Israel’s recent airstrikes in Lebanon destroyed about half of the missiles and rockets that Hezbollah had accumulated over more than three decades, dealing a blow to the militia’s capabilities, according to senior Israeli and American officials. But the group’s arsenal remains formidable, with tens of thousands of projectiles across the country, and large barrages could overwhelm Israel’s “Iron Dome” anti-projectile defense system, the officials said.
The U.S. Air Force is pursuing Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) that will fly alongside military jets, but it’s not alone in thinking these loyal wingman systems could be the future of airpower. The U.S. Navy has the same idea, as do partner nations like Australia and the United Kingdom—and adversarial ones like China and Russia.
In high-end conflict with peer adversaries, the U.S. Air Force faces sophisticated integrated air defense systems and advanced command and control networks. Defeating those systems will require advanced electromagnetic attack systems that can deny, degrade, and disrupt opposing forces.
The Department of Defense is set to issue nearly a billion dollars in loans to private companies to scale the production of technologies the department has deemed critical. The Office of Strategic Capital announced the notice of funding availability Sept. 30, laying out eligibility criteria and an application process for industrial base companies interested in applying for a piece of the $984 million appropriated for loans.
The Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit published a call for industry proposals on advanced spacecraft propulsion technology, specifically focusing on electrospray thrusters. Electrospray thrusters, which generate thrust by accelerating charged particles, promise high fuel efficiency and precise control.
Senior White House figures privately told Israel that the U.S. would support its decision to ramp up military pressure against Hezbollah—even as the Biden administration publicly urged the Israeli government in recent weeks to curtail its strikes, according to American and Israeli officials.
From solar and nuclear power to more efficient systems and microgrids, the Air Force is putting more and more effort into ensuring its bases and systems have steady supplies of power that are still cost effective. Keep up with all the latest news on how the service is managing its vast energy enterprise.
A vast majority of Americans know little or nothing at all about the Air Force’s special warfare jobs, an issue highlighted in a new think tank study as the service has struggled to recruit for those tough jobs.
A Northrop Grumman electronic warfare upgrade for U.S. Air Force and international F-16s entered flight testing in late August and completed 25 sorties in the first month, a company official told Aviation Week on Oct. 1.
The chairs of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees are pushing the Biden administration to share more defense equipment with Australia and the United Kingdom—America’s two partners in the AUKUS agreement.
A suspected Chinese spy ring in Germany was collecting information about U.S. arms shipments to Israel and Germany’s weapon industry, German officials said on Oct. 1, adding a new dimension to the expanding investigation.
Japanese architect Kengo Kuma—designer of Tokyo’s new National Stadium, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021, and an advocate of architecture that blends into the surrounding landscape—will serve as the lead designer for the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial in Washington, D.C.
