U.S. lawmakers have emphasized the need to export as many weapons to Taiwan as possible as part of the so-called porcupine strategy meant to deter China from blockading—or outright invading—the island. U.S. weapons serve as the metaphorical quills in this strategy, but Taiwan is facing a $14 billion backlog in foreign military sales from the United States. Even though the U.S. views these weapons sales as integral to deterring China from attacking Taiwan, some still-unfulfilled deals were publicly announced as far back as 2017.
Air Force recruiters are about to be hit with a pay cut even as the service struggles to get new Airmen into the ranks and leadership cautions that recruitment may be a long-term problem for the military as a whole. Air Force Recruiting Service recruiters will lose $75 in special duty pay each month for fiscal year 2023, beginning in October, which would add up to nearly $900 a year in lost wages.
When President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin met face to face last year, they proudly touted how, “even in periods of tension,” Washington and Moscow could cooperate on nuclear issues. A year and a war later, even such existential-level cooperation appears shaky. Most urgently, ongoing fighting around a Ukrainian nuclear power plant captured by Russian forces has injected fresh uncertainty into a U.S.-Russian nuclear relationship that was already reeling from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent U.S. and European sanctions on Moscow.
One extraordinary thing about the U.S. Air Force’s unmanned aircraft revolution was that it almost didn’t happen. The RQ-1 Predator changed the battlefield in Afghanistan, and later Iraq and elsewhere. And as GA-ASI workers were proving out and perfecting the Predator’s capabilities, they also developed a larger, more capable successor: the MQ-9A Reaper.
On the DefenseScoop Podcast, a highlight from Department of Defense Chief Information Officer John Sherman’s keynote address at FedTalks. Sherman highlights the progress the Pentagon has made on its zero-trust journey and how his organization’s people are the drivers for that transformation.
Barksdale Air Force Base, La., announced that the B-52H Stratofortress took on a particularly interesting role during a recent exercise. Four such bombers were equipped with relatively sizable cargo containers tailored to fit in their bomb bays in order to test the Air Force’s rapid deployment concepts, and the demonstration could signal a possible decrease in logistical footprint for future operational bomber deployments.
Capt. Carlos Mendoza wanted to do his laundry. It was the morning of Aug. 26, 2021, at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, where Mendoza had been awake for nearly 24 hours thanks to his nighttime shift as a flight nurse during Operation Allies Refuge—the massive U.S.-led humanitarian effort to help Afghans escape the resurgent Taliban. After a week of nonstop operations in Kabul, this was Mendoza’s chance for a fresh uniform. He thought he could squeeze in a load of clothes and—maybe, if he was lucky—some sleep.
In a new interim draft strategy, the Air Force’s chief information officer lays out the service’s vision over the next six years for its future digital environment, including implementing zero trust, accelerating cloud adoption, and harnessing data and artificial intelligence.
The Air Force is transitioning to more virtual training to give pilots an edge, saying some higher-end maneuvers cannot be replicated in real-time training. Learn more on Air Force Magazine’s Live, Virtual & Constructive Training page.
In-person career fairs are making their post-pandemic comeback, and it couldn't have come at a better time. American businesses are picking up steam, and there are a lot of companies out there that are looking to fill their open positions with military-connected employees. The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is leading a free, two-day career fair for job-seekers at all levels and backgrounds Sept. 21-22, with one day for in-person attendees and one day for virtual ones.