Defense Innovation Unit head Doug Beck has resigned, Breaking Defense has learned. ... A captain in the Navy Reserve, Beck joined DIU after almost four years as the vice president of worldwide education, health and government at Apple. He had previous experience with DIU, starting in 2015 when he founded and led the innovation hub’s joint reserve component until 2019, according to a DoD press release.
The U.S. Navy’s aviation forces are gearing up for an F/A-XX downselect and preparing to get going on the program, which had appeared to be in limbo in recent weeks. The need for the fighter remains and the service is ready to move forward on the program, the commander of Naval Air Forces tells Aviation Week in an interview. Although the choice of prime contractor to build the fighter still awaits approval at senior levels of the Pentagon and the White House, the service is ready to get going now, he notes.
The drive to F.E. Warren Air Force Base’s nearest Missile Alert Facility, home to some of the nation’s actual nuclear buttons, is long. It starts in the heart of urban Cheyenne, but becomes rural and remote far sooner than expected.
President Trump signed an executive order Aug. 25 that charges Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with training a specialized D.C. National Guard unit dedicated to “ensuring public safety” in the District. ... It also calls for the “the availability of a standing National Guard quick reaction force that shall be resourced, trained, and available for rapid nationwide deployment.”
President Donald Trump on Aug. 25 foreshadowed that his administration, in coming days, will likely change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
York Space Systems confirmed Aug. 25 it has delivered all of the 21 satellites that will fly next month on the long-anticipated first launch of the Space Development Agency’s first operational data transport satellites.
Adm. Daryl Caudle was sworn in Aug. 25 as chief of naval operations, promising to accelerate the sea service’s push for AI, unmanned system, and network capabilities. The new CNO is taking the helm as the Navy works to modernize for potential conflicts against advanced adversaries, namely China.
The youngest and smallest of the services, the Space Force has hit its recruiting goal every year since its founding in 2019. On the heels of the service exceeding its recruiting target for fiscal 2025 three months ahead of schedule, a top recruiting official describes plans to fine-tune selection processes and consult with organizations—including Major League Baseball team the Washington Nationals—about how to scout for relevant talent and organizational fit as the Space Force grows and matures.
As China has again ramped up its aggressive actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, the recent collision of a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel with one from the Chinese Coast Guard illustrates how dangerous these encounters are becoming.
In scenes reminiscent of World War I, Ukrainian gunners lean out of propeller planes to shoot down Russian drones. WSJ goes inside the amateur squadron fighting a new kind of war with old technology.
