The Air Force's new emphasis on deception and related capabilities was underscored by the appearance of what was described as a "prototype portable camouflage, concealment, and deception hangar" at a recent Air National Guard exercise. Nicknamed Hoodoo Sea and staged out of Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida, the training event was centered on exploring new and improved capabilities, as well as associated tactics, techniques, and procedures, for conducting various types of operations from austere environments.
The United States has agreed with the Philippines to strengthen cooperation on space situational awareness and space-based maritime domain awareness in the latest series of actions Washington has taken to strengthen ties with Asia-Pacific countries to counter China. The two countries also agreed to hold the first U.S.-Philippines Civil Space Dialogue this year to boost bilateral space cooperation.
U.S. forces could gain access to a number of military bases near Russian borders if ongoing negotiations with Finland on a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) prove successful. Finnish newspaper Helsinki Sanomat reported this month that the proposed agreement may allow for military infrastructure investments in the country, which could benefit the region’s fleet of Lockheed Martin-made F-35 warplanes.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met May 8 with the U.S. ambassador in Beijing, Nicholas Burns, in one of the highest-level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials since a suspected Chinese spy balloon sent relations to new lows in February.
Driven by advancements in technology and research, the Air Force and Space Force are adapting how they train their warfighters to complete the missions at hand. Keep up with all the latest news on changes and improvements to the services’ training enterprises.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James propose more budgetary flexibility and a new approach to program management.
The Air Force is developing roadmaps to help guide its implementation of the Pentagon’s zero trust strategy and is working to craft guidance around the use of generative artificial intelligence tools to further promote enhanced cybersecurity practices, the military branch’s chief information officer said during a Billington Cybersecurity webinar.
The Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, platform intended to replace current fifth-generation fighter jets has long been shrouded in secrecy, but the service has been providing more details about one component of the program—the jet fighter drones that will team with the piloted sixth-generation aircraft.
The Pentagon’s artificial intelligence office is reviving a series of worldwide trials meant to advance its vision of seamless connectivity and coordination, known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control. The return of the Global Information Dominance Experiments, or GIDE, under the direction of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, or CDAO, comes after a months-long hiatus and amid an explosion of public interest in AI and its potential to augment humans, military or otherwise.
The long, drawn-out saga of China’s latest spaceplane mission has come to an end, with the reusable vehicle completing a second secretive mission that lasted much longer than its first flight. China’s spacecraft landed on May 8 at the Jiuquan launch centre, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The uncrewed spaceplane returned to its launch site in northwest China after spending 276 days parked in Earth’s orbit.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin was named an honorary brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force and made an honorary member of the U.S. Space Force on May 5, more than 50 years after he first set foot on the moon. “Without the courage and dedication of Aldrin, we may never have been afforded the luxury of leading the lifestyle we enjoy today,” Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein said at the promotion ceremony in El Segundo, Calif., according to a Space Force press release.