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Reuters
Russia has removed Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon", as head of the air force after he vanished from public view during a Wagner mercenary mutiny against the top army brass, two Russian news outlets reported on Aug. 23. A recipient of Russia's top military award, Surovikin is the most senior Russian military figure to lose his job over the June 23-34 mutiny, which President Vladimir Putin said could have tipped Russia into civil war.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
The way modern Airmen and Guardians prepare for the future fight is changing, with live, virtual, and constructive training offering new ways to practice essential skills. Learn more about how virtual and augmented reality, simulated environments, and other technologies are helping train warfighters everywhere from the cockpit to the maintenance depot.
Military.com
More than 60 Air Force and Space Force installations will see renovated dorms or new child development centers over the next couple of years as the Department of the Air Force prepares to sink more than $1.6 billion into improvements. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center announced a roundup of all their ongoing and future projects between fiscal years 2023 and 2027 in a press release on Aug. 23.
The Associated Press
North Korea said Aug. 24 that its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed again but vowed to make another attempt in October, demonstrating willingness to endure flops to acquire a key military asset coveted by leader Kim Jong Un. The failed launch prompted neighboring Japan to issue brief a “J-alert” ordering some residents to evacuate to safe places as the North Korean rocket flew over its southernmost islands of Okinawa to the Pacific Ocean.
Defense News
Brazil plans to invest 52.8 billion reals (U.S. $10.6 billion) for research, development and equipment acquisition efforts for its military, including nearly doubling the size of its Gripen fighter fleet and financing projects by local aircraft manufacturer Embraer for aerial refueling planes, the government announced earlier this month.
DefenseScoop
Amid growing interest from intelligence agencies and the Pentagon in buying remote sensing data and analytic services from commercial providers, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is probing industry on what hindrances vendors face when contracting with the U.S. government.
Breaking Defense
With an eye towards the proliferation of biodefense threats and being ready when a future emergency crops up, the Pentagon’s new Biodefense Council will be tasked with breaking down internal stovepipes, and streamlining responses and acquisition plans, according to senior Pentagon officials. The Department of Defense (DoD) released its first Biodefense Posture Review earlier this month designed to capture lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic response and align itself to operate more effectively during future bioincidents.
Breaking Defense
Indonesian and Boeing officials have inked a memorandum of understanding for the Southeast Asian country to acquire “up to 24” F-15EX fighter jets, Boeing announced in a Aug. 21 press release. The agreement was signed following a tour of Boeing’s production line in St. Louis. Dollar amounts and delivery timelines for the potential deal, which must be approved by the U.S. State Department, were not specified.
Defense One
The Defense Department has started to give industry some expectations and pointers on how it plans to conduct the on-ramp for a $48 billion technology research-and-development services contract vehicle. A final solicitation to reopen the Information Analysis Center Multiple-Award Contract, or IAC-MAC, and the associated requirements documents should go live on or after Sept. 5, DOD said in a presolicitation notice Aug. 21.
The War Zone
The U.S. government has approved the potential sale of infrared search and track systems, or IRSTs, to Taiwan for use on its F-16 Viper fighters. IRSTs would give Taiwanese Vipers a hugely valuable additional tool to spot and track aerial threats, especially stealthy ones like China's J-20 fighters. This comes amid delays in the Taiwanese Air Force's acquisition of new Block 70 F-16C/Ds, but the new sensor systems could also be used on its fleet of upgraded F-16Vs.
Inside Defense
The Defense Department is seeking feedback on plans to fabricate a pair of Over the Horizon Radar Systems in remote areas of Alaska, publishing a solicitation that sheds new light on government plans for the sensor project—including construction completion by 2028, a year later than the original targeted fielding date.
NBC News
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the violent Wagner mercenary group who in June led his fighters on an aborted mutinous march to Moscow, likely died in a jet crash in Russia on Aug. 23 with nine others, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport said. While the agency listed Prigozhin as having been on the flight, NBC News has not confirmed that he was. But if it proves true, it is a sudden and shocking end for the onetime ally of President Vladimir Putin and global warlord, whose group fought on the front lines in Ukraine and has been linked to violence in Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic and other countries.
One More Thing
Air Force Times
The Air Force Academy football team kicked up virtual praise—and criticism—for its new alternate uniform, honoring Airmen that carried out the World War II “Doolittle Raid” on Japan, considered one of the most daring, defining moments in Air Force history.
