US Confirms First Attack on American Troops in Months as Drones Shot Down in Iraq

By Chris Gordon
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “There were no injuries or damage to infrastructure.” Another defense official said that two one-way attack drones had been shot down. The episode comes on the heels of an incident the day before in Syria in which a coalition fighter destroyed a rocket system that was firing in the vicinity of a U.S. base in Rumalyn, Syria.

ICBM Cancer Study Finds No High Levels of Hazardous Chemicals at Vandenberg

By Chris Gordon
The Air Force found no significant evidence of harmful chemicals at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., as part of its ongoing Missile Community Cancer Study, the service said on April 22. Samples collected in February found “no instances of contamination above regulatory action level.” The sampling of Vandenberg focused on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are possible carcinogens.

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Air Force Student Pilot Struck, Killed by Train Near Laughlin AFB in Texas

Stars and Stripes

An Air Force student pilot was killed last week when he was struck by a train in Del Rio, Texas, near Laughlin Air Force Base, where he was stationed, military and law enforcement officials said April 22. Second Lt. James Chitika was found dead off base April 16 near railroad tracks in Del Rio, officials at Laughlin said in a news release.

China’s New H-20 Stealth Bomber ‘Not Really’ a Concern for Pentagon, Says Intel Official

Breaking Defense

Whatever may come of China’s new long-range stealth bomber known as the Xi’an H-20, U.S. officials are confident it won’t measure up to American designs, according to a DOD intelligence official. “It’s probably nowhere near as good as U.S. LO [low observable] platforms, particularly more advanced ones that we have coming down,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in a briefing with reporters at the Pentagon.

Injury Rates for Musk's SpaceX Exceed Industry Average for Second Year

Reuters

Injury rates at SpaceX facilities continued to exceed an industry average in 2023, according to a Reuters review of safety data reported to U.S. regulators by the space venture controlled by billionaire Elon Musk. The 2023 records, newly disclosed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also show that injury rates at some SpaceX facilities grew worse than those the company had reported in 2022.

Pentagon Eases Cloak of Secrecy Around Space Warfare Training

SpaceNews

The Pentagon has partially declassified some space electronic warfare technologies and exercises, a move seen as critical for enhancing U.S. Space Force training and fostering closer collaboration with allied forces. Col. Christopher Fernengel, director of the Commander’s Action Group at the Space Force’s Space Operations Command, credited the Defense Department’s space policy office for leading the declassification efforts.

After Niger Withdrawal, Chad May Want US Troops To Leave

Task & Purpose

Days after the U.S. accepted demands to withdraw American troops from Niger, the U.S. is also facing calls from its African neighbor, Chad, to remove its small contingent of troops. While the U.S. has long had a much smaller presence in Chad, Niger’s neighbor in the region of central Africa known as the Sahel, those troops may soon be under pressure to leave as well.

US vs. Russia: Why the Biden Strategy in Africa May Be Failing

POLITICO

U.S. officials are starting to accept that their strategy of pressing Niger and other war-battered African countries to break off ties with Moscow and embrace democratic norms is no longer working. The recent breakdown in relations with Niger, where American troops are set to withdraw as Russian fighters arrive, has forced a reckoning inside the Biden administration over its approach to maintaining its allies in volatile parts of Africa.

Space Force’s Saltzman: New Readiness Model ‘Fundamentally Alters’ Space Combat Prep

Breaking Defense

In his latest missive to Guardians, Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman urges service leaders to urgently implement the service’s new readiness model—a rotating training-to-operations process he says represents the “most drastic change accompanying the establishment of the Space Force.” The April 19 CSO Notice to Guardians (C-Note), obtained by Breaking Defense, stresses that the new Space Force Generation (SPAFORGEN) model to build readiness “fundamentally alters how we prepare for operations.”

US and Philippine Forces Launch Combat Drills in the Disputed South China Sea

The Associated Press

American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in years April 22 in a show of allied firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing. The annual exercises by the longtime treaty allies will run until May 10 and involve more than 16,000 of their military personnel, along with more than 250 French and Australian forces.