Daily Report

Oct. 4, 2024

Photos: Big, Ugly, and Orange B-52 Lands at Barksdale

B-52s touch down frequently at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., but the one that landed Sept. 30 looked a little different. Sporting bright orange paint on the cockpit, wing tips, engine nacelles, and tail, the Stratofortress seemed dressed for an early start to hunting season in Louisiana; in fact, the special paint scheme was a nod to the B-52's roots more than 60 years ago.

Radar Sweep

OPINION: What Reports Got Wrong About China’s ‘Sunken Nuclear Submarine’

Defense One

“The purported sinking of a Chinese nuclear submarine at a Wuhan shipyard pier is the latest example of Western reporting on military developments in China that overlooks important details and context, or even takes the wrong lessons from the fragments of stories they tell,” write J. Michael Dahm, a Senior Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, and P.W. Singer, a senior fellow at New America.

Keeping the Air Force Powered Up

Air & Space Forces Magazine

Driven by the growing reach and threat of adversaries, the Air Force is paying more and more attention to ensuring its bases are energy resilient and can generate combat power in any contingency. Learn more about how bases around the U.S. and the world are making sure their energy grids are more reliable and can take a punch if need be.

Pentagon Contracts for $96M in Oura Smart Rings, Devices

DefenseScoop

As the Department of Defense experiments with biometric devices to better track the health and wellness of personnel, it issued a $96 million award Oct. 1 to Finnish health technology company Oura to put its smart rings and services in the hands of service members.

Space Force’s New ‘Lexicon’: Move to Define Concepts Wins Praise, Courts Concerns

Breaking Defense

A new memo from Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman sets out to redefine how the Space Force conceptualizes space operations, reframe the service’s missions and create new “terms of reference” for official use. More than just an updated dictionary, it’s a move that “lays down a marker for the Space Force,” Doug Loverro, former head of Pentagon space policy, told Breaking Defense. “This is actually a lot more important to forming the force then selecting uniforms and songs.” But it’s also generated some concern in the military space community.

SPONSORED: How to Get a Continuous ATO: The Secret to Success

Rise8

Every time a government agency deploys a new piece of software, someone has to issue an Authority To Operate. It’s a sort of Good Housekeeping seal of approval for secure, reliable software. It can also be a hurdle too high to enable frequent software updates. It doesn’t have to be.

More Troops Could Be Mobilized to Help with Hurricane Helene Relief

Military Times

The number of National Guard forces mobilized to help with Hurricane Helene relief efforts could continue to grow in the coming days as the scope of the storm’s devastation becomes clearer, military officials cautioned Oct. 3. Nearly 7,000 Guardsmen and another 1,000 Active-Duty Soldiers have already been sent to communities across the Southeastern United States to conduct search-and-rescue missions, clear damaged roads, and transport aid to hard-hit areas.

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AFRL Awards Sierra Space Bigger ‘Ghost’ Study

Aviation Week

Sierra Space will study a scaled-up version of its Ghost logistics supply spacecraft concept that could be capable of returning payloads up to 22,000 lb. from Earth orbit under a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract.