House Defense Bill Would Slow F-15E Retirements, Add Future F-15EXs

The leading lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee is proposing significant changes to the Air Force’s plans for its F-15 fleet, preventing the service from cutting 26 F-15E Strike Eagles and adding money for more F-15EX Eagles IIs in 2026, according to a draft version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

Radar Sweep

Biden Moves Forward on $1 Billion in New Arms for Israel

The Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration notified Congress on May 14 that it was moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, U.S. and congressional officials said, a massive arms package less than a week after the White House paused a shipment of bombs over a planned Israeli assault on Rafah.

Britain to Deploy Homegrown Hypersonic Missile by 2030

The Telegraph

Britain plans to equip the Armed Forces with a homegrown hypersonic cruise missile by the end of the decade, The Telegraph has learned. Military chiefs want a weapon capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 5 as the Government races to catch up with China, Russia, and the U.S.

Russia Detains Senior General, Widening Military Purge

The New York Times

Russian security agents detained a senior general early Tuesday, widening a purge of the country’s sprawling Defense Ministry amid President Vladimir V. Putin’s broader shake-up of his government. Lt. Gen. Yuri Kuznetsov, who oversaw the ministry’s personnel department, was detained on an accusation of “large-scale” bribery, Russia’s Investigative Committee, a federal law enforcement agency, said in a statement.

OPINION: It’s Time to Rebalance Funding Toward the Air Force and Space Force

Defense News

“Two decades of ground-centric operations saw a dramatic surge in Army spending to the exclusion of sufficient investment in air power and space power. It is time for a reset. Combatant commanders today require more air power and space power—and budgets need to reflect that,” writes retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jen Reeves, a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Ukrainians Plead with White House to Lift Missile-Use Restrictions

Defense One

As Secretary of State Anthony Blinken played guitar in Kyiv, part of a trip to announce another round of arms support, several Ukrainian government officials were meeting with lawmakers in Washington to pressure the White House to remove restrictions on how Ukraine uses U.S. weapons—particularly long-range ATACMS missiles. They also want more training for F-16 pilots in the United States.

Space Force Should Consider Alternative Launch Sites, Lawmakers Say

Defense News

As U.S. launch rates surge at the Defense Department’s two coastal ranges, House lawmakers are pushing the military to consider alternative sites for sending space payloads to orbit. In the House Armed Services Committee’s draft fiscal 2025 defense policy bill, lawmakers raised concerns about the ability of DOD’s most in-demand spaceports at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to meet military and commercial capacity needs in the coming years.

One More Thing

For Decades, Recipients Were Honored with Purple Hearts Made During WWII. This Company Now Forges New Medals.

Military.com

For decades, recipients of the Purple Heart were honored with medals that had been forged during World War II, leftover stock from preparations for the invasion of Japan that was expected to cost many American lives. The Truman Library Institute estimated that 495,000 were left after the war, medals that would go on to be awarded to service members and families through the Korean War, Vietnam War, and on.