The Biden administration struck a deal with congressional leaders last year to limit defense spending. And at the Pentagon, the knives are out. The Defense Department plans to cut F-35 fighter jets, an attack submarine, Army helicopters and drones, and Air Force overhead as it seeks to stay under the spending caps.
U.S. Transportation Command said Feb. 20 that it’s ready to start handing off management of some military family household goods shipments as it transitions to a new private contractor, HomeSafe Alliance, to handle permanent change of station moves. The new management will start with a series of “test moves” at a handful of U.S. installations in the next couple of weeks. The command and HomeSafe Alliance have solved “the majority” of information technology challenges involving web applications they each developed to help military families track the moves, officials said on a call with reporters.
Lockheed Martin Space’s innovation unit has greenlit another mission to experiment with and demonstrate new technologies on orbit—this time focusing on tactical communications and artificial intelligence capabilities. No later than March, the company will launch two small satellites into low-Earth orbit for its Pony Express 2 mission.
Turkey’s domestically built KAAN combat aircraft successfully completed its first flight Feb. 21, a milestone that local industry and government were happy to trumpet. The ability to produce an indigenous, advanced fighter has been a big push from Turkish President Recep Erdoğan, who has made nationalization of Turkey’s defense industry a key part of his leadership.
The U.S. Department of Defense has achieved a basic version of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, its long-promised vision of connected sensors from all branches of the armed forces into a unified network, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. “The minimum viable capability for CJADC2 is real and ready now,” she said Feb. 21 at the Defense Data and AI Symposium in Washington. “It’s low latency and extremely reliable.”
Impulse Space, a startup focused on space transportation and exploration, announced Feb. 21 that retired Space Force Gen. John “Jay” Raymond has joined its board of directors. Based in Redondo Beach, Calif., Impulse Space was founded in 2021 by Tom Mueller, a founding member of SpaceX who helped design the Merlin rocket engine that powers the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles.
Using a drone, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, Boeing’s new method of inspecting airplanes for damage and structural issues is allowing the aerospace giant to cut inspection of large military aircraft down from a dayslong process to just a few hours, a company executive told reporters.
In Episode 169 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, host John “Slick” Baum interviews Mitchell Institute Spacepower Center of Excellence senior fellow Col. Charles Galbreath, USSF (Ret.) about headlines we’ve seen regarding a new spacepower development.
The British government confirmed on Wednesday that the test launch of an unarmed Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine last month had failed, raising questions about the state of Britain’s nuclear deterrence capability. It was the second straight malfunction of such a launch, coming nearly eight years after another Trident flew off course at sea, an incident that at the time drew criticism about the government’s failure to disclose it.
The Defense Department transferred Patriot air defense systems and various combat vehicles to Ukraine without a plan to sustain them long-term, which could lead to problems down the road, according to a report by the Pentagon’s watchdog. While the Defense Department has helped Ukraine with field repairs, it does not have a plan for more complex depot-level maintenance, according to the report published last week.
A Boeing F-15EX can reach nearly Mach 3 in controlled flight in a “clean” configuration, meaning no external pylons, munitions or sensors, Boeing’s program manager said Feb. 21 at the Singapore Airshow. “Yeah, it’s fast,” said Boeing’s Rob Novotny, a former U.S. Air Force F-15 test pilot.
As the sun sets over the Colorado Rockies, a trio of F-22 Raptors soar over the U.S. Air Force Academy. This vivid image is depicted in the Class of 2024’s official painting, created by realist artist and Casper College, Wyo., drawing and painting instructor Justin Hayward and unveiled Thursday during the academy’s 100s Night.