Daily Report

Oct. 24, 2024

Radar Sweep

China May Chafe as North Korea Sends Soldiers to Fight Ukraine

The New York Times

Earlier this month, China and North Korea hailed their 75 years of diplomatic relations by reaffirming ties that they once described as being close as “lips and teeth.” But North Korea’s decision to dispatch thousands of troops to Russia to fight Ukraine, revealed this week by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, will test those bonds like never before.

Iran Strike Will Show Your Force, Israel's Defense Chief Tells Pilots

Reuters

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Air Force crews on Oct. 23 that after striking in Iran, the world will understand Israel's might and its enemies will learn a lesson, according to a video and an X post published by his office. Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on Oct. 1, Tehran's second direct attack on Israel in six months.

ANALYSIS: How Beijing Is Closing Surveillance Gaps in the South China Sea

Chatham House

New satellite images reveal how the Chinese military is dramatically expanding its capabilities on Triton Island, which looks set to become a one of Beijing’s key signal intelligence bases in the South China Sea. Once completed, the radar system would significantly increase China’s signals intercept and electronic warfare capabilities across the disputed Paracel Islands archipelago and add to a wider surveillance network spanning much of the South China Sea.

How to Keep Up in a Software-Defined World

Air & Space Forces Magazine

Pentagon and industry officials agree: how the U.S. military used to develop and buy software will no longer work in the modern, digital age. Learn more about how software modernization can change to adapt to best practices and the needs of the warfighter.

New Space Force Effort Focused on ‘Closing C2 Kill Chains’

Breaking Defense

The Space Force’s primary acquisition command has established a new effort to build integrated command and control (C2) networks—that is, machine-to-machine capabilities to seamlessly feed data from multiple sensors through battle management systems that process data to “shooters”—focused on four high priority, classified weapon systems, according to senior officials.

Boeing Will Look to ‘Do Less and Do Better’: CEO

Defense One

Boeing won’t be able to fix its ailing defense arm, which lost $2 billion this quarter, anytime soon, but the company’s CEO said Oct. 23 that its defense products are still core to the company. ... Fixed-price development programs have been dragging down the company’s defense arm, causing billions of dollars in losses. But Boeing couldn’t walk away from these money-losing defense contracts “even if we wanted to,” Ortberg said. Instead, the company may consider cuts to other, non-core defense programs, he said.

2 US Service Members Injured During Counter-ISIS Mission in Iraq

The Hill

Two U.S. troops were injured Oct. 22 in a joint raid with Iraqi security forces that killed at least seven senior Islamic State group leaders, according to the Pentagon. During the early morning operation, which included strikes and follow-on raids on multiple ISIS locations in central Iraq, the two U.S. military personnel were wounded while “assisting Iraqi forces with site exploitation” but are in stable condition, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Subscription Required

Space Force Polar SATCOM Sats Complete On-Orbit Checkout

Aviation Week

The U.S. Space Force’s two newest polar satellite communications (Satcom) spacecraft are now operational, less than three months after launch. The Enhanced Polar Satcom-Recapitalization (EPS-R) satellites were built by Northrop Grumman and launched Aug. 11.

One More Thing

$100 Million Donation to the Military Aviation Museum

General Aviation News

The Military Aviation Museum has received a $100 million donation, believed to be among the largest charitable gifts from an individual in Virginia history. The donation by philanthropist and businessman Gerald Yagen includes some 70 vintage military aircraft that have been collected and displayed over the years.