More than 700 planes had already taken off and landed at Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29 when American Airlines flight 5342 approached it through one of the nation’s most congested air corridors. Shortly before 9 p.m., the passenger jet collided in a fireball with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on a routine training mission, leaving no survivors. As officials scramble to determine the cause of the crash, the catastrophe is drawing new attention to longstanding safety warnings about the increasingly busy airspace above the nation’s capital.
The U.S. will house migrants who entered the country illegally at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—the military prison where terrorism suspects have been kept for more than 20 years. President Donald Trump said Jan. 29 he would sign an executive order directing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to “begin preparing” a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on President Donald Trump’s desire to buy Greenland, saying it would be vital to U.S. interests. “This is not a joke,” Rubio said on the “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM Jan. 30, one of his first media appearances since being sworn in. “This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved.”
A now-retired Air Force major general was stripped of a star after an inspector general investigation found he engaged in multiple inappropriate sexting relationships—including with an enlisted Airman and congressional staffers—and had an affair with a married woman.
In the wake of the tragic accident involving a civilian aircraft and U.S. Army helicopter that has left dozens dead, service secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll kicked off his confirmation hearing vowing to focus on aviation. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in last night’s tragedy, which occurred a few miles away from this hearing room. If confirmed [I’ll work to ensure] this never happens again,” Driscoll told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his opening statement.
The Israel Ministry of Defense is acquiring $80 million in “advanced self-protection suites” for Israel’s F-16I aircraft, the latest in a procurement blitz in the wake of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The Ministry of Defense made the acquisition announcement on Jan. 27, saying the F-16s will “be equipped with cutting-edge technologies to ensure maximum protection in complex combat scenarios.”
Sweden will provide Ukraine with 13.5 billion kronor (US$1.23 billion) in funding and equipment in its biggest military aid package yet, the government said on Jan. 30.
Days after China’s DeepSeek detailed an approach to generative AI that needs just a fraction of the computing power used to build prominent U.S. tools, the global conversation around AI and national security—from how the Pentagon buys and uses AI to how foreign powers might disrupt American life, including privacy—is changing.
A new Air Force course in jungle survival is preparing Airmen to operate from remote airfields if a conflict forces their squadrons to disperse. Under the agile combat employment, or ACE, doctrine, Air Force units, including fighter squadrons, will scatter to contingency airfields, making them harder targets. These airfields may be in austere locations or cut off from regular supply lines.
As a fighter ace who received the Medal of Honor after shooting down 26 Japanese planes over Guadalcanal during World War II, Joe Foss was accustomed to bold action. He was not afraid to think big, either. So when Foss—then the commissioner of the upstart American Football League—sent a letter to his NFL counterpart, Pete Rozelle, in December 1963, it was not totally out of character for him to suggest a matchup between the leagues’ respective champions.
