Superiors of the Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information, according to a court filing May 17. Justice Department lawyers made the disclosure in a court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. The judge is expected to hear more arguments May 19 on prosecutors’ detention request and issue a ruling.
The U.S. Air Force envisions a hundred different roles for its new drones that will accompany fighter pilots into combat—with dozens of companies already lining up to build the wingmen drones. There is a “heavy focus” on non-traditional companies in the competition for the Air Force’s “collaborative combat aircraft” program, said Andrew Hunter, the service’s acquisition chief. Some defense primes will be competing as well, he added, to build drones that the service plans to fly alongside its manned fighters.
The way modern Airmen and Guardians prepare for the future fight is changing, with live, virtual, and constructive training offering new ways to practice essential skills. Learn more about how virtual and augmented reality, simulated environments, and other technologies are helping train warfighters everywhere from the cockpit to the maintenance depot.
National Guardsmen and reservists who retire before age 60 would be eligible for low-cost military health care plans under a bill being introduced May 18 by a bipartisan pair of senators, potentially saving those retirees thousands of dollars per year. The bill, from Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would allow retired reserve personnel to sign up for some Tricare plans as soon as they begin receiving retirement pay, rather than having to wait until they're 60 years old, as is the case now.
The Missile Defense Agency failed to meet all of its baseline goals for delivering and testing systems last year, according to a new report by Congress’s watchdog agency—and as a result may end up accepting contractor delivery of one new high-priority system, the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR), before its capability has been verified.
A breach of the debt ceiling could do “long-lasting and profound damage” to the defense industrial base, the Air Force’s top acquisition official said May 18. The exact effects of a breach are hard to predict because it is “such uncharted territory,” Andrew Hunter said at a discussion in Arlington, Va., hosted by George Mason University’s Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting.
As the Pentagon prepares for a potential conflict with advanced adversaries, the head of U.S. Space Command is urging the Navy, Air Force, and Army to invest in capabilities that will allow them to fully leverage space-based technologies. The services will need to be able to plug into the emerging and rapidly evolving space architectures being deployed by the Pentagon, SPACECOM Commander Gen. James Dickinson said.
The west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., transformed into “Camp Legacy” for three days in May in honor and remembrance of those who served in Vietnam 50 years ago. The public event included museum exhibits, opportunities for photos in static Vietnam-era helicopters, a chance to meet Vietnam veterans from all branches of service, and—most importantly—offer them a proper welcome home. More than 90 organizations, including the Air & Space Forces Association, contributed to the national event planned by the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, but of the dozens of exhibit tents at Camp Legacy, AFA’s was one of the busiest.
The State Department is taking a number of new actions intended to speed sales and delivery of arms to foreign allies and partners as part of a broader government effort to make the system more responsive and effective, department officials said.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is poised to get a new space-focused intelligence mission and 90 new personnel in the process, the Air Force announced. Wright-Patterson is expected to host a new unit, the 76th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron, after an environmental impact analysis this summer, gaining about 90 new personnel, the Air Force said.
Yahoo News has exclusively obtained an internal U.S. Air Force assessment that concludes it would take only four months to train Ukrainian pilots to operate American-made F-16 fighter jets, a far shorter time frame than what has been repeatedly cited by Pentagon officials. The document, which was shared with a number of NATO allies who fly F-16s, contains a detailed assessment undertaken in late February and early March at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Ariz., home to the 162nd Wing of the U.S. Air Force.
As peak PCS season gets underway, Military Times Senior Reporter Karen Jowers outlines changes to military moving procedures that will impact families. Plus, PCS preparation tips for a smoother move.