U.S. troops, including those deployed to combat zones, would miss their next paycheck if Congress fails to pass a temporary spending bill that continues to fund the government beyond Dec. 20, Task & Purpose has confirmed.
The U.S. military has some 2,000 troops in Syria—more than twice the figure of 900 that the Pentagon has cited for years, a spokesman said Dec. 19. The higher number includes “temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission requirements,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. “These forces, which augment the defeat-ISIS mission, were there before the fall of the Assad regime.”
While a new White House action plan for forwarding cislunar science and technology leans largely on NASA to lead the charge, it also taps the Defense Department to spearhead development of capabilities to keep watch on activity in the vast area of space between the Earth and Moon.
The U.S. Space Force is on track to field its first batch of a new ground-based satellite communications jammer in the coming months—designed to disrupt signals from enemy spacecraft. Space Operations Command just approved the Remote Modular Terminals for initial fielding, a spokesperson told Defense News, adding that the jammers will be in the hands of military users imminently.
California-based satellite manufacturer K2 Space has secured a $30 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to launch its first Mega Class satellite, a milestone for the startup founded just two years ago.
Move over, DOGE. The incoming head of the Senate Armed Services Committee has his own thoughts about how to boost Pentagon efficiency and speed up the pace it takes to field new weapons. Sen. Roger Wicker, R, Miss., released a report Dec. 19 outlining key reforms the Defense Department and Congress could make to improve the acquisition process, as well as corresponding legislation called the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense (FORGED) Act that lays out language to implement those changes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Dec. 19 that his country is still exploring its options for retaining a pair of bases in Syria that have uniquely strategic value following the fall of longtime ally Bashar Al Assad. The new remarks stand at odds with Russia’s drawdown of military forces and materiel in the Middle Eastern country already and there are clear signs this week that those departures are only ramping up.
At least a dozen senators are pushing to see the FBI’s background check on Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Pentagon chief—a rare move for the committee that oversees his confirmation and a sign the former Fox News host still faces hurdles in the Senate.
Pentagon deputy technology chief David Honey is directing the Defense Science Board to conduct a study on “all facets of battlespace management” with regards to the cyber domain. In a memo cleared for open publication Dec. 17, Honey said cyberspace’s transition from an operational domain to a battlespace requiring an assigned commander signals a “major shift in how the [Defense Department] intends to treat cyber moving forward” and demands a deeper understanding of its relatively new context.
As the Space Force works to address adversary capabilities that threaten the United States’ military satellites in orbit, outgoing Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall warns that the service needs to develop and field technology at a faster pace.
Labor shortages are now a national-security problem. They are a key reason numerous Navy programs are behind schedule and over budget. The Navy had originally budgeted $15 billion for three Virginia-class attack subs in fiscal 2024 and 2025. The Biden administration has just asked Congress for an additional $3.4 billion, plus $1.6 billion for a ballistic missile submarine. The USS Arkansas, a Virginia-class sub, is expected to join the fleet in 2026, three years late.
Weeks of drone sightings over New Jersey and New York have sparked concerns—and conspiracies. ... But more than a decade before drone dread hit the country, Alabama was in the center of a sky mystery of its own. This one didn’t involve buzzing drones but rather a mysterious blob that first appeared on radar followed by scattered debris across North Alabama.
