Radar Sweep
Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cluster of COVID-19 Cases in U.S. Troops Emerges at Kuwaiti Air Base
A Middle East air base where U.S. troops operate alongside Kuwaiti counterparts is experiencing a new cluster of COVID-19 cases.
Basic Cadet Training is Underway, with COVID Restrictions, at the Air Force Academy for the Class of 2024
The Air Force Academy’s Class of 2024 has started Basic Cadet Training—with some added precautions in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Changes in Military Recruiting May Endure after Pandemic
COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on military recruiting, closing enlistment stations and forcing thousands of recruiters to woo potential troops online, or even on their front steps.
Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on Financial Transfers
Analysts have used other evidence to conclude that the transfers were most likely part of an effort to offer payments to Taliban-linked militants to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Schiff Wants U.S. to Weigh Russia Sanctions after Bounty Briefing
The United States should weigh new sanctions on Russia to deter its “malign” actions, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on June 30 after a White House briefing on a reported Russian effort to pay the Taliban to kill U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan.
Defense Bill Would Give Pentagon Power over Energy’s Nuclear Arms Budget
Tucked deep inside the Senate’s defense authorization bill is a provision that experts say would give nuclear weapons advocates extraordinary new power to influence the President’s budget every year.
Military Aviation Mishaps and Deaths Are Declining for the First Time in Years
The military services saw an overall decline in the total number of serious aviation mishaps and aviation-related fatalities in 2019, reversing a trend in recent years that saw record-high numbers of serious aviation mishaps and deaths in recent years.
SCO, Air Force Shaping Plans for Arsenal Plane Experimentation
The Air Force is working with the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office to develop a plan to prototype and experiment with stand-in/stand-off weapons delivery and recently released a technology survey seeking information from industry and academia about existing technologies that could help the service mature its Arsenal Plane concept.
Faster Acquisition
The Air Force is leveraging emerging technologies and new legislation to accelerate acquisition decisions and streamline sustainment. Read more here.
U.S. Commandos at Risk for Suicide: Is the Military Doing Enough?
An unreleased report commissioned by U.S. Special Operations Command found deficiencies in the military’s suicide-prevention programs for its elite troops.
Esper and Milley to Testify July 9 about Military Response to Protests
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said June 30 that Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley are slated to testify before the committee July 9 on the military's response to recent protests.
Here Are the Air Force's Reports on Aircrew Encounters with Unidentified Flying Craft
This is what the Air Force says it has in its safety records system about the issue, but it’s possible, if not probable, there's more elsewhere.