Israel has targeted hundreds of Syria’s naval and other military assets in the past two days as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Missile Defense Agency intercepted an incoming ballistic missile threat target in a test from Guam, according to a Dec. 10 agency announcement. The test is the “first ballistic missile defense event executed from Guam,” the statement notes.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with officials in Japan on Dec. 10 to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington’s commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea. ... Austin’s visit also came amid growing concerns over the safety of Osprey military aircraft, which have been grounded in the United States following a near crash at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico last month. The incident, caused by weakened metal components, was similar to a fatal crash off southwestern Japan last year.
The conferenced version of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act would require the Pentagon office charged with investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) to partner with a new counter-drone task force that lawmakers want the U.S. military to establish.
The U.S. government’s must-pass defense policy bill includes a measure that aims to shield U.S. troops and diplomats from ensnarement by commercial spyware programs. The provision, slotted into the $895.2 billion National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, seeks to secure U.S. government-issued devices used by diplomats, armed forces personnel, and staffers in the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Not only has China’s space fleet ballooned over the past decade, but Beijing is increasingly using maneuvering satellites to crisscross geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) in order to keep eyes on, and potentially do harm to, their U.S. counterparts, according to Space Force and industry officials.
“Today America faces a set of national security challenges that it has never seen before. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are playing for keeps and America’s existential interests may soon be on the line. ... That is why it is crucial the United States Air Force continue to invest in its next-generation air dominance (NGAD) penetrating counter-air (PCA) aircraft, along with associated mission types like the uninhabited collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) and the B-21 bomber,” writes retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Extreme weather is creating fertile ground for conflict in multiple regions of Africa, the Pentagon’s top Africa official said Dec. 10. It’s also threatening the U.S.’s ability to maintain military bases like Camp Lemmonier, Djibouti, on the continent’s central east coast, said Maureen Farrell, deputy assistant defense secretary for African affairs.
In this episode, Heather “Lucky” Penney chats with members of the Mitchell Institute team about President-elect Trump’s defense vision and what the DOGE might mean for national security. We also discuss the latest developments in Chinese air and space power, while considering Elon Musk’s comments questioning the need for manned combat aviation. We wrap with a review of the Mitchell Institute’s Airpower Futures Forum.
As the U.S. Space Force marks its fifth anniversary, senior leaders and rank-and-file members, known as Guardians, gathered at the second annual Spacepower Conference in Orlando this week. Against the backdrop of an increasingly contested space domain, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman in a keynote speech Dec. 10 outlined the service’s achievements and challenges that lie ahead.
Space Force Guardians need to integrate AI technologies for myriad operations or risk losing decision advantage, officials with the service say. AI could be used for assured communications, wargaming, image identification, and data assessment, all of which will be needed as decision timelines grow ever shorter in future fights.
New polling data from the Pentagon finds that 60 percent of young female adults in the U.S. have never considered joining the military or pictured themselves in uniform, largely for reasons that could be addressed by targeted recruiting and educational outreach, a Defense Department official said Dec. 10.