Air Force Launches ARRW, Its First Hypersonic Weapon, into Production
The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract for production of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon last month, the service announced Oct. 26.
Air Force Plans $1 Billion Campus for Testing F-47 at Nellis
The Air Force is taking the first steps to build a $1 billion campus including hangars, laboratories, maintenance and training facilities, and more to test the F-47 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.—and the service plans to finish construction by 2031 as it moves quickly to field the upcoming sixth-generation fighter.
Space Force Wants Cislunar Kit Ready to Launch by 2029
For years now, Space Force officials have said the service is getting serious about defining its role and crafting an architecture for future cislunar capabilities. Now, the Space Force is taking steps to realize that vision, asking industry to rapidly invest and develop satellites and software that could be ready for operations as soon as 2029.
AFRL Moves Cargo Through Space with SpaceX Demonstration
When a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., on Oct. 20, it carried with it the usual mix of micro-satellites and cubesats built by a wide range of companies looking to catch a ride into orbit, and also a capsule with, among other things, a reverse osmosis desalinator, survival gear, and emergency medical equipment—a test of a capability that could one day get critical supplies to U.S. forces around the globe.
AFRL Targets New Hypersonic Engine Tech Prototypes Within 4 Years
The Air Force Research Laboratory wants industry to advance concepts for affordable hypersonic munition engines to prototype demonstrations within three to four years.
Air Force Unit Stops All Rope Training After TACP’s Rappelling Death
The Air Force unit tasked with training Tactical Air Control Party Airmen has halted all rope training events after one of its instructors was killed Oct. 17 in a rappelling demonstration in front of thousands of spectators at a college football game.
Radar Sweep
US Has for Years Asked Musk to Alter Starlink Service in Ukraine, Middle East, Sources Say
Reuters
Well before the throttling this month of Ukraine's military access to Elon Musk's satellite communications system, the Biden and Trump administrations had several times asked SpaceX to turn its Starlink service on or off in various countries, according to six former senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
Pentagon Presses Congress to Keep Measure Changing Name to ‘Department of War’
The Hill
The Pentagon is pressing Congress to keep measures in the annual defense policy bill that would formally authorize the name change from Department of Defense to “Department of War.”
Is the Pentagon’s Demand Signal for Drones Working? It Depends on Who You Ask.
Breaking Defense
As the Pentagon rushes to ramp up aerial drone production, industry and military officials tell Breaking Defense they are divided over whether the department’s approach can generate the sustained demand needed to build a lasting domestic drone industry.
90 Days No Help: Fortress America’s Goal to Make Bases Resilient Bastions in a Crisis
The War Zone
The Pentagon is reportedly aiming for U.S. military installations to be able to continue essential operations for at least 90 days, or roughly three months, without any external support. The installation of new small nuclear reactors and other infrastructure is key to this part of a larger plan called Fortress America.
US Has Plans for Major Iran Strikes if Trump Chooses
CNN
U.S. forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major, military operations against Iran “within 96 hours of receiving” an order from President Donald Trump, according to two U.S. officials.
Delegations Meet in Iran with Mideast Region on Edge over Potential for Renewed Fighting
Associated Press
High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey were in Tehran on Oct. 26 for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert renewed fighting in the Iran war. Many in Iran are anxious about a possible return to all-out war. Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their threats before elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained defiant.
SOUTHCOM Chief Seeks Unmanned River Solution as He Embraces Autonomy
Breaking Defense
The top officer for U.S. Southern Command is in the market for new, bespoke unmanned and autonomous maritime systems for the counter-drug fight, he told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview. Gen. Francis Donovan, who took over SOUTHCOM in February of this year, said that among other capabilities, he’s interested in a “unique river reconnaissance system, representing a tailorable mix of unmanned surface, air, and sub-surface autonomous platforms.”
‘Now Is the Time’ for Cubans to ‘Act’ Says Top US Military Commander in South America
Task & Purpose
U.S. Southern Command’s top general publicly urged Cubans to take action to change their country’s future over the weekend, amplifying a Central Intelligence Agency appeal for intelligence cooperation that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had endorsed days earlier.
Smack Technologies Lands New Deal for AI Prototype to Enhance Joint Military Campaigning
DefenseScoop
Smack Technologies will prototype its AI-powered military planning and decision support platform with U.S. Special Operations Command via a new Other Transaction agreement worth up to $7.5 million, the Texas-based startup’s Founder and CEO Andy Markoff told DefenseScoop.
‘Jaws of Hell’: A B-24 Crew’s Capture, Survival After WWII Air Raid
Military Times
On Aug. 1, 1943, Lt. Ernie Poulson co-piloted the Consolidated B-24 Liberator on a low-level bombing run of an oil refinery in Campina—part of the deadly American aerial raid of the Ploesti oil fields, codenamed Operation Tidal Wave. His aircraft was one of 53 lost that day. Poulson and his crew crash-landed on a riverbank and were taken captive by the Romanian home guard.