Hints that the armed services might soon face a problem keeping their ranks full began quietly, with officials spending the last decade warning that a dwindling slice of the American public could serve. Only about one-quarter of young Americans are even eligible for service these days, a shrinking pool limited by an increasing number of potential recruits who are overweight or are screened out due to minor criminal infractions, including the use of recreational drugs such as marijuana.
The number of declared U.S. military airstrikes around the world last year declined to the lowest total since 2006, a recent report by an international monitoring group said. The civilian death toll from U.S. airstrikes also fell as a result of the end of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the report by the London-based nonprofit group Airwars. The U.S. Air Force launched 500 airstrikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in 2021, compared with 915 such missions in 2020, public data from the service says. But additional airstrikes may be undeclared, said the Airwars report, which accused the U.S. military of not being transparent about collateral damage to civilians.
The Department of Defense may rewrite its guide for classifying space programs, a policy official told lawmakers this week. Congress last year directed the Pentagon to review its classified space portfolio to determine whether programs are appropriately classified. John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said in a Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing that DOD has conducted the review and determined that all of its space programs are “probably appropriately classified.”
When the order comes in over his radio, the Ukrainian fighter pilot known as “Juice” has mere minutes to scramble. So he’s never more than 200 meters from his MiG-29 these days and, as he put it, living in a “constant state of readiness.” Any delay could be the difference between successfully intercepting a Russian jet and another airstrike on the territory of Ukraine, between life and death. Juice’s words were cold and serious. To do his job effectively, he explained, he needed to be those things at all times. But he showed a rare bit of emotion and anger when discussing Russian pilots and his wingmen killed in action by them in recent weeks.
In Episode 76 of the Aerospace Advantage, host John “Slick” Baum talks to Sikorsky team members involved with developing and producing the next-generation HH-60W combat search and rescue helicopter. The Air Force operates aircraft for decades, so introducing a new type is a big deal and involves a lot of different nuances and processes we don’t always think about. Now, some might ask—what’s the big deal? This is just another Blackhawk variant. And while that’s technically true at a big-picture level, the reality is that this aircraft, its mission systems, and its performance are fundamentally different from the older types it’s replacing, the HH-60Gs. In fact, it’s so evolved that the Air Force competed this as a new acquisition effort and is putting the helicopter through a series of tests reserved for new types entering the operational world. This isn’t just another mission. Combat search and rescue is a moral imperative.
Warming seas and thinning polar ice caps promise to turn the Arctic into a hub of greater economic activity—and a new hotspot for military competition. That prospect is shaping U.S. military strategy for Arctic operations and is drawing attention to the importance of space systems to keep watch over the region, monitor the climate, and maintain constant communications.
The Air Force this summer will host a second “hackathon” focused on enabling coders to work with classified data in isolated, secured environments—but this time, the service is looking to up the complexity. The second run of the BRAVO hackathon will expand from including just Secret-level operational data to integrating data at additional levels of classification, such as the Top Secret/Secure Compartmentalized Information level, said Stuart Wagner, the Air Force’s chief of digital transformation and an organizer of the hackathon.
The Space Force plans to select a small satellite launcher to fly a payload to low Earth orbit on short notice, a capability known as tactically responsive space. The Space Force’s Space Systems Command announced it plans to award a contract in August for the Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS-3) mission. Responsive space is a catchphrase for rapid access to commercial launch vehicles that can be rapidly integrated with payloads and launched during a conflict or a crisis to replace a damaged satellite or augment existing constellations. Congress inserted $50 million in the 2022 defense budget for this effort.
An aficionado of legendary narrator Sir David Attenborough has created a lovely tribute to the BBC’s nature documentaries with a brief video that treats Russian tanks as if they were an animal species that migrates to Ukraine to die. The 45-second video was posted on Twitter one day after Attenborough’s 96th birthday and just as Russian President Vladimir Putin was celebrating the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, which was somewhat tempered this year by Russia’s lack of success in Ukraine.