The U.S. will send Ukraine an undisclosed number of medium-range cluster bombs and an array of rockets, artillery and armored vehicles in a military aid package totaling about $375 million, U.S. officials said Sept. 24. Officials expect an announcement on Sept. 25, as global leaders meet at the U.N. General Assembly, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses his appearance there to shore up support and persuade the U.S. to allow his troops to use long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
The U.S. Air Force is interested in adding an active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar to its X-62A test jet. The radar is part of larger plans to acquire a new modular sensor suite to further expand the capabilities of the uniquely modified F-16, which has already assumed a key role in advanced exploratory work for autonomous air combat drones.
The U.S. Space Force is proceeding cautiously with its plans to replace aging weather satellites, signaling that any plans to acquire next-generation systems are still far off. Col. Robert Davis, program executive for sensor satellites at the Space Systems Command, said the service will first analyze data from current and future experimental satellites before deciding what satellites might replace a decades-old system known as the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).
The Biden administration is working on a plan to extend its authority to send $5.9 billion worth of U.S. weapons and equipment to Ukraine before the funding expires at the end of the month. The authority, part of a Ukraine aid package that passed in April, allows the Pentagon to dip into its own stockpiles to move weapons and equipment to Ukraine quickly. Money is then spent to replace that gear in U.S. arsenals, but that authority runs out with the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
The Air Force is moving away from a platform-centric view of electronic warfare to more of a system-of-systems approach as it revamps its EW arsenal. The service has been a platform-centric organization historically—meaning it has relied on systems such as aircraft to perform both its mission and contribution to the joint force—but the modern electromagnetic spectrum environment and threat landscape are demanding a new paradigm.
U.S. Space Command is adding new mission sets to the remit of the multinational Joint Commercial Operations (JCO) cell, originally created to improve space domain awareness via unclassified commercial data, according to JCO head Barbara Golf.
America’s declaration that the United Arab Emirates is now officially its second-ever Major Defense Partner is expected draw the two friendly nations even closer on military matters and may offer a boost to the UAE’s beleaguered effort to join the international F-35 program, analysts told Breaking Defense.
The Air Force, long accustomed to buying its aircraft with everything included, is moving toward ordering the mission systems separately. An “element of our next-generation acquisition model is having direct relationships, where it makes sense and where we can, with our mission system providers, and not simply working through a prime on individual platforms,” said Andrew Hunter, the service’s acquisition chief.
Israel launched devastating attacks on Hezbollah in recent days with airstrikes and remote-control explosions that put the Lebanese militant group on the defensive and demonstrated Israel’s vast superiority in intelligence gathering and technology. A ground war between the two, if it occurs, would likely be a different story.
The U.S. Navy disclosed Sept. 24 that one of its oil tankers in the Middle East suffered significant damage while at sea, complicating a fraught deterrence mission as hostilities between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah threaten to engulf the region in violence.
A new DARPA program proposes to demonstrate an unorthodox uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) that can haul nearly twice the 36,000-lb. maximum payload of a Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion.
GNC, a major vitamin, health supplement, and nutrient retailer, pulled a protein supplement from the shelves of its stores on military bases this month because it contained hemp seed—a banned substance for service members. An internal GNC notification dated Sept. 12, a screenshot of which was shared on the the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page this weekend, was sent asking for immediate removal of four products of Huel ready-to-drink protein shakes.
