U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was up to Iran to decide whether the recent U.S. movement of B-2 bombers was a message to Tehran, as he voiced hope that U.S.-Iran negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program could be resolved peacefully.
By pausing global tariffs against dozens of countries and raising them on China, President Trump has set up a high-stakes showdown in hopes he can pressure Beijing into a face-saving deal after weeks of global turmoil.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on April 9 doubled down on his claim that “many” Chinese nationals were fighting in Ukraine on behalf of Russia, hours after China’s foreign ministry dismissed the accusation as “groundless.”
The Replicator initiative, aimed at producing thousands of armed drones to blunt China’s military power in the Western Pacific is “alive and well” under the Pentagon’s new leadership, according to a senior Navy admiral.
The White House on April 9 released three defense-related executive orders: One to overhaul Pentagon acquisition, one to reform arms exports, and one to “restore American maritime dominance.” The acquisition order aims to “reform our antiquated defense acquisition processes with an emphasis on speed, flexibility, and execution.” ... All major defense acquisitions programs will be reviewed under the new order, and those “more than 15% behind schedule or 15% over cost will be scrutinized for cancellation.”
Over the next five years Marine aviators should see more F-35s, an upgraded MV-22 Osprey fleet, a larger fleet of cargo aircraft and data-enabled predictive aircraft maintenance. That’s the vision Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering shared April 8 at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded the second task order under its $290 million Luno A program to gather commercial analysis of satellite imagery, with six more on the way, NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth told Breaking Defense on April 8.
Defense leaders at this week’s Space Symposium are warning that bureaucratic obstacles and sluggish procurement processes are preventing the Pentagon from keeping pace with China’s rapidly expanding space capabilities. Retired Gen. John Hyten in an interview with SpaceNews delivered a blunt assessment of the military’s space modernization efforts.
Boeing’s MQ-25 tanker drone is set to make its first flight some time this year, but the head of Naval Air Systems Command warned that here is “a ton of work” to do before takeoff. “We’re going to fly this thing this year,” Vice Adm. Carl Chebi said during an April 8 panel at the Sea-Air-Space conference. “There’s a lot of work right now, a lot of tough discussions going to happen over the next couple of months, for us to fly the thing in 2025.”
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle expressed concern this week over cuts to special operations forces, with many vowing to plus-up their budget as a response.
A top Alabama congressman is predicting U.S. Space Command will announce its pending relocation to Huntsville this month. In an interview April 8 with Auburn University’s “Cyber Focus” podcast, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said contractors are “ready to turn dirt” the day the announcement is made.
The space sector is likely to benefit from increased defense spending by NATO allies, European military leaders said at the Space Symposium. At the NATO Summit in the Netherlands in June, leaders may pledge national defense spending “as high as 3.5 percent” of their gross domestic products, said Tom Goffus, NATO assistant secretary for general operations.
We now have our first look at a new version of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) 70mm guided rocket with an infrared seeker on top of the existing laser guidance capability. The dual-mode APKWS II allows the launch platform to more rapidly engage multiple targets in succession, which could be particularly valuable in the air-to-air role when facing down large groups of drones or cruise missiles.
Jared Isaacman, President Trump’s nominee to be NASA administrator, stressed the importance of returning to the Moon with human explorers ahead of China during his April 9 Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee also stressed the need to develop the technologies, including nuclear propulsion, to press ahead aggressively with the human exploration of Mars.
