The United States has approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including the first-time delivery to the self-ruled island of an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system, in a move that has drawn China’s criticism. Taiwan’s presidential office on Oct. 26 thanked Washington for greenlighting the potential arms sales.
Israel’s airstrikes early Oct. 26 didn’t just destroy critical Iranian military infrastructure. They also battered the reputation of Russian military equipment, which has already been pummeled by poor performance during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In the high-stakes world of military leadership, non-commissioned officers are often faced with the challenge of balancing their roles as both leaders and comrades. While the desire to be liked by peers and subordinates is a natural human tendency, it can be a dangerous path for those in positions of authority,” writes Air Force Master Sgt. Nathan Jemar, a munitions systems craftsman with the 649th Munitions Squadron.
The Pentagon says that North Korea has sent 10,000 troops to Russia, some of whom are heading for the front lines, and that the move has serious implications for the conflict and the rest of the European continent.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced Oct. 28 that it had signed a $500 million deal with Rafael and Elbit to expand production of the Iron Beam laser air defense system, set to come online next year. “The system is expected to integrate into Israel’s multi-layered defense array as a complementary capability to the Iron Dome system. This integration will significantly enhance Israel’s defense capabilities against current and future threats while offering substantially lower operational costs,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Pentagon’s Chief Information Office is planning to publish new guidance and instruction for the department’s military services and components on accelerating software modernization efforts, according to a senior official.
A new White House “final rule” announced Oct. 28 aims to shut down the flow of U.S. venture capital and other investment funds into Chinese technology that poses a national security risk, such as quantum computers, artificial intelligence and advanced microelectronics, senior White House officials said.
The Space Force is pushing hard to wrap up its long lagging programs to upgrade the ground systems and receivers for Global Position System (GPS) satellites—including ditching the Air Force B-2 bomber as a first test platform for airborne receivers capable of using the jam-resistant M-Code signal in order to speed them to cross-service aircraft operators, according to a senior service acquisition official.
The burgeoning in-space satellite servicing industry is positioning itself to transform orbital operations, from refueling to potential in-space repairs. Companies are eager to demonstrate their capabilities to a crucial customer: the U.S. military. But convincing the Pentagon to trust commercial providers with delicate, high-value national security satellites remains a significant challenge.
As software has become essential to how the U.S. fights and wins wars, how the Department of Defense goes about modernizing and updating that software has become crucial too. Learn more about how faster software modernization is tying the military together, breaking through bureaucracy along the way.
Lockheed Martin has claimed the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will deliver more economic benefit to the UK than any other current or future combat aircraft program.
The U.S. Space Force saw a sixfold increase in demand for foreign military sales over the last year – growth that the service attributes to the increasingly important role space systems play in economic and national security worldwide.
In the early years of the Cold War, with the Space Race heating up, weapons testing ongoing and proxy conflicts raging around the world, the United States Army decided it needed to take a decisive step for national security. The plan? Conquer the Moon. Or at the very least establish a forward operating base on the lunar surface.