Air Force Launches Unarmed ICBM for First Test of 2025
The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., early Feb. 19, marking its first test of the year.
Hegseth Seeks $50B in Cuts to Pay for New Priorities
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a swift and sweeping review of the defense budget, seeking cuts worth 8 percent of total spending over the next five years that he intends to shift to fund higher-priority defense projects.
SDA, Its Boss Still in Limbo, Cancels a Disputed Contract
The Space Development Agency will rescind a contract for 10 satellites awarded to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems last summer and reopen the competition, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed—though uncertainty continues to swirl around the organization.
New Report Critiques Space Force’s Theory for Countering China
A workshop designed to test the Space Force’s “Competitive Endurance” theory for dealing with the likes of Russia and China exposed “unintended consequences” that will hurt the service in the long run, experts from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said this week.
Can Troops Be Paid More Efficiently? New Report Explores How
About a month after the Defense Department issued a sweeping analysis of military compensation, a new report offers several recommendations for making base pay, allowances, special pays, and performance incentives more efficient.
Radar Sweep
Pentagon Is Next in DOGE Layoff Sights as Probationary Hires Are Tallied
USA Today
The Defense Department has sent lists of its probationary employees to the Trump administration, according to a senior official, as the Pentagon braces for layoffs that have rocked other parts of the federal government in recent weeks.
Trump Calls Zelensky Dictator in Escalating Row Over Ukraine Peace Talks
The Wall Street Journal
The feud between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky escalated rapidly on Feb. 19, with Trump calling him a “Dictator without Elections” and Zelensky accusing Trump of repeating Russian propaganda.
US Condemns ‘Dangerous’ Chinese Maneuvers After Close Encounter with Philippine Plane
NBC News
The United States condemned Feb. 19 what it called “dangerous maneuvers” by China after a Chinese navy helicopter flew within 10 feet of a Philippine patrol plane in a disputed area of the South China Sea.
Hegseth Could Soon Fire or Remove Generals and Senior Officers, US Officials Say
ABC News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering firing or removing generals and senior officers as early as this week, according to multiple U.S. and congressional officials. A list has been circulated on Capitol Hill that contains generals and senior officers who could be fired or removed, the officials said.
Massive WWII B-29 Bomber Base Fully Reclaimed for Future Pacific Fight
The War Zone
Satellite imagery shows the extent of the massive amount of work that has been done in the past year to restore more than 20 million square feet of runways and other World War II-era infrastructure at historic North Field on the U.S. island of Tinian in the Western Pacific.
Pentagon’s $96M Wearable Contract Sparks Protest, Accusations of Vendor Preference
Breaking Defense
A contract to provide the Defense Health Agency (DHA) with millions of dollars of biometric trackers has been hit with a second protest, with accusations that the agency is seeking to tailor the contract to give it to a preferred vendor. The issue puts a spotlight on the Pentagon’s attempts to work with new technology firms, and has raised the ire of a member of Congress—all against the looming backdrop of expected cuts to acquisition programs at the Department of Defense, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, team get the knives out.
A Frustrated Trump Wants His New Air Force One Planes Pronto
The New York Times
President Trump, furious about delays in delivering two new Air Force One jets, has empowered Elon Musk to explore drastic options to prod Boeing to move faster, including relaxing security clearance standards for some who work on the presidential planes.
Microsoft-DARPA Collaboration Yields Possible Quantum Chip Breakthrough
Defense One
Researchers at Microsoft, with support from DARPA, say they’ve designed a quantum computer chip that could lead to artificial-intelligence tools that use far fewer computer resources and energy.
OPINION: Spending, Troops, and Asia: Three Ideas for Europe to Stabilize NATO
Defense News
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Feb. 12 remarks to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group shook many Europeans into believing that America’s commitment to the alliance is wavering dangerously. While Hegseth stressed that the United States remains committed to NATO—’full stop’—three points that he emphasized created greater doubts. The ball is now in Europe’s court to address those three points with initiatives at the NATO summit, to be held in the Hague this June,” write Hans Binnendijk, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Daniel S. Hamilton, a senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Pentagon 14% of the Way to Zero Trust Compliance, Faces Challenges with ICAM, Data Tagging
Breaking Defense
The Department of Defense is 14 percent of the way on its goal of having all enterprise networks zero trust compliant by the end of fiscal year 2027, a key official said Feb. 19. “Fourteen percent is a good start, but far from being done,” Col. Gary Kipe, chief of staff of the DOD’s zero trust portfolio management office, said during a panel at a CyberScoop event. He added that the 14 percent constitutes areas specifically where “we could stop adversarial lateral movement within our network.”
Defense Executives Demand Clarity on Space Agencies’ Missions
SpaceNews
A lack of clearly defined roles and overlapping missions between the U.S. Space Force, Space Command, and intelligence agencies is sowing confusion among lawmakers, contractors, and the public, raising concerns about the service’s ability to secure resources and execute its mission effectively, industry executives said Feb. 19.
Want to Fly for Free? Here’s the Complete Space A Travel Guide
We Are The Mighty
If you’ve ever dreamed of flying for free, Space-A travel might be your best shot. Space-Available travel, as it’s known, is one of the biggest perks of military life, giving service members, dependents, and retirees access to military flights for little to no cost.