President Joe Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the United States will provide a small number of long-range missiles to aid the war with Russia, three U.S. officials and a congressional official familiar with the discussions told NBC News on Sept. 22. The officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, did not say when the missiles would be delivered or when a public announcement would be made.
The Air Force held another demonstration for the XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned aerial vehicle last month, this time testing the drone in a simulated air combat scenario, the Air Force Research Lab announced Sept. 20. The flight was conducted by the 40th Flight Test Squadron on Aug. 22 at the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range.
Following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a top Defense Intelligence Agency official said it “wouldn’t surprise us” if the two nations had spoken “in detail about weapons transfers.” “It’s very concerning, no question about it,” DIA Deputy Director Suzanne White told the audience at the Potomac Officers Club Intel Summit on Sept. 21 in response to a question about the Putin-Kim meeting from Breaking Defense. “We are watching, trying to glean as much as we can out of those interactions, out of those conversations.”
A popular gaming engine is helping Boeing to refit 60-year-old B-52 bombers for another three decades of service. To see how new Rolls-Royce F-130 engines would work on the U.S. Air Force’s Stratofortresses, the plane-maker turned to Unreal Engine 5, the software that powers the Fortnite shoot-’em-up game. The game engine’s 3D environment lets pilots and maintainers virtually interact with a digital representation of the upgraded B-52, like starting up and shutting down an engine.
“I extend my sincerest congratulations to Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., on his confirmation to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a true thought leader, with deep knowledge of the Indo-Pacific area of operations. Gen. Brown understands the threat posed by China and has made it his mission to accelerate change to ensure we not only maintain our technological advantage, but that our service members are up to the immense challenges they might face in a conflict against a peer competitor,” writes retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, president and CEO of AFA.
“The stakes in the race to the moon are literally astronomical. The success or failure of the efforts by the United States, China, India, and others to forge a permanent human presence on the moon will shape alliances, technologies, and behaviors, thus establishing a precedence for future activities beyond Earth’s orbit and the terrestrial geopolitical landscape. As the United States, our allies and potential adversaries now look to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, the military must play a vital role,” writes Charles Galbreath, senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
The Defense Department plans to start transferring its extremely precise data about the whereabouts of satellites and dangerous space debris to the Department of Commerce (DoC) next year to help underpin the latter’s effort to establish a space traffic advisory service, according to a senior Space Force official.
Boeing expects to get a contract in the coming months to build a new communications satellite for the U.S. military, funded by a $442 million congressional earmark. The satellite, to be named WGS-12, will be the 12th of the Wideband Global Satcom geostationary constellation that provides communications services to the United States and allies.
With just a week to go before the government shuts down and threatens troop paychecks, Congress has no clear path to passing a defense budget. Two times this week, House Republicans tried and failed to advance their fiscal 2024 Pentagon spending bill because of opposition from the party’s far-right flank—an outcome that’s stunning once, let alone twice, for a bill that normally sails through Congress with bipartisan support.
In Episode 147 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast,, retired Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem explores the fiscal realities facing the USAF. As the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, Lt. Gen. Rick Moore oversees building the budgets that are ultimately submitted to top Department of the Air Force leaders, DOD, and the Hill. Join us to learn more about how he sees the priorities stack, the tough choices that must be made given finite resources, and what this means for the future of the service.
Sept. 23 may mark the close of Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt’s distinguished career, but the legacy she’s crafted and the lives she's influenced will undoubtedly resonate for generations, U.S. Transportation Command’s top general said during Leavitt's retirement ceremony. Officiating the event, TRANSCOM Commander Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost recounted the hurdles and triumphs that defined Leavitt's storied 31-year journey, from being the Air Force's first female fighter pilot to being the first woman to command the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Leavitt's tale is etched with many “firsts,” yet beyond the accolades and achievements, what truly propelled her was her character, Van Ovost said.