The Associated Press
U.S. fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier struck three underground storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen late Friday, according to a U.S. official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public, said the ship is in the Red Sea. Strikes and explosions were seen and heard in Sanaa on March 22, according to witnesses and videos, some circulating on social media. Footage showed explosions and smoke rising over the Houthi-controlled capital.
Defense News
The Pentagon’s acting policy chief will leave her post this spring. Sasha Baker’s departure will open a new gap in an office struggling to fill its top seats for almost a year. Colin Kahl, who the Senate narrowly confirmed to the position in 2021, left last summer. Since then, Baker has temporarily held the role. Replacing her will be Amanda Dory, director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and an alumna of the Pentagon policy office.
Washington Technology
As it promised, the Air Force has unveiled the final solicitation for a $12.5 billion contract vehicle focused on network infrastructure modernization efforts at bases around the world. Proposals for the multiple-award Base Infrastructure Modernization IDIQ contract are due by 4 p.m. Eastern time on April 22, the Air Force said in its notice to release the request for proposals.
Defense One
In addition to the $188.1 billion the U.S. Air Force asked for in the 2025 budget, the service wants $3.5 billion more from Congress to accelerate its new “reoptimization” effort, buy more aircraft spare parts, and fund military construction projects, according to an “unfunded” wishlist obtained by Defense One.
Breaking Defense
The Pentagon’s Research and Engineering office would like an additional $81 million in funding over its fiscal 2025 request, according to a copy of its Unfunded Priorities List submitted to Congress and obtained by Breaking Defense. Services and agencies within the Pentagon are required to send unfunded priority lists to the Hill in order to show members how they would spend extra money if Congress were to grant it. Unofficially, the Pentagon often packs these lists with things that were cut during internal budget negotiations, but which the relevant offices never wanted to see left out of the full FY25 request.
DefenseScoop
The current model for military services providing forces to U.S. Cyber Command is broken, and the only way to fix it is to create an independent Cyber Force, a new report asserts. “America’s cyber force generation system is clearly broken. Fixing it demands nothing less than the establishment of an independent cyber service,” a report published by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies states. “This research paints an alarming picture. The inefficient division of labor between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps prevents the generation of a cyber force ready to carry out its mission.”
Task & Purpose
The claim by ISIS-K to have launched the terrorist attack in Moscow last week proves the group is still a global threat, a Pentagon official said March 25, having gained strength with branches in areas like Central Asia and Africa. The terrorist group claimed responsibility for a shooting attack at a concert in Russia over the weekend.
The War Zone
The road to recovery for the U.S. Air Force's TU-2S Dragon Lady 1078 following a flightline accident in 2021 has been nothing short of a labor of love for those involved. Now, after almost three years of exhaustive work, that aircraft is getting closer to regular use once more, having returned to Beale Air Force Base in Sutter County, Calif., after final restoration work was completed. The Air Force's two-seat TU-2S trainer aircraft are not only super rare, but are also critical in training pilots to fly the Air Force's U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes.
POLITICO
When Congress approved $300 million to arm Ukraine late last week, it marked the first time lawmakers have approved new funding for Kyiv’s war effort in more than a year. There’s just one problem: The money is already gone.
SpaceNews
The U.S. Space Force was formed in 2019 to oversee military space activities, but acquisitions of space technologies remain scattered across a web of agencies. This creates a bureaucratic labyrinth for companies and lawmakers alike, said Steve Jordan Tomaszewski, senior director of national security space at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).
One More Thing
Task & Purpose
For the first time in two decades, all three military service academies had a wrestler earn collegiate All-American honors at the sport’s annual NCAA championship meet. The three wrestlers—one each from the U.S. Military, Naval, and Air Force academies, all seniors—earned All-American honors by finishing in the top 8 spots in their weight classes at the season-ending national championship meet this past weekend in Kansas City.
