The Defense Department announced July 2 that Regina Dugan has been appointed the 19th director of DARPA, the Pentagon’s advanced weapons shop. She will fill the vacancy left by Tony Tether’s departure in February. Zachary Lemnios, director of defense research and engineering in the Pentagon, said Dugan is “precisely the dynamic leader DARPA needs to open new technology frontiers and transition revolutionary technologies to serve our nation’s interests.” Prior to her appointment, she served several senior posts in industry. She also spent 1996 to 2000 as a DARPA program manager. She has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.