The U.S. and China are locked in a “race” to field the next generation of airpower—and there’s no guarantee America will cross the finish line first, according to the Air Force’s outgoing acquisition executive. “They could beat us to the punch,” Andrew Hunter told Breaking Defense in an interview at the Pentagon.
Five months after Ukrainian forces swept across the border in the first ground invasion of Russia since World War II, the two armies are engaged in some of the most furious clashes of the war there, fighting over land and leverage in the conflict. The intensity of the battles recalls some of the worst sieges of eastern Ukraine over the past three years, including in towns like Bakhmut and Avdiivka, names that now evoke memories of mass slaughter for soldiers on both sides.
Nearly 2,000 California National Guardsmen have been activated to help battle deadly wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, Pentagon officials said Jan. 13.
Ideally, the Pentagon’s new approach to safeguarding secrets—continuous monitoring to make sure insiders can't access data they shouldn't—would slam the door on leaks. But roles, data, and workflows change so quickly that it is difficult for “zero trust” administrators to keep up. Now a Japanese research team says they've found a way to help things run more smoothly.
The number of times NATO fighter jet scrambled to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching allied airspace over Europe has changed little in 2024 compared to 2023, even as Western leaders grow increasingly worried about Russian aggression and hybrid warfare targeting European countries within the alliance.
Personnel leading the Pentagon’s enterprise AI office are setting up a new Budget and Programming Cell amid the presidential transition, and made several previously undisclosed senior-level hires, according to an unclassified internal document recently obtained by DefenseScoop.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Jan. 13 the U.S. is “so close to a ceasefire and hostage deal” in Gaza, as President Biden races to secure an agreement on a major foreign policy objective before leaving office in a week.
Ukraine is not in a strong enough position for peace talks with Russia, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Jan. 13. “At this moment, clearly Ukraine is not there, because they cannot at this moment negotiate from a position of strength,” Rutte told EU lawmakers. “We have to do more to make sure by changing the trajectory of the conflict that they can get to that position of strength.”
In late December, the first F-16 Block 10 aircraft for Argentina’s Air Force arrived in the country in what Minister of Defense Luis Petri hailed as the “most important” acquisition since the nation’s “return to democracy” in 1982. The South American nation has operated without a primary combat aircraft for almost a decade, but now, after many negotiations and false starts, Buenos Aires has received the first of 25 F-16s previously operated by the Danish Air Force.
The Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) will have to “break the mold” if it is to achieve its target of delivering a new-generation combat aircraft by 2035, UK lawmakers have suggested.
Donald Trump crossed off the name of one top contender to lead the Air Force. The president-elect said Jan. 13 that Andrew McKenna, a donor and former Bush administration official who had been considered to lead the military service, was no longer in the running.
Move over, “Saving Private Ryan”: We’re dusting off some nearly forgotten war movies for your viewing pleasure. From a little-known John Wayne Civil War flick to a short film about Maori soldiers in World War II, these titles are sure to pique your curiosity and set you up for your next movie night.
