Breaking Defense
The Army’s top acquisition official believes the service will get enough funding and support from Congress to ramp up production of Stinger and Javelin missiles, days after the Pentagon’s top acquisition nominee vowed to expand production lines of munitions for foreign countries. “Stinger was in a very low rate production for primary foreign partners right now,” Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said.
FedScoop
The U.S. military needs something akin to a Predator drone in space to keep a persistent eye on adversary satellites that could pose a threat, the Space Force’s director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance said March 24. Russia and China have both in recent years developed counter-space capabilities that threaten some of the U.S. military’s most essential global communications systems, said Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, adding that the force needs to find a way to keep a better eye on them.
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Stars and Stripes
The U.S. Air Force will struggle to hit its recruiting goal this year as it confronts the toughest hiring environment in nearly a generation, the two-star general in charge of its efforts to enlist new members told Stars and Stripes. And the long-term trends appear equally ominous, Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas said March 24 during a stop at a U.S. military base in Stuttgart.
NBC News
The Supreme Court on March 25 blocked a lower court order that prevented the Navy from restricting the deployment of Navy SEALs who refuse to get a Covid vaccination. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had urged the court to remedy what he called “an extraordinary and unprecedented intrusion into core military affairs” that had no precedent in American history. A federal judge in Texas ruled in early January that the Navy must allow members of the elite special operations community to opt out of the vaccination requirement if they had religious objections. But the judge's order went further, forbidding commanders to make any changes to their military assignments based on a refusal to be vaccinated.
Florida Today
As the world worries whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will unleash tactical nuclear weapons, a U.S. Air Force “nuke-sniffer” aircraft is positioned in Europe to detect radioactive clouds and collect air samples for scientific analysis. The WC-135C/W Constant Phoenix had already deployed to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom for pre-planned air-sampling missions before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, said Rose Riley, Air Force deputy chief of media operations.
Military.com
About 90 percent of legacy participants were at risk of being kicked out of the Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program before it backtracked on new eligibility requirements, the VA confirmed March 25. The figure comes after VA Secretary Denis McDonough acknowledged March 22 that a "much higher number" of veterans were being dismissed from the program than officials initially anticipated, though he did not disclose a specific number.
Defense News
Estonia has approved a €476 million (U.S. $523 million) defense spending hike, the majority of which is for short- to mid-range air defense systems. The decision comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has served as a catalyst for other Eastern European nations to boost their own air defense capabilities. Estonia aims to acquire the systems no later than 2025.
Task and Purpose
It doesn’t take a trained pilot to appreciate the cool factor of a recent TikTok video showing Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets chasing each other over the desert outside Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The video, shot from the cockpit facing the Eagle’s backseat, was viewed more than half a million times on TikTok and shared on the unofficial Air Force subreddit, where readers left more than a hundred comments.
Air Force Times
For troops deployed in the desert who wish they could conjure a cool glass of water, help is on the way. Senior Master Sgt. Brent Kenney, a civil engineering superintendent with the 52nd Fighter Wing at Germany’s Spangdahlem Air Base, won the Air Force’s annual Spark Tank competition earlier this month by proposing a cheaper, lighter way to carry critical resources such as fuel and water to remote areas.
One More Thing
Air Force Magazine
With the upcoming release of the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2023 budget request, now is the time to catch up on all the essential information you need to know about the aircraft, missiles, satellites, and other weapons that help to make up the Air Force and Space Force. Every one of them is now available in Weapons & Platforms, our new online database, which breaks down data and the latest news on every piece of weaponry in use today.
