The Hill
“Across its trailblazing 75-year history, the U.S. Air Force’s place as the world’s most capable and most respected source of airpower is well-established. The U.S. Air Force is undeniably proud of that history. Nevertheless, it is a fact that today the Air Force must accelerate change or lose. Current and emerging threats demand nothing less than a transformation that will integrate emerging technologies into new operational concepts, new organizations, and new families of systems designed to ensure the Air Force continues its proud history. Consistent with the National Defense Strategy and as directed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, significant steps forward are being taken to begin that transformation in the president’s fiscal year 2023 budget. The Air Force must not only change but accelerate change in order to meet pacing challenges today and defeat those certain to arrive in the future,” write Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.
Breaking Defense
Boeing intends to keep its next two lots of F-15EXs at or below the company’s original $80 million per unit price point despite inflationary pressures that are raising supply costs, the company’s vice president for fighters and bombers said. The declaration, made by Boeing’s Steve Parker in a roundtable with reporters at the Royal International Air Tattoo, stands in sharp contrast to repeated warnings about expected price jumps for another high-profile fighter program, the F-35.
Ottawa Citizen
The Canadian Forces will create a new group to focus on the growing importance of space to military operations and the country’s security. The idea of establishing a Canadian Space Division has been circulating at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa since 2019, but it is now expected to be in place by September.
The Drive
In June, the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman announced the completion of an important modernization effort that saw 72 Air National Guard Block 30 F-16C Viper fighter jets get powerful new AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radars. Hundreds more Air Force F-16s and other Vipers around the world are now in line to get the same radars, which are also known as Scalable Agile Beam Radars or SABRs. Northrop Grumman's Mark Rossi, the company's director of SABR programs, talked about about this milestone, what these radars can do, and what the future might hold for this scalable and readily upgradable sensor.
Japan Times
Japan conducted large-scale joint exercises with the United States over nearby waters involving a total of 52 aircraft earlier in July, said the Air Self-Defense Force, amid intensifying maritime activities by China and Russia in the region. Including aircraft that flew several times, 20 ASDF fighter jets, 29 fighters and two warplanes of the U.S. Air Force, and a U.S. Navy patrol plane participated in the drills over the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean, and the East China Sea, the ASDF said.
Defense News
The Pentagon and industry agree that the F-35 engine needs improvements. But despite years of development and debate, the path forward isn’t yet clear. With the fifth-generation fighter’s missile capacity, electronic warfare, and targeting systems advancing beyond what was originally conceived, and the U.S. Air Force concerned about the potential for war against China, the service is planning to put more power and cooling ability on the F-35. But there remain multiple options for how to get there.
Breaking Defense
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all eyes in the Pacific have been on President Xi Jingping, worried the Chinese leader might take the opportunity to strike out against Taiwan. If so, the U.S. territory of Guam could find itself in Chinese crosshairs as well, long before the island’s missile defenses have been upgraded as promised. In this op-ed, the Heritage Foundation’s Brent Sadler urges the U.S. to find an interim solution, potentially using older warships.
Defense News
Italy’s F-35 final assembly line has been qualified to start offering maintenance to European jets and received its first customer: a Norwegian F-35. The Norwegian fighter flew in after the facility at Cameri in northern Italy achieved full operational capability for F-35 overhauls, F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin said.
Military.com
The Pentagon would have the ability to give low-paid service members inflation bonuses as high as economic conditions warrant—but no less than 2.4 percent—under the version of the annual defense policy bill approved by the House.
One More Thing
Military.com
At the start of World War II, Japan's Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter was the most vaunted and feared weapon in the enemy arsenal. Lightweight and maneuverable, the Zero was able to outfly and outshoot every aircraft the Allies were flying in the early 1940s. That all changed when Japan attacked the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. On June 3, 1942, a Japanese fleet launched a two-day aerial assault on Dutch Harbor. Having broken Japanese naval codes, the Americans knew they were on the way and put up a wall of anti-aircraft fire.
