Sergei Shoigu seemed to have survived. The man leading Vladimir Putin‘s war in Ukraine was looking relaxed just last week as he appeared in uniform at the Russian leader’s fifth inauguration ceremony and then at Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade. But on May 12 he was removed as defense minister, the post he had held on to for more than a decade despite a rebel mutiny, a corruption scandal, and a calamitous start to the full-scale invasion of Russia’s neighbor.
A proposed House policy bill would slash the number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters the Pentagon would buy in fiscal 2025 as lawmakers’ patience with the program and manufacturer Lockheed Martin wears thin. The Pentagon’s proposed FY25 budget called for buying 68 of the fifth-generation fighter—42 F-35As for the Air Force, plus 13 F-35Bs and 13 F-35Cs for the Navy and Marine Corps. But the chairman’s mark of the House Armed Services Committee’s proposed FY25 National Defense Authorization Act would first cut that purchase to 58 jets.
Ukraine is shooting down a far smaller proportion of Russian missile attacks than it was earlier in the war. The worsening performance of Ukraine’s air defenses comes as Russia increases drone and missile attacks, and fires more harder-to-hit weapons, such as ballistic missiles. Kyiv is also running low on ammunition for the Western-supplied Patriot systems that have been its best defense against such attacks.
China, Russia, and other potential U.S. adversaries are showing increased interest in disrupting American space assets through cyberattacks that could cripple military communications, a top DOD cyber official said. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy Mieke Eoyang said nation-state hackers are mulling disrupting space assets “at all segments,” and emphasized ground stations that transmit data to satellites and space stations are easiest to target.
The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee has given the thumbs up to the Defense Department’s nascent plan to create a commercial “space reserve” to bolster military satellite capabilities during wartime: “The Secretary of Defense may establish and carry out a program to be known as the ‘Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve’ program.”
House lawmakers want the Pentagon to establish a test and evaluation hub they hope will help transition innovative technology to military units at a faster rate. In its version of fiscal 2025 defense policy legislation, released May 13, the House Armed Services Committee calls on the Defense Department to create the test and evaluation cell within the Defense Innovation Unit.
A key House panel is endorsing a 4.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for service members on top of a 15 percent raise for junior enlisted troops in a must-pass defense policy bill that was released May 13. The recommendation from the House Armed Services Committee in its draft version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, means the military’s lowest-ranking forces could see a 19.5 percent pay hike next year if the plan becomes law.
An internal consensus is forming about the aircraft that will one day replace the Lockheed Martin C-130J and C-5M and the Boeing C-17, even if prospects for delivering the new strategic and tactical airlift fleets within the next two decades are growing dim.
Satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital announced May 13 that Lockheed Martin has signed a new contract to purchase 18 satellite buses. Lockheed Martin will use the satellite buses to produce 18 satellites for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Tracking Layer contract. Terran Orbital is publicizing the new contract the day before earnings, likely in an effort to reassure investors that its partnership with Lockheed Martin remains strong after the defense contractor withdrew its offer to acquire Terran Orbital.
In episode 182 of the Aerospace Advantage, Heather “Lucky” Penney and retired Lt. Gen. Joseph “Gus” Guastella chat with the Director of the Air National Guard. Guardsmen are deployed around the globe every single day helping meet combatant command demand. But along with the rest of the Air Force, equipment is aging, and the Air Force is not sufficiently funded to procure replacements fast enough.
At the apartment door where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a small shrine is growing with the tributes from the Air Force unit grappling with his loss. There is a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings, and a black marker for mourners to leave prayers and remembrances for the 23-year-old.
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has released a new rendering of a stealthy aerial refueling tanker. The U.S. Air Force says it needs more survivable tankers no later than 2040, but serious questions about those plans are growing amid budgetary uncertainty. There need for stealthy aerial refuelers is an increasingly critical imperative, especially in the context of a potential future high-end conflict, such as one in the Pacific against China.
Aviator and aircraft callsigns are the stuff of legend. In fiction, they can be iconic and instantly cool ... while in reality there isn’t a guarantee. Whatever the case, one U.S. Air Force pilot inside an F-15E Strike Eagle known as “Mullet” got a lot of attention online this week. It wasn’t for any of his actions, it’s because of what he took with him in the skies over the Middle East.
