A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems-developed unmanned aerial system flew for the first time, launching from another UAS in a demonstration at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. The company, which is the manufacturer of the U.S. Army’s Gray Eagle UAS, has named its air-launched effect, or ALE, the Eaglet.
The Pentagon’s chief information officer is developing new guidance on the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) in an effort to ensure getting the best mission outcome and value for its dollar instead of “running on autopilot,” he told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview. And while Defense Department Chief Information Officer John Sherman made clear that his intent isn’t to override individual cloud efforts from the military services, the vision he articulated would effectively set JWCC as the primary cloud option that serves as the “absolute foundation” for Joint All Domain Command and Control.
“Well, we tried creative ambiguity, and see where it got us. For decades, we have used diplomatic doublespeak on the subject of NATO and Ukraine—and it has ended in total disaster. We spent years telling Ukrainians that we have an “open door” policy in NATO, and that they have the right to “choose their own destiny,” and that Russia should not be able to exercise a veto. And all that time we have overtly signaled to Moscow that Ukraine is never going to join the alliance—because so many NATO members will simply exercise their veto themselves,” writes Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Just as President Joe Biden wanted, the trans-Atlantic alliance is united—this time moving in lockstep to reject Ukraine’s request for fighter jets. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Jan. 29 rejected Kyiv’s calls for the West to supply it with advanced warplanes. Biden followed suit on Jan. 30, simply responding “no” to a reporter’s question on possible F-16 transfers—though it was unclear if he meant “never” or “not right now.” He said Jan. 31 that he was “going to talk” to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy about it.
The U.S. Air Force has released pictures showing one of its newest XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned combat aircraft during a test flight last year. The images highlight the fact that the drone does not require a runway of any kind in order to get airborne or land at the end of a sortie. Runway independence could be very advantageous in future operational contexts where traditional air base infrastructure may be destroyed, damaged, or otherwise unavailable.
The national intelligence director did not mince words: the government has an over-classification problem. “Over-classification undermines critical democratic objectives, such as increasing transparency to promote an informed citizenry and greater accountability,” said Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, during a conference at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin last week.
Nimble and efficient are not words used to describe day-to-day management of the Pentagon, but officials are on a quest to improve the department’s performance and identify ways to better retain institutional memory for their future successors. That’s the drive behind the launch of a new Defense Management Institute (DMI), a team-up of the Department of Defense and the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA).
After more than a year of debate about whether a Chinese company’s plan to build a corn mill in North Dakota was an economic boon or a geopolitical risk, an assistant secretary of the Air Force has weighed in with a warning that the “project presents a significant threat to national security.” The letter from Assistant Secretary Andrew P. Hunter, released publicly Jan. 31 by North Dakota’s senators, noted the proximity of Grand Forks Air Force Base to the proposed mill and said the project raised “near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area.”
In today’s global landscape, information is the weapon of choice. The cyber aggressions playing out in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have been well-documented and China has been strengthening its electronic warfare capabilities over the last several years. “I think that most nations want to avoid the attrition that comes from the kinetic in favor of a more quiet cyber war,” Lauren Knausenberger, chief information officer of the Department of the Air Force and 2023 Wash100 Award winner, mused in an online dialogue with the Mitchell Institute in November 2022.
Ensuring the Department of Veterans Affairs does not get overwhelmed by the influx of new patients and claims coming from the sweeping toxic exposure law passed last year will be a priority of the new House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, the lawmaker told Military.com in an interview.
A World War II veteran and one of the original Tuskegee Airmen turned 100 years old over the weekend. Law enforcement, firefighters, and the Tuskegee Airmen East Coast Chapter gathered in a parade Jan. 29 to celebrate Dr. Shelton Ivan Ware in Montgomery County, Md. According to his biography, Ware was born in Neptune, N.J. on Jan. 29, 1923. While college attendance gave him a legitimate reason “to duck the draft” as others had done, he instead joined the US Army Enlisted Reserve Corps on April 1, 1942, and reported for active duty in 1943.