The Independent
Taiwan’s air force swung into action on June 11 as 10 Chinese warplanes crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, it was reported. Taiwan’s defense ministry also said earlier that four Chinese warships carried out joint readiness combat patrols. In a statement, Taiwan’s defense ministry said that as of 2 p.m. local time on June 11, it had detected 24 Chinese air force planes, including J-10, J-11, J-16, and Su-30 fighters, as well as H-6 bombers.
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Reuters
Ukraine said on June 11 its troops had made territorial advances on three villages in its southeast, the first liberated settlements it has reported since launching a counter-offensive this past week. Kyiv's forces posted unverified videos showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region and posing with their unit's flag in the adjacent village of Neskuchne.
CBS News
Russia will start deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus when the necessary facilities there are ready there in early July, President Vladimir Putin told the Belarussian leader at a June 9 meeting. It was the first time Russia's president has suggested a specific timeframe for his plans, announced in March, to deploy “tactical nuclear weapons” to the country just north of Ukraine, which is one of Russia's few allies in the region.
The Associated Press
When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a young girl in Nepal, she dreamed of being in the military, but that wasn’t a real option in her country. Last week, she raised her right hand and took the oath to join the U.S. Army Reserves, thanks in part to a recruiter in Dallas who also is Nepalese and reached out to her through an online group. Bidari, who heads to basic training in August, is just the latest in a growing number of legal migrants enlisting in the U.S. military as it more aggressively seeks out immigrants, offering a fast track to citizenship to those who sign up.
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
In Episode 132 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, host John “Slick” Baum chats with longtime AFSOC pilot Col. Sarah Brehm, veteran defense leader Mr. Jim “Hondo” Geurts, and AFSOC Special Tactics Officer Lt. Col. Steve Cooper about the United States Special Operations Command’s core values, what they call SOF Truths. The first SOF Truth declares that “humans are more important than hardware.” However, given that technology permeates today’s battlefields more than ever, what does this really mean? To this point, how does the DPD emphasize the importance of human capital when the budget is geared toward new hardware?
Air Force Times
Defense Health Agency officials say they have found a way to fill personnel gaps at Naval Hospital Okinawa and have reversed course on a decision that would have forced pregnant women at Kadena Air Base to deliver their babies elsewhere. The naval hospital, a 16-minute drive from the air base, is the only U.S. military medical option on the island. The women had been notified that, due to a staffing shortage, they would either have to deliver their babies at a Japanese hospital, where they wouldn’t be guaranteed admittance, or return to the continental U.S. when they were 7.5 months pregnant.
Military.com
A key House panel is looking to create a new bonus for junior service members who are "adversely" affected by the economy in its annual defense policy bill, according to a copy of the bill obtained by Military.com ahead of its release. In addition to the new bonus, the House Armed Services Committee military personnel subcommittee's portion of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, would allow for greater flexibility in adjusting the Basic Allowance for Housing to respond to market conditions and exclude the housing allowance from income calculations for a stipend to help food insecure troops.
Breaking Defense
Does the U.S. have enough production capacity to fight a true war? The recent conflict in Ukraine has raised doubts, and the recent budget deal can’t be allowed to slow progress down on increasing that capacity, writes Doug Birkey of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in this new op-ed.
POLITICO
China has been spying on the United States from a base in Cuba, a Biden administration official said on June 10, claiming that “this is an issue that this administration inherited.” The Wall Street Journal, followed by POLITICO and other outlets, reported on June 8 that China had been in conversations with Havana to establish a new spy base in the island nation. That same day, the White House and the Pentagon said the reporting was “inaccurate,” without going into details. On June 10, an administration official clarified by saying that the Chinese base in Cuba has already been established, noting that it didn’t happen on their watch.
Breaking Defense
The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee has decided to greenlight continued divestment of the A-10 Warthog, according to draft text of the subcommittee’s markup of the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill obtained by Breaking Defense. The subcommittee would also seek to impose some provisions on the development of the Air Force and Navy’s next-gen fighters and drones that could join them in combat.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Virtually every part of the Department of the Air Force’s drive to modernize is being shaped by Secretary Frank Kendall’s seven Operational Imperatives—lines of effort that address the most important and urgent challenges facing the Air Force today. Now, the department and industry are working together to develop solutions for each imperative, and the results will likely change the Air Force and Space Force for the next generation. Keep up with all the latest news on each Operational Imperative.
SpaceNews
U.S. Space Force deputy chief of space operations Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt during a recent trip to Germany and the United Kingdom heard a consistent message from allies: They don’t expect the United States to bear all the costs of protecting satellites from cyber attacks and other threats. In an interview with SpaceNews, Burt said a growing number of spacefaring nations are looking to work with the United States on technologies and strategies to defend their assets from anti-satellite weapons, and are increasingly making their own investments in space defense systems.
Task & Purpose
Military families struggling with employment are set to receive new aid under a new executive order signed by President Joe Biden this week. The nearly 20 actions in the directive are designed to help military spouses get hired and maintain stability in their careers despite service-related moves. He signed the order while visiting Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, on June 9.
Defense One
The U.S. Naval and Marine Corps Aircrew Anthropometric Survey is collecting body measurements to improve the fit and availability of equipment used by naval aircrews—from flight suits and gloves to oxygen masks and harnesses, as well as the design of the cockpit. The last time the Navy did a study of this kind was in 1964, and that did not include data from women or minorities, according to a service press release.
One More Thing
The War Zone
A viral video popped up on social media of a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber making a very steep, fast positioning turn low over the Miami skyline. It is a highly dynamic and dramatic-looking maneuver for the big flying wing, and one that reminds us how positively alien it still looks even nearly 35 years after its unveiling.
