, a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane just set several new records, a U.S. Air Force official confirmed to The War Zone. The official could not immediately say what records were set, but the pilot’s conversation with air traffic control said it was an “endurance record for category and class for aircraft.”
Pentagon Says 250 National Guard Troops to Stay in LA After Latest Drawdown
The Hill
Around 250 National Guard troops will stay in Los Angeles to help protect federal personnel and buildings after the latest drawdown ordered by the Department of Defense.
Air Force Leaders Were Set to Kill a Program That Trains Future Leaders. Then They Blinked.
San Antonio Express News
A beloved Air Force program that seeks to build character, leadership skills and self-discipline in high school students has escaped elimination. Barely. Air Force officials were set to kill the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, which serves 96,000 students in 49 U.S. states as well as 16 overseas schools operated by the Department of Defense.
Skenes Gets Warm Homecoming on Air Force Academy Day
MLB.com
Paul Skenes has always looked back on his time at the U.S. Air Force Academy with reverence. Baseball wasn’t his primary focus when he embarked on his college journey in 2021; he wanted to serve. And even though that focus ultimately shifted toward becoming the elite starting pitcher he is today, Skenes hasn’t forgotten those two years at the Academy and how they shaped him. That made Aug. 2 feel like a homecoming of sorts for the All-Star right-hander, with Skenes taking the mound at Coors Field, roughly 60 miles north of his old campus in Colorado Springs, Colo.