European leaders held an urgently arranged meeting Feb. 17 in part to discuss the potential deployment of their troops to Ukraine under a ceasefire deal, as contacts accelerate between the United States and Russia over halting the war.
The Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later, a senior administration official said, citing supply chain issues and changing requirements, after the White House highlighted delays in the project over the weekend.
“Ukraine hasn’t said what caused the crash that killed Moonfish, 30, on Aug. 26, 2024. An investigation is under way, and most fighter-plane crashes have several causes. But friendly fire likely was involved, according to a Ukrainian lawmaker and other sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. When the F-16s arrived in Ukraine, the Biden administration withheld a key technology that helps ground-based air defense distinguish between friend and foe,” writes Jillian Kay Melchior.
A U.S. Army Black Hawk crew may not have heard critical air traffic control messages instructing it to fly behind the commercial regional jet it ultimately collided with midair at Reagan National Airport in Washington on Jan. 29, the National Transportation Safety Board said Feb. 14.
U.S. forces killed a senior operative of the al-Qaeda-linked group Hurras al-Din in northwestern Syria this weekend, U.S. Central Command said. The Feb. 15 strike in northwestern Syria killed a member of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din group, described by CENTCOM as a “senior finance and logistics official.”
General Atomics is ready to step in the ring to compete for contracts to build President Donald Trump’s “Iron Dome for America” with a new technology the company believes can radically contain the costs of the project, the head of General Atomics’ aeronautics unit said.
Rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major is accelerating development and testing of its Draper liquid rocket engine in collaboration with U.S. defense agencies and military contractors. The goal: to position the engine for potential use in next-generation missiles that would be part of the Trump administration’s Iron Dome missile-defense initiative.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to seek reductions to forecasted military spending over the next five years and shift those dollars toward still-undefined Pentagon priorities favored by the Trump administration, people familiar with the matter said.
Ukraine appears to have destroyed the first example of Russia’s S-350 Vityaz ground-based air defense system since the start of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion. The S-350 is one of Russia’s most advanced surface-to-air missile systems and has only been rarely seen deployed in the conflict.
The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGE’s blind cost cutting will put communities at risk.
President Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to stop fighting” and shot down a suggestion that Putin’s ambitions could extend beyond Ukraine’s borders. “I think he wants to stop fighting. I see that. We spoke long and hard. [Middle East envoy] Steve Witkoff was with him for a very extended period, like about three hours. I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump told reporters on Feb. 16 when asked what he thinks Putin wants.
In this episode of the Aerospace Advantage, Heather “Lucky” Penney discusses the latest Chinese security developments with Mitchell Institute Senior Fellow Mike Dahm. Whether discussing the creation of a new service branch focused on space; continued development of their nuclear arsenal; or the “Christmas surprise” flight of multiple new combat aircraft, 2024 was a busy and consequential one for the Chinese defense establishment. We explore these developments, take a look at what might transpire in 2025, and consider how this should factor into U.S. defense decision making.
The Defense Innovation Unit announced Feb. 14 it has selected 37 systems and components to add to its list of commercial drone capabilities certified for military use, pending final approvals to ensure they meet congressionally mandated cybersecurity and supply chain standards.
The United States lost its first nuclear weapon exactly 75 years ago when a Convair B-36 Peacemaker jettisoned a single freefall nuclear bomb before crashing in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. This was the first of at least 32 known U.S. nuclear weapon accidents, known as Broken Arrows, which are defined as the accidental launching, firing, detonating, theft, or loss of a weapon.