The Guardian
Russian forces have started military drills near Ukraine simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to what Moscow deems threats from western officials about increased involvement in the conflict. Vladimir Putin ordered the drills earlier this month in a move Russian officials said was a warning to the west not to escalate tensions further.
The New York Times
With his army struggling to fend off fierce Russian advances all across the front, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine urged the United States and Europe to do more to defend his nation, dismissing fears of nuclear escalation and proposing that NATO planes shoot down Russian missiles in Ukrainian airspace.
The Washington Post
The Pentagon’s highly anticipated plan to deliver aid to suffering Palestinians via a floating pier off the Gaza Strip has encountered almost immediate logistical and security setbacks, officials said May 21, marking an inauspicious start to the mission intended to ease a severe humanitarian crisis there.
Defense One
The Pentagon and SpaceX could be playing an unending game of whac-a-mole to identify and shut off Starlink satellite terminals obtained by Russia to use in Ukraine. “I think this will be a continuous problem. We can continue to identify them and turn them off, but I think Russia will not stop" at trying to get more terminals, John Hill, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces May 21.
Defense News
The Pentagon in March put a price tag on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking in the officer’s club at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin read a list of costs the Kremlin had tallied over two years: More than 315,000 troops killed or wounded. Over $211 billion spent. Some 20 medium or large ships damaged or sunk in the Black Sea.
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
Recently, retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the dean of the Mitchell Institute, was invited to Kyiv, Ukraine, to participate in discussions with key leaders of their Air Force, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the Ministry of Defense. Discussions across three days centered on optimizing the use of airpower in accomplishing the defense of Ukraine and ejecting Russian military forces. Gen. Deptula emphasized that achieving air superiority is vital to securing those objectives.
Subscription Required
Aviation Week
The U.S. Air Force needs to prioritize Ukrainian pilots over those from other nations for F-16 training, as the current pace is too slow for what is needed, a bipartisan group of lawmakers argue.
SpaceNews
“Jamming and spoofing attacks on GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are becoming increasingly common as geopolitical crises escalate, creating major challenges and risks for aviation, shipping and other critical services across the world,” writes Sean Gorman, the CEO and cofounder of Zephr, a developer of next-gen location-based solutions.
DefenseScoop
Senior defense officials are putting the final touches on the first official Security Classification Guidance to direct what can and cannot be disclosed publicly about the Pentagon’s high-stakes Replicator initiative, DefenseScoop has learned.
Defense News
The Defense Department is proposing legislation that would allow it to establish an Indo-Pacific Security Assistance Initiative to deliver weapons to Taiwan and other friendly militaries in the region, modeled after a similar program used to arm Ukraine.
The War Zone
The U.S. Air Force's vaunted Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program closed out without ever reaching its goal of testing a laser-directed energy weapon on a fighter. This revelation came just days after the U.S. Army disclosed it was facing major hurdles with its new laser-armed variants of the 8x8 Stryker light armored vehicles. Earlier this year, the Air Force also announced it was no longer proceeding with a long-held plan to fit a laser weapon onto an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. These are just the latest examples of U.S. military laser weapon programs facing stark reality checks despite significant advances in this technology in recent years.
Breaking Defense
After receiving four high-power microwave prototypes designed to stop drone swarms, the U.S. Army is preparing to send them on to the Middle East to see how they perform, according to Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee May 21, George told lawmakers that like the Stryker-mounted lasers recently sent over to the U.S. Central Command area, the service’s high-power microwave prototypes are also headed that “immediately.”
One More Thing
AL.com
Evidently, one alligator didn’t get the message after he was wrangled off a Florida Air Force base last month. According to MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla., the 12-foot gator “returned to duty” a few days ago, spotted laying on a sidewalk near a medical building on the base.
