French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed April 15 that Paris took part in foiling Iran's attack against Israel over the weekend, intercepting drones "at Jordan's request" as they flew over its airspace. Macron called the operation a "victory for Israel."
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s total cost is expected to top $2 trillion over its entire life span given the U.S. military plans to fly it longer, inflation is rising, and the Pentagon’s efforts to rein in expenses are largely falling short, a government watchdog said April 15. That price tag represents an increase from the $1.7 trillion lifetime cost the Government Accountability Office previously reported in September 2023.
The suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed U.S. troops and Afghans in August 2021 was not preventable, and the “bald man in black” spotted by U.S. service members the morning of the attack was not the bomber, according to a new review by U.S. Central Command.
Ukraine’s successful drone and missile attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet are being studied by the U.S. Navy and NATO as the West develops strategies to confront potential Russian aggression, the service’s top admiral in Europe said. Ukraine is locked in a bitter stalemate on land, with dwindling munition supplies and Russian forces entrenched in much of the country’s east. But it has found success at sea worth learning from and applying globally, analysts say.
Budgets are tight at NASA, especially for its science programs. NASA’s Science Mission Directorate sought an increase of nearly half a billion dollars in its fiscal year 2024 budget proposal last year, but when Congress passed a final spending bill March 8, it instead got a cut of the same magnitude. Its 2025 budget proposal, released three days later, sought a modest increase, to about $7.57 billion. But last year’s budget request had projected spending nearly $8.43 billion on science in 2025.
President Joe Biden is set to host Iraq’s leader this week for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran's unprecedented weekend attack on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria. The sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq, through which portions of Iran's April 13 drone and missile attack on Israel flew or were launched from.
Iran may have specifically targeted an Israeli airbase housing F-35 fighter jets during its unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend, but few of the munitions made it to the target and none appear to have done significant damage, Israeli military officials said April 15.
Startup VerdeGo Aero has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract to advance development of a turbine-based hybrid-electric powerplant. Ground testing of the first prototype is planned to begin in May.
The U.S. Navy recently put in a rush order for new counter-drone systems that use laser-guided 70mm rockets as their effectors to help defend American forces in the Middle East. The Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher System (EAGLS) is very similar in form and function to U.S.-supplied VAMPIREs that Ukrainians are now using in combat. The purchase of the EAGLS came just days ahead of Iran's unprecedented missile and drone strikes on Israel.
For the Navy, Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 is a day that will live in infamy … at least for the commanding officer of the USS John McCain, and everybody who was involved in one of the more hilarious and embarrassing military bloopers. Now it’s the Navy’s turn to be memed into oblivion, and the Marines are leading the way.