Defense News
Officials in industry, Congress, and the Pentagon have told Defense News it’s a great idea. But most don’t know whether it will work, or merely be an act of Pentagon innovation theater. Replicator is meant to help good ideas across the valley of death. But can it survive bureaucratic and cultural barriers of its own?
Breaking Defense
A precision airdrop via parachute to an Israeli military division in Gaza illustrated Israel’s abilities to resupply troops via air, a capability that analysts say may have broader ramifications for future potential Israeli Defense Forces operations in the region. The IDF announced last week that a “logistical airdrop that included parachuting about seven tons of water to hundreds of IDF soldiers currently engaged in combat in Khan Yunis took place over the last few days.” It was the first airdrop to IDF troops in Gaza and the first Israeli operational airdrop since the Second Lebanon war in 2006, the IDF noted.
Defense One
Five months ago, the U.S. Air Force expected the E-7 Wedgetail’s top-mounted radar to be a bottleneck in production of the next-gen command-and-control aircraft. Now Northrop Grumman says it has a plan to build the radars three times as quickly.
DefenseScoop
The Department of Defense issued a call for proposals Dec. 18 as part of a broader push to turbocharge domestic fabrication of microelectronics and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign suppliers. The Pentagon plans to award up to $280 million next year for Microelectronics Commons projects, according to a press release. Funding for the program supports six technology areas: secure edge and Internet of Things computing; 5G and 6G; AI hardware; quantum; electromagnetic warfare; and “leap-ahead” commercial technologies.
Military.com
JROTC, a program that has existed since World War I, offers an increasingly rare means of connecting students who will soon be old enough to join the military with those in uniform. Army planners are quick to say JROTC isn't a recruiting tool, but roughly one-quarter of students in the program end up enlisting or commissioning. Though it's unclear how many of those students would have otherwise joined the military, as other cultural touchstones evaporate, the services have planted a flag in schools across the country and plan to grow their footprints.
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The Wall Street Journal
Israel’s military said it is adding forces to destroy tunnels and undertaking targeted raids aimed at Hamas’s leadership in southern Gaza, after visiting U.S. officials pressed for a tactical shift away from larger-scale operations. The new moves are a response to the demands of southern Gaza’s densely populated battle zone, Israeli officials said. In the north, Israel’s military has relied more on airstrikes and holding territory—and on Dec. 19 said it had established full operational control of Jabalia, a former Hamas stronghold in Gaza City, after more than two months of fighting.
POLITICO
As American warships rack up kills against Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea, Pentagon officials are increasingly alarmed not just at the threat to U.S. naval forces and international shipping—but at the growing cost of keeping them safe.
Task & Purpose
ADec. 17 U.S. airstrike near Jilib, Somalia is believed to have killed one militant with al-Shabab, a terrorist group that has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida, according to U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM. U.S. military officials have not provided any information about the militant. Voice of America reported that the airstrike targeted a high-ranking al-Shabab leader, who has not been identified.
Federal News Network
A new model-based decision support tool will soon allow Air Force leaders to predict how a single investment decision can impact an entire program and its budget. The first-of-its-kind decision advantage tool, called Rhombus Guardian, will help senior leaders to not just understand the direct costs of a particular decision, but also how that decision ripples through an entire ecosystem.
One More Thing
AFA
In celebration of the Space Force’s fourth birthday, AFA is underwriting a new tradition for family members when newly minted Guardians graduate from Basic Military Training. Beginning Dec. 27, Guardians receiving their first U.S. Space Force patches at BMT graduation will also receive up to two Delta-shaped Space Force Family lapel pins, which they can, in turn, present to family members. The pins were designed and underwritten through a grant from AFA’s United Forces & Families (F2) program.
