The Associated Press
The United States will pull the majority of its troops from Chad and Niger as it works to restore key agreements governing what role there might be there for the American military and its counterterrorism operations, the Pentagon said April 25. Both African countries have been integral to the U.S. military’s efforts to counter violent extremist organizations across the Sahel region, but Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement last month that allows U.S. troops to operate in the West African country.
The Washington Post
Militants launched mortars at Israeli forces in Gaza as they prepared for the arrival of a floating U.S. Army pier dispatched to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid, U.S. officials said April 25, an incident that underscores the mission’s vulnerabilities. The attack on a “marshaling area” for the pier caused minimal damage, and occurred while U.S. ships involved in the operation remain a ways off shore, said Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
POLITICO
The U.S. is putting the finishing touches on one of its largest Ukraine military aid packages to date, preparing to ink contracts for as much as $6 billion worth of weapons and equipment for Kyiv’s forces, according to two U.S. officials. The package, which could be finalized and announced as soon as April 26, will dip into the $61 billion in Ukraine funding signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. It would include Patriot air defense munitions, artillery ammunition, drones, counter-drone weapons, and air-to-air missiles to be fitted on fighter planes, according to the two officials and a third person familiar with the planning.
The War Zone
The Ukrainian Air Force is using iPads, or similar tablets in the cockpits of its Soviet-era jets to enable rapid integration of modern Western air-to-ground weapons. ... This has been confirmed by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante. While many questions remain about the tablet and how it exactly works, there’s now footage showing it fitted in cockpits during combat (or at least live-fire training) missions.
The New York Times
About 90,000 NATO troops have been training in Europe this spring for the Great Power war that most hope will never come: a clash between Russia and the West with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Breaking Defense
Even as the White House has pushed billions of dollars towards Ukraine and Israel, the American defense industry has been wary of standing up production capacity over fears that it will invest and then suddenly see government demand drop quickly. But that fear is unfounded, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who also said that there is no planning underway for another supplemental request to come this year following this week’s passage of $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the Pacific.
DefenseScoop
Abill signed into law by President Joe Biden on April 24 includes funding for Israel to procure a directed energy system called Iron Beam. The Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes a total of $26.4 billion “to support Israel in its effort to defend itself against Iran and its proxies and to reimburse U.S. military operations in response to recent attacks,” according to a summary of the legislation provided by Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee.
Defense One
Northrop Grumman’s classified satellite program was canceled because the Pentagon didn’t have enough money to pay for it, the company said. “On the restricted program, there's very little I can say given the nature of that program, except to say that the Air Force canceled that program largely due to budgetary concerns and prioritization, but the requirement likely does still exist and so we will see how that plays out over time,” CEO Kathy Warden told investors during the company’s first quarter earnings call.
Military.com
Months after Congress gave the Pentagon the authority to give bonuses this year to junior enlisted troops facing economic hardships and a month after lawmakers provided funding for the benefit, the department is still deciding whether to actually give out the bonuses. After three weeks of being pressed by Military.com about whether it plans to pay out any economic hardship bonuses, the Pentagon sent a brief statement saying it is still evaluating what to do.
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Inside Defense
The Air Force sought to pursue several simultaneous multiyear procurement strategies for its munitions sets in the fiscal year 2024 budget, but Congress has excluded the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile from the plan, Inside Defense has learned. AMRAAM received $53 million for advanced procurement in the FY24 spending bill that lawmakers approved in March after months of infighting, despite the service requesting $212 million.
Breaking Defense
Russia’s veto on April 24 of a UN Security Council resolution to reaffirm the 1967 Outer Space Treaty’s bar on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in space crafted by the U.S. and Japan highlights tautening tensions between Moscow and Washington over military space activities, including U.S. concerns that Russia has been planning to orbit a nuclear anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon.
One More Thing
Military Times
As a child growing up in Northern California, Marine Col. Nicole Mann would look at the stars and wonder if she could ever explore them herself.
