Radar Sweep
Pentagon Sets Deadline for Services to Stop Enforcing Vaccine Mandate
The military services have until Mar. 17 to rescind their COVID-19 vaccination policies, according to a Pentagon memo signed Feb. 24, including reversing any existing flags or in-process involuntary separations for service members who have refused vaccination.
Gun Buying Restrictions on Base Are Needed to Reduce Suicides, Pentagon Panel Says
Military exchange stores should stop selling guns to troops under 25 years old and require across-the-board waiting periods on firearm and ammunition purchases to reduce high suicide rates, an independent advisory panel to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is suggesting.
CIA Director: Iran's Nuclear Program Advancing at 'Worrisome Pace'
Iran's nuclear enrichment program is more advanced than previously known and "if they chose to cross that line," Tehran would only need a "matter of weeks" to enrich uranium capable of powering a nuclear weapon, CIA director William Burns told CBS News.
Yellen Confronts Russian Officials at G20 Meeting
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen directly confronted senior Russian officials during a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of 20 nations on Feb. 24, calling it a “moral imperative” to end the war in Ukraine.
Chinese Fighter Jet Confronts US Navy Plane with CNN Crew Aboard as Tensions Simmer in the South China Sea
A U.S. Navy reconnaissance jet flies at 21,500 feet over the South China Sea, 30 miles from the contested Paracel Islands, a group of about 130 small atolls, the biggest of which are home to Chinese military bases. A fighter jet armed with air-to-air missiles intercepts the U.S. plane, nestling in just 500 feet off its port side.
Space Force Launch Plan Mirrors Shift to Smaller Satellites
The U.S. Space Force’s acquisition plan for its next phase of National Security Space Launch contracts reflects a shift toward launching more small satellites in a more diverse range of orbits.
Russians Playing with Javelins: US Army, Russia Display Weapons Yards Apart in the Desert
Two countries on opposing sides of the ongoing war inside Ukraine stood virtually side-by-side at the Naval Defense & Security Exposition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Looming large near the end of a long cement dock was a dark blue building declaring “Russia” in bold letters on the side. U.S. Army soldiers were manning their own, much simpler tent just a few yards down the dock.
OPINION: Why Ukraine Needs F-16s
A boost in air power in its war against Russia would allow Kyiv to destroy missiles, aircraft, and offensive-drone launch sites.
China Hasn't Yet Provided Weapons to Russia in Ukraine, but Doing so Would be 'Real Mistake': Sullivan
Following warnings from the Biden administration that China is weighing whether to provide Russia with lethal aid for their war in Ukraine, the White House's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Feb. 26 that "at this point" they have "not seen them take the step of providing weapons" to Moscow.
Syria's Assad Meets Senior Arab Lawmakers in Damascus
A delegation of senior Arab parliamentarians met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Feb. 26, another sign of thawing ties after more than a decade of isolation over the conflict in Syria.
Federal Workers Oppose Proposed Pentagon Civilian Workforce Cut
The American Federation of Government Employees, in a letter to congressional and administration leaders, criticized a plan to purportedly save $25 billion in each of the next five years by not filling a portion of the civilian positions at the Defense Department that are vacated each year.
OPINION: Seven Former NATO Commanders Say US ‘Must Do Everything We Can’ for Ukrainian Victory
As former NATO Supreme Allied Commanders who led all U.S. forces in Europe, we know how essential U.S. and allied support has been to Ukraine’s battlefield successes. We must do everything we can to hasten a Ukrainian victory against Russia.
How the Air Force Flew Its Longest-distance Night Hostage Rescue
On Oct. 31, 2020, four CV-22 tiltrotor transports carried a team of Navy SEAL Team Six operators 2,000 miles into northern Nigeria, where the SEALs parachuted into the darkness to rescue an American named Philp Walton who had been kidnapped four days earlier by a group of armed men.
Singapore Commits To F-35B Stealth Jets With Follow-On Order
After completing its evaluation of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Singapore has announced it will buy another eight of the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B versions, for a total of 12 so far.
PODCAST: Effective Airpower: It Takes Informed Perspectives
In episode 117 of the Aerospace Advantage, John “Slick” Baum talks to Col. Mathew Berry, commandant of the Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), and Col Sarah Bakhtiari, Dean of Education at ACSC about how they are working to train the next generation of airmen. For the past two decades, the United States national security community was predominantly focused on counter insurgency combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. With the sunset of those missions and the rise of peer adversaries like China and Russia, paired with the continued threat posed by mid-tier actors like Iran and North Korea, it is critical to ensure airmen understand these new threat paradigms and how best to apply airpower in support of national security objectives. Much of this education takes place at Air University (AU)—the service’s preeminent professional military education institution. This episode will explore how leaders at ACSC, a key component of AU, are facilitating this transition to help cultivate air-minded airmen equipped to meet the challenges that increasingly define the national security environment in which they must operate.
Boeing Engineers Set a New Record for Paper Plane Flight Distance
Dillon Ruble and Garrett Jensen, both engineers at Boeing, broke a record in December that had only a little to do with their day jobs: They broke the record for farthest flight by a paper aircraft, sending a sheet of paper 88.318 meters, or almost 290 feet.