Defense News
The Pentagon on Oct. 18 stopped short of supporting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s new assessment that China is moving to seize Taiwan “on a much faster timeline” than previously thought. The remarks came as China held its twice-a-decade Communist Party congress, where Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said “the wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification.” Xi said Beijing would strive for a peaceful reunification with Taiwan, a self-governing island it regards as part of its territory, but never renounce the right to use force.
The Guardian
British defense intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force with generous recruitment packages. Officials expressed “concern and disapproval” of these schemes because they posed “a threat to UK and western interests”. Although they are not explicitly banning pilots from providing training, they aim to take steps to “manage the risk”.
The Drive
AChinese state television program has provided a look at possible future People's Liberation Army crewed-uncrewed teaming and swarming capabilities, including the employment of H-6K large missile carrier aircraft as launch platforms for LJ-1 drones. The LJ-1 is ostensibly intended for use as an aerial target and for other training purposes. However, Chinese state media reports, as well as independent experts and observers, have noted that its modular design and various features inherently found on aerial targets might allow it to be readily configured as a lower-end tactical uncrewed air vehicle that could operate together with crewed combat aircraft like the J-20 stealth fighter or even the H-6.
Breaking Defense
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems plans by the end of this year to finish test flights for its NATO Pod, a new enclosure the company hopes will widen both the MQ-9A Reaper’s capabilities and foreign customer appeal. The NATO Pod, being developed jointly by GA-ASI and the SENER Group, a private engineering and technology firm based in Spain, is a simple but ambitious idea. It’s an under-the-wing enclosure that allows a military’s domestic suppliers to plug and play customizable payloads onto the Reaper without the lengthy and tedious integration work traditionally required to onboard new capabilities.
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The Washington Post
More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel—including scores of generals and admirals—have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation. In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016.
SpaceNews
While SpaceX’s Starlink continues to build momentum in the U.S. defense market, other industry players are positioning to compete for military customers that seek low-latency satellite broadband and more specialized services. “In the U.S. defense and government marketplace, the demand is for mobile, mobile, mobile,” Ian Canning, chief operating officer of OneWeb Technologies, said last week at the MilSat Symposium in Mountain View, Calif.
Stars and Stripes
An Air Force engineering unit whose Airmen wore red baseball caps while building up many of America’s bases in the Middle East put a capstone recently on two heavy-duty decades. The 557th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer, known as “Red Horse,” cased its colors in a ceremony Oct. 15 at Al Udeid Air Base.
Military Times
Service members would be allowed reimbursement of up to $4,000 for the cost of transporting their household pets when moving to or from a duty station abroad, under a proposal to be considered by Congress. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., submitted an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would allow the services to reimburse service members for pet transportation costs when they are ordered to make a permanent change of station move to or from overseas.
Breaking Defense
Lockheed Martin is dialing up production of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System amid the Ukrainian military’s success in using the system to fend off Russian forces over the past few months. Lockheed plans to ramp up HIMARS production from 60 to 96 units per year and has already taken steps to expedite production of the new launchers in expectation of higher demand, Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet announced during an earnings call.
One More Thing
Military.com
From free meals to big discounts on shopping trips and favorite items, military Veterans Day discounts are a November favorite. But with thousands of Veterans Day military discounts to choose from, how do you find the best ones? That's why Military.com's staff of veterans, National Guard and reservists, military retirees, and military family members picked their favorite Veterans Day discounts.
