Editor’s Note
Editor’s Note: The Daily Report will not publish Monday, Feb. 17 in observance of Washington’s Birthday, but we will back in your inboxes Tuesday, Feb. 18.
NORAD Boss: China Will Increase Military Flights Near Alaska
China is set to increase its military activity around Alaska, likely including bomber flights, the top U.S. general in charge of defending North America said Feb. 13.
PHOTOS: Two Dozen F-22s Gather for Impressive Elephant Walk
More than one-eighth of the U.S. Air Force’s entire fleet of F-22 Raptors lined the runway at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., on Jan. 31, as the 1st Fighter Wing flexed its ability to rapidly put airpower into action.
US, Australia, Japan Boost F-35 Integration with Indo-Pacific Exercise
F-35s from the United States, Australia, and Japan are all soaring above Andersen Air Force Base in Guam as part of Cope North, Pacific Air Forces’ largest annual multilateral exercise.
Space Force General Wants ‘More Aggressive’ Acquisition Reforms
The Department of the Air Force’s acting head of space acquisition is pledging to double down on changes instituted by his old boss, to include stricter accountability for contractors and program managers alike.
Radar Sweep
Trump Wants Denuclearization Talks with Russia and China, Hopes for Defense Spending Cuts
The Associated Press
President Donald Trump said Feb. 13 that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China and that eventually he hopes all three countries could agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump lamented the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in rebuilding the nation’s nuclear deterrent and said he hopes to gain commitments from the U.S. adversaries to cut their own spending.
China Is Rehearsing for War, Indo-Pacific Commander Says
Defense One
The Chinese government is “on a dangerous course” and its military’s “aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan right now are not exercises, as they call them. They are rehearsals,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leader Adm. Sam Paparo said Feb. 13.
Sensing Grid Should Be ‘Top Priority’ for US Iron Dome: NORTHCOM Head
Breaking Defense
To make President Donald Trump’s vision of an Iron Dome missile shield for the United States a reality, the Defense Department should focus first on fielding a multi-layer sensor architecture with systems proliferated “from seabed to space” and capable of tracking threats at greater distances, the head of U.S. Northern Command said Feb. 13.
US Aircraft Carrier Collides with Cargo Ship off Egypt Coast
USA Today
A U.S. aircraft carrier collided with a cargo ship Feb. 12 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt, the service's Sixth Fleet announced. The USS Harry S. Truman did not suffer flooding, damage to its nuclear-powered engines, or injuries to its crew, according to the fleet.
DOD Wants to Cut Red Tape on Foreign Arms Deals, Hegseth Says
Defense News
The Defense Department wants to reform how it sells weapons to foreign countries, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Feb. 13. The U.S. foreign military sales, or FMS, process involves years of back-and-forth between the U.S. and countries interested in buying American-made weapons before anything ends up on foreign soil. The process, which has been criticized for its slow pace, has been the focus of reform efforts prompted by the war in Ukraine.
Trump Administration Directs Agency Heads to Fire Most Probationary Staff
The Washington Post
The Trump administration on Feb. 13 moved swiftly to fire thousands of workers and directed agency heads to terminate most trial and probationary staff—a move that could affect as many as 200,000 employees, according to four people familiar with internal conversations.
Pete Hegseth Says ‘Everything Is on the Table’ to End Ukraine War
The Guardian
The U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said “everything is on the table” to bring peace to Ukraine and suggested reducing the number of American troops in Europe could be part of any deal. ... Speaking at the end of a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, his first as Pentagon chief, Hegseth insisted the U.S. had not already given too much away when he had said on Feb. 12 that Ukraine could not restore its pre-2014 borders—and instead emphasized the role of the U.S. president in talks on the country’s future.
China Aids Russian Drone Production with Smuggled Western Parts, Says Estonia
Reuters
China is helping Russia's military drone production by becoming a hub for the smuggling of critical Western components for Moscow's armed forces, Estonia's foreign intelligence said in its annual national security report published on Feb. 12.
Trump Offers F-35 Jet to India in Push for More Defense Deals
Bloomberg
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would offer the F-35 warplane to India as part of a bigger commitment to deepen defense ties. The U.S. will increase sales of military hardware to India by “many billions of dollars,” Trump said at a joint White House press conference alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 13.
Soldier, Sailor, and Now Airman: This NCO Has Served in Three Branches in 12 Years
Task & Purpose
An Air Force reservist in Ohio may have a unique insight on that age-old barroom debate, “which service should I join?” Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. Robert Meyers has spent 12 years in the military, with stints in three different services, spending enlistments in the reserve ranks of the Army and Navy as well as the Air Force.