Radar Sweep
Space Force Officials Defend Plan to Consider Alternatives to a Space National Guard
U.S. Space Force leaders were asked by lawmakers this week to explain why they have taken no action to establish a Space National Guard as a reserve component of the newest branch of the armed forces. Their answer, in so many words, is that they’re just following the law.
Army to Provide Counter-UAS Rapid-Response Concept to Esper
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has tasked the Army with developing a rapid-response capability concept for counter unmanned aerial systems, a service official said March 5. The service will deliver the concept in April after it completes an assessment of several fielded c-UAS systems. The Army in January was named the new lead for the effort.
New Special Operations Network Will Serve as Security Backbone in Afghanistan Ahead of U.S. Withdrawal
A new network of Special Operations forces will serve as the backbone of a smaller U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, hunting Islamic State group fighters as the United States withdraws and providing firepower against the Taliban if a peace agreement with the group crumbles, military officials said.
AFSOC Targets All Domain Ops in New Strategy Document
Air Force Special Operations Command must better integrate cyber, space, and information operations as the U.S. military pivots to All Domain Operations from a focus on combatting terrorism, according to a new AFSOC strategy document. “It will induce short-term institutional turbulence, require us to question long-held assumptions, and compel us to make the difficult choices necessary to our transformation,” Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said in a memo to all of AFSOC.
U.S., U.K. Agree to ‘Further’ Restrict Huawei, Defense Secretary Says
The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to “further” reduce Huawei’s presence in telecom infrastructure, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said at a March 5 Pentagon press conference. Esper described a lunch conversation with U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace on the subject as “candid,” without elaborating on what form the “further’ reduction would take. He highlighted the importance of the intelligence-sharing agreement between the U.S., the U.K., and other Five Eyes partners.
Defense Department Needs to Clean Up Last of Longstanding Business IT Issues, Watchdog Says
The Defense Department has made significant progress improving management of the information technology used for its business processes but work on key areas remains, according to the latest roundup report from the Government Accountability Office.
South Korean Worker at Camp Humphreys Infected with Coronavirus, Raising USFK Total to 7
A South Korean woman who works at Camp Humphreys has tested positive for COVID-19, officials said March 6, in the first confirmed case linked to the U.S. military outside the hard-hit area of Daegu. The announcement raised to seven the number of people affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea who have been infected, including a soldier and his wife.
This $15 3D-Printed Tool Will Save the Air Force Millions
The U.S. Air Force will save millions of dollars and Airmen spared the dirty work of crawling inside fuel tanks, all by using a simple tool invented by a serving Airman. The pressurized leak detection cup will cut the the number of hours needed to detect fuel tank leaks by up to 75 percent, saving the service more than a million dollars a year. To top it off, the new tool is 3D printed and costs just $15 to produce.
F-15E Strike Eagles Return to RAF Lakenheath from Middle East Deployment with Wrestlers Nose Arts
The first 16 F-15E Strike Eagle jets belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron returned to RAF Lakenheath on Mar. 1-2, from a deployment to U.S. Central Command. Interestingly, 14 out of 16 F-15Es returned to the U.K. sporting some interesting nose arts inspired by famous wrestlers (the two aircraft that were not sporting the nose art belong to the 492nd FS and were washed out according to our sources).