Defense One
Ukraine has been asking the West for advanced fighter jets for months. Now Kyiv’s fighter pilots are pressing the case themselves. In a series of interviews with Western media, two Ukrainian fighter pilots—“Juice” and “Moonfish,” a MiG-29 squadron commander—plus a Ukrainian Air Force anti-aircraft officer are highlighting what’s missing from the recent shipments of foreign weapons: modern ground and air defense systems, and modern fighter jets.
Air Force Times
Military drone crews could soon receive the same tax-free combat pay as deployed troops under a pair of bills. Service members who fly remotely piloted aircraft or operate their surveillance and targeting sensors don’t qualify for untaxed income because they largely wage war from installations in the continental U.S. rather than in combat zones such as Iraq or Somalia.
SpaceNews
The Pentagon plans to spend nearly $13 billion over the next five years to develop and acquire military communications satellites. According to Department of Defense budget documents, this large investment supports growing demands for connectivity and secure data networks across the armed forces and national security agencies. The 2023-2027 spending plan includes funding for the Pentagon’s first-ever low Earth orbit broadband constellation and smaller numbers of bespoke communications satellites to augment or replace existing systems.
The Drive
China’s Ministry of National Defense announced that a land-based, midcourse, anti-ballistic missile defense test had been carried out. The test marks China’s fifth midcourse anti-ballistic missile test to be announced by the Chinese government over the course of 12 years.
Breaking Defense
Citing concerns about growing threats from Russia and China, House lawmakers responsible for defense policy want the Pentagon to develop a detailed new strategy for protecting satellites from adversary threats. The House Armed Services Committee in its markup of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directed Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to provide Congress with the new strategy within 90 days of the policy bill’s enactment. The language, drafted by the HASC strategic forces subcommittee, was approved by the full committee.
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
AFA’s Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies invites you to watch the virtual Aerospace Nation discussion with Brig. Gen. Jeffery D. Valenzia, Department of the Air Force Advance Battle Management System Cross Functional Team Lead, and Brig. Gen. John M. Olson, Space Force JADC2/ABMS Lead, Mobilization Assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, and the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer for the Department of the Air Force. They discuss their perspectives on how to achieve the Air Force’s vision for “operationally optimized” ABMS/JADC2.
National Defense Magazine
The way the Air Force is approaching its new stealth bomber and ballistic missile programs will help sidestep cost overruns and schedule delays that traditionally have held up the development of other systems, the service’s chief of staff said. The Air Force developed the B-21 to replace its aging fleet of B-1 and B-2 bombers, while the Sentinel would replace the LGM-30 Minuteman III. These programs make up two legs of the nuclear triad that the Pentagon is trying to modernize.
FedScoop
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks signed the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Implementation Pathway (RAI S&I pathway), marking a highly anticipated next step in the Defense Department’s carrying out of its AI Ethical Principles adopted more than two years ago. The 47-page document directs the sprawling Pentagon’s strategic approach for operationalizing those foundational principles and, more broadly, communicates a framework for how DOD will deliberately leverage AI in a lawful, ethical, and accountable manner.
CNN
The U.S. Space Force has hit a critical milestone: dedicated basic training for its early recruits. As dawn breaks on Day 38 of basic training at Joint Base San Antonio, a bugle playing reveille blasts over the loudspeakers as a sergeant can be heard screaming, "Are you prepared to join the world's greatest Space Force? Then hurry up! Let's go, let's go."
One More Thing
Task & Purpose
Give the people what they want. In this case, it’s the jets, dogfights, and brief beach football interlude of “Top Gun: Maverick.” The more than 30-years-in-the-making sequel has already raked in $474,755,566 in gross profit domestically. Add another $427,100,00 from international markets, and that’s $901,855,566 in total. That’s quite a haul, even enough to buy seven of the Navy’s F-35C jets.
