‘Blueprints’ for China’s New Fighter Similar to F-35, Air Force Chief Says

The Air Force's top officer said China's new stealth fighter has one distinctive feature: It appears to draw its inspiration from the U.S.’s F-35. “It’s still fairly new,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said in a Nov. 19 interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine. “But, yes, it’s pretty clear; you could put it side-by-side and see, at least, where we believe they got their blueprints from, if you will.” 

Radar Sweep

Ukraine Fires US-Made ATACMS Missiles into Russia for First Time

The Washington Post

Ukraine fired American-made ATACMS missiles deep into Russia for the first time on Nov. 19, U.S., Ukrainian, and Russian officials said, marking an intensification of the war just months before President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office heralds a potential major shift in course.

Russia Has Suffered Colossal Losses in Ukraine. Is Its Army Depleted?

The New York Times

Russia’s military made its largest territorial gains in more than two years in October, as it pressed farther into Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region—but at a heavy cost. ... It is difficult to obtain concrete information about Russian casualties, which comprise deaths and injuries. Moscow has an incentive to minimize its losses and rarely discloses any information; Ukraine and its allies have an incentive to overstate them.

Panel Report on China’s Tech Developments Calls for US Action on Space and AI

SpaceNews

A congressional advisory body is calling for urgent measures to counter China’s rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and space technologies. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its annual report released Nov. 19 highlights the Chinese government’s state-led investments and “techno-nationalist” strategies as key drivers behind its progress in these critical sectors.

Updating Software at the Speed of Warfighting

Air & Space Forces Magazine

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.

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Elbit Sees Demand Growing for Directed Energy Weapon

Aviation Week

Elbit Systems expects the Iron Beam system it is co-developing for the Israeli military to gain interest abroad, while also pursuing an airborne laser system, Chief Executive Bezhalel Machlis said.

One More Thing

WWII Airman’s Remains Positively Identified 80 Years After Final Mission

We Are The Mighty

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), in partnership with Project Recover and other experts in the field, has announced that they have positively identified the remains of 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr., who had been Missing In Action since World War II. The 21-year-old from Livermore, Calif., served as a bombardier in a B-24 bomber named Heaven Can Wait that was shot down over a remote bay in Papua New Guinea on March 11, 1944.