Moscow came under one of the largest attacks by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Aug. 21, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the country’s capital. The attacks came as Ukrainian forces continue to push into Russia’s western Kursk region. In the past week, they have also struck three bridges, several airfields, and an oil depot in a sign they are not letting up on their attacks.
Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon traded cross-border strikes on Aug. 21, fueling concerns about a wider regional conflagration as negotiators struggle to broker a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
The Army is leaning heavily on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network for advanced command and control, but service officials say they want to keep their options open as new commercial megaconstellations materialize.
Internal safety documents obtained by Military.com show that warnings related to a mechanical issue that caused an Air Force Osprey to crash off the coast of Japan last year, killing eight Airmen, had been identified as far back as 2013 but seemingly went unaddressed.
The Air Force is moving “as fast as possible” to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning tools into its efforts to boost readiness levels and prepare for future conflicts, according to Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin.
On Aug. 13, Breaking Defense published an opinion piece from Charles Galbreath and Jennifer Reeves of the Mitchell Institute, which called for Pentagon leaders to kill plans from the U.S. Army to expand its space capabilities. The op-ed has become the talk of the Army space community, and two key Army officers offer their formal rebuttal.
TrustPoint, a startup developing a next-generation global navigation satellite system, won SpaceWERX contracts with a combined value of $3.8 million. Under two SpaceWERX direct-to-phase 2 contracts, TrustPoint will demonstrate a ground control segment that does not rely on GPS and an advanced position, navigation and timing (PNT) security application, according to an Aug. 21 news release.
Ares Industries, a new U.S. defense start-up, says it began flight testing of a compact and relatively low-cost anti-ship cruise missile concept within 11 weeks of its founding. This comes amid a new surge in interest in cheaper stand-off munitions within the U.S. military as it shifts its focus to preparing for conflicts with high-end fights, especially one against China in the Pacific, that could require massive expenditure of munitions.
The Defense Innovation Unit has selected three companies to prototype baseline hardware and software solutions for electromagnetic interference capabilities, the organization announced Aug. 21. Auterion, ModalAI, and Neros, after being selected from a pool of 99 companies, are tasked with developing the prototypes to be ready for initial demonstrations and testing two months after the awarded contract, submitting solutions, according to DIU.
The Pentagon and Capitol Hill are split over the future of the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law that helps the U.S. quickly ramp up key industries. The budget associated with the landmark legislation has been critical in past national security emergencies—hastening the production of everything from armored vehicles during the Iraq War to vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. And it’s now helping surge America’s defense industry, which has shown atrophy as the country supports wartime partners in Ukraine and Israel.
In 1944, during World War II, a 17-year-old Cambridge, Massachusetts native began her federal career as a clerk-typist to support the war effort. More than 80 years later, Maria Bandouveres continues to put service above self while working every day at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
