Radar Sweep
Ukraine Suffered a Comms Outage When 1,300 SpaceX Satellite Units Went Offline Over Funding Issues
Ukraine’s fears that its troops may lose access to Elon Musk’s crucial Starlink internet service deepened in the past week after 1,300 of the military’s satellite units went offline, according to two sources familiar with the outage. The small, easy-to-use satellite dishes made by Musk’s private rocket company SpaceX have been universally hailed as a game-changing source of communication for Ukraine’s military, allowing it to fight and stay online even as cellular phone and internet networks have been destroyed in its war with Russia. But concerns have risen recently over the dependability of SpaceX after discussions about funding were revealed and outages were reported near the frontlines.
More Than a Dozen States Have Activated the National Guard to Secure Midterm Elections
At least 14 states have spun up their National Guard units to ward off cyberattacks on the national election that concludes Nov. 8, but others have not. North Carolina is one of the states that has. “This year, we're in place to ensure that if there's any assistance that's needed, we're working proactively with our state board of elections, not just on the day of elections, but really prior to, to do security analysis checks and look into the network to make sure it's as secure as possible,” Maj. Gen. Marvin Hunt, adjutant general for North Carolina’s National Guard, told reporters.
VA Starts Doing Toxic Exposure Screenings as Advocates Press for Medical Testing
Primary care physicians within the Veterans Health Administration will begin asking their patients this week whether they think they were exposed to environmental hazards during their service—a conversation Department of Veterans Affairs officials say should lead to increased awareness and treatment for medical conditions linked to burn pits, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other toxins vets encountered in the military.
PODCAST: ‘B-21 Update, China Assessment, Election Implications for Defense, and F-15s Sunsetting at Kadena’
In Episode 101 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, “B-21 Update, China Assessment, Election Implications for Defense, and F-15s Sunsetting at Kadena: The Rendezvous,” John “Slick” Baum chats with retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, Anthony Lazarski, Todd Harmer, and Daniel Rice to discuss the air and space topics that you’ve seen in the national security headlines. This week, they assess the newly released National Defense Strategy, the status of the B-21 program anticipating the rollout, the Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Military Strength, China’s Communist Party Congress, F-15s sunsetting at Okinawa absent a direct replacement, and how the upcoming elections could affect defense issues.
AFSOC Receives Final AC-130J
Air Force Special Operations Command received its 31st and final AC-130J Ghostrider, completing the command’s transition from the legacy AC-130W, AC-130U, and AC-130H fleets. Following a commemoration ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Gunship Modification Facility, the final AC-130J was delivered to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
Meet the Man Trying to Change the Culture of Boeing Defense
Ted Colbert, the CEO of Boeing Defense, Space, and Security, finds himself navigating two cultural changes. The first is reshaping his division of the 100-year-old planemaker into a more agile builder of networked and AI-assisted weapons. The second is much more personal. Colbert is one of only a few people of color on Boeing’s executive council, much as he was at the head table in a late-September luncheon in the 20th-floor ballroom of the Yale Club in midtown Manhattan. He is one of vanishingly few Black executives to rise to positions of prominence in the defense industry.
Ominous Warning About China From US Strategic Command Chief
Russia’s war in Ukraine is a “warm up” for the U.S. to a protracted conflict with China, America's strategic forces commander suggests. Navy Adm. Charles “Chas” A. Richard has warned that the U.S. should anticipate, and prepare for, a protracted conflict with China in the near future—which could be triggered by further hostile actions toward Taiwan by Chinese forces. U.S. Strategic Command is responsible for America's nuclear triad.
Allies Wrap Up Joint Air Drills Involving Two B-1B Bombers
Two U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bombers staged joint drills with South Korean F-35A stealth fighter jets over the Korean Peninsula on the last day of the allies' Vigilant Storm exercise, according to Seoul's defense authorities. It marked the first time the long-range supersonic bomber had deployed to Korea since 2017, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Space Force’s X-37B Space Plane Zooms Past 900 Days in Orbit
The robotic X-37B keeps extending its flight-duration record. The military's X-37B robotic space plane just passed 900 days in orbit on its latest hush-hush mission, adding to the program's flight-duration record. The current mission is the sixth for the X-37B program and is therefore known as OTV-6 ("Orbital Test Vehicle 6"). It launched May 17, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Military Successfully Drained Fuel Pipelines Linking Red Hill to Pearl Harbor
The military task force in charge of defueling storage facilities in Hawaii said it’s completed emptying the three pipelines linking the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Crews successfully drained 1,058,187 gallons of different fuel types, such as aviation fuel, from the pipes.
Volunteer Army Takes the Field at Special Olympics in Japan
At the Special Olympics event at this airlift hub in western Tokyo, more than 17 volunteers turned up for every Olympian from the U.S. military and Japanese communities in the Tokyo area. That’s about 900 volunteers behind 52 young American and Japanese athletes competing at the Yokota High School and elsewhere at Yokota Air Base.
'Because I Was Inverted!' We Talked With the B-1B Test Pilot Who Flew the Awesome Roll at Edwards
Aviation fans around the world were thrilled two weeks ago when video from a flight demonstration—that included a complete roll—of the B-1B Lancer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., went viral across social media. But who was the pilot who actually rolled that giant 238-ton bomber completely inverted?