Defense One
A new directorate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense will oversee efforts to improve the office’s information technology. Dubbed the Information Management and Technology Directorate, it will sit under Michael Donley, the Pentagon’s director of administration and management who is now double-hatted as OSD CIO. The directorate will be led by Danielle Metz, previously the Pentagon’s deputy CIO.
Air Force Times
The Air Force has started to return some of its 116 grounded C-130H mobility aircraft to flying status but cautioned that the process for getting the remainder back in the air will be slow going. So far, two C-130Hs have been returned to service since the grounding began Sept. 27.
Air & Space Forces Association release
The Air & Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson and a lineup of other Space Force and international speakers at its inaugural Spacepower Security Forum on Oct. 25, 2022, at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.
Breaking Defense
Twenty-two months after taking office, the Biden administration finally released its National Security Strategy, ending a drawn-out process that was compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the whole, the strategy provided few major surprises. Concerns about the rise of China—and the threat the autocratic state poses to both its neighbors and the United States—continue to be the largest national security focus for the administration. However, the devil is always in the details.
SpaceNews
As SpaceX’s Starlink continues to gain military customers, the Pentagon worries that the company’s use of proprietary technology will make it difficult to integrate into a hybrid architecture that DOD hopes to build. This is becoming an issue for the Defense Innovation Unit, which is leading a project to develop a hybrid space architecture, integrating satellite communications systems across low, medium, and geostationary orbits.
CNN
U.S. billionaire Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX will continue funding Starlink internet service in war-torn Ukraine, apparently reversing course after SpaceX asked the United States military to pick up the tab. SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services have been a vital source of communication for the country’s military during the war with Russia, but SpaceX warned the Pentagon that it may stop funding the service in Ukraine unless the US military kicks in tens of millions of dollars per month, according to documents obtained by CNN.
Airforce Technology
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland simultaneously submitted applications to join NATO. Sweden maintains a sophisticated and capable domestic defense industry, spanning land, naval, and air domains. Empowered by its fleet of nearly 100 Gripen JAS 39 jets, the Swedish Air Force could be adjudged as one of the more capable in Europe. The Gripen’s relatively low maintenance requirements and short take-off and landing capabilities render them a useful asset on NATO’s northern borders. However, there is a rumbling dispute within Sweden’s Armed Forces which will require immediate action to allow Sweden to adequately function within the alliance.
War on the Rocks
“The demands for American military training is high. Yet, the program the United States has used to train partners around the world to fly is being cut without a replacement. The U.S. Air Force has an interest in building the capacity of partners and allies to expand U.S. reach and influence, but the security force assistance programs that tasked air advisors to help train foreign militaries is at risk of being cut, leaving the United States unable to keep up with foreign demand for operational training,” write Ethan Brown, a senior fellow for defense studies at the Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence and Global Affairs, and Lt. Col. Jonathan Magill, a member of the Air Staff who works as the air advising cross functional manager.
One More Thing
Task & Purpose
For nearly two decades, his identity and origins have remained something of a mystery to U.S. service members. His face has been plastered across base exchanges and internet forums around the world, eyes fixed on a mustard-laden hot dog before him, mouth agape, a soda gently cradled in his other hand. His is a portrait of both immediate hunger and imminent satisfaction, an advertisement for the quick-grab snacks that, whether the military wants to acknowledge it or not, are the real fuel of the human weapons system. He is the “AAFES Hot Dog Guy,” and his hunger knows no bounds.
