About 2,000 U.S. troops have been put on prepare-to-deploy orders for possible support to Israel, according to a defense official. The troops are not being sent anywhere yet, nor would they necessarily go to Israel or Gaza. If they were deployed, they would go to a nearby country to be prepared to support Israel in the war against Hamas, the official said.
The Air Force is entering what leaders say could be its most transformational period in a generation, as the service looks to position itself as a global powerhouse for decades to come. If their vision comes true, the Air Force would enter the 2030s as a smaller but more flexible force that is better positioned to win America’s wars, with sharper leaders and savvier airmen. Just give it time.
Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with ... Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Dean Lt. Gen. David Deptula (USAF, Ret.) about the complexity of military operations in Gaza.
Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri said it is conducting a new round of radon testing at a base day care more than a year after high levels of the radioactive gas—which can cause lung cancer—were found in rooms of the facility and nothing was done. In an Oct. 10 memo sent to all personnel at the base, officials said that testing was done at the child development center in early 2022 and two rooms were found to have the gas in levels that required “mitigation to reduce the radon levels below the acceptable federal level.”
As many high-level military officials from China’s People’s Liberation Army have disappeared over the last two months, experts are in agreement that something disturbing is happening inside the world’s fastest growing military—even if what exactly is driving it all is unclear. “Though China hasn’t confirmed it, I think the general consensus at the moment among China watchers is that a purge is underway,” Meia Nouwens, Chinese military expert at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, said in an email to Breaking Defense.
“In this post, I survey the legal context in which Hamas’s attacks and Israel’s response are taking place. Three facets of that context are of particular significance: the law governing the use of force; the classification of the conflict; and the law of belligerent occupation,” writes Michael N. Schmitt, the G. Norman Lieber Distinguished Scholar at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“On Oct. 7 the world witnessed yet another horrific tragedy when the terrorist organization Hamas conducted a savage surprise attack on Israel. The casualties have been substantial. … This post will outline the legal environment, analyze Hamas’ strategy—which I contend is essentially a lawfare one—and then discuss some ideas as to how it might be countered,” writes retired Maj. Gen. Charles J. Dunlap Jr., the former deputy judge advocate general of the U.S. Air Force.
As the Army works to modernize the service’s aviation portfolio, officials charged with the effort are keen on integrating artificial intelligence and autonomy in various ways across the future fleet—although fully realizing the capability will have to be a journey.
Lockheed Martin's proposed design for a Next Generation Interceptor has passed muster with the Missile Defense Agency, clearing the way for the company to continue to mature critical technologies slated for the massive guided missile in pursuit of a critical design review slated for the summer of 2025.
Jimmy Petrolia has had his fair share of memorable moments miles above the ground, in both Air Force pararescue and as a record-setting skydiver. But the silence—and even serenity—of the moment is what he’ll remember most about his recent world record jump alongside three other Pararescuemen and a 73-year-old astronaut.