Radar Sweep
Pentagon to Talk Space Force Plans, Uniforms with Trump
Defense Department brass are expected to brief President Donald Trump on Jan. 15 on their plans for standing up a new military branch called the Space Force, and a Pentagon official said they may even present several logo options for the new armed service. The White House meeting is expected to include Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, and Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, who is on his second day of the job as the first-ever chief of space operations, the top officer in the sixth US military service.
3 Who Brought Mortar Round to Gate at Pearl Harbor Released
A mortar round was found in a vehicle at a gate to the sprawling Pearl Harbor military base, shutting down the base for hours and leading three people to be taken into custody, military officials said Jan. 15. It’s not clear what the trio planned to do or where they wanted to go when they were stopped late Jan. 14, base spokesman Charles Anthony said, but added, “I don’t think their intention was to get on base.”
As Iran Missiles Battered Iraq Base, US Lost Eyes in Sky
Moments after volleys of Iranian missiles began to batter Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, US soldiers at the desert facility lost contact with their ultra-powerful—and expensive—eyes in the sky.
Iran Warning Puts Thousands of European Troops in Spotlight
A warning by Iran’s president that European forces in the Middle East could be at risk if their nations join the US pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic puts a focus on thousands of foreign troops in the region.
Meet the House Republicans Who Want to Rein in Trump on War
Amid a broad congressional push to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to go to war with Iran, a handful of moderate House lawmakers are working to “clarify” Congress’s war powers responsibilities, Republican lawmakers leading the effort told Defense One on Jan. 14.
A New Artificial Intelligence Contract to Keep Planes Flying
The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley outpost awarded a California-based artificial intelligence company a contract worth as much as $95 million for software that predicts when military aircraft will need repairs, a tool that would make more aircraft available for missions and could potentially save billions of dollars in maintenance costs. The deal, announced Jan. 15, is between the Defense Innovation Unit and C3.ai, and is expected to run for five years.
F-35 Logistics System to Be Reinvented and Renamed, Official Says
The computer-based logistics system of the F-35 stealth fighter jet made by Lockheed Martin, which has been plagued by delays, will be replaced by another network made by the same company, a Pentagon official said Jan. 14.
X-60A Program Conducts Integrated Vehicle Propulsion System Verification Test
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s X-60A program achieved a key developmental milestone with the completion of integrated vehicle propulsion system verification ground testing. The X-60A is an air-launched rocket designed for hypersonic flight research.
Air Force Turns to Partners for Weather Forecasting Support
The US Air Force is turning increasingly to US government, industry, academia, and international partners for help gathering and making sense of terrestrial and space weather data, Air Force officials said Jan. 13 at the American Meteorological Society annual meeting in Boston.
US Air Force's New Ad Takes Cinematic View of Harrowing Battle
A US military convoy engages in an intense desert firefight that results in at least one casualty before an Air Force strike knocks out the enemy's stronghold. That harrowing scenario plays out in GSD&M's new minute-long USAF recruitment spot, which takes a soberingly realistic approach to the life-and-death struggles our nation's armed forces face during combat.