Radar Sweep
OPINION: A Former Nuclear Negotiator’s Advice for Biden and Putin
“President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Geneva on Wednesday. One of their top agenda items is a preliminary discussion about a replacement for the 2010 New START nuclear arms control treaty, which U.S. and Russian diplomats are expected to start negotiating soon. How can the two presidents make the best of their one shot at setting the nuclear table? As the lead U.S. negotiator of the original New START treaty, I have some advice for them: Keep it simple,” writes Rose Gottemoeller, a lecturer at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and its Center for International Security and Cooperation. She was deputy secretary general of NATO from 2016 to 2019.
Combat Controller Who Earned Air Force Cross in Afghanistan Awarded Airman's Medal for Heroism Back Home
For Master Sgt. Daniel Keller, bravery isn’t confined to the battlefield. The Airman earned the highest Air Force award for noncombat bravery for rescuing a motorist from a burning SUV in Kentucky, a little over a year after earning the service’s second-highest award for heroism on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
F-22s Respond to FAA-reported Incident Off Hawaii
U.S. Pacific Air Forces responded with three F-22s to an incident reported off Hawaii on the afternoon of June 13. The military said it could not provide details on the incident, but did confirm it was not a training exercise and was done in response to an FAA request.
Pegasus XL Rocket Launches Secretive 'Space Domain Awareness' Satellite for Space Force
The mission is called Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) and is part of a program acknowledged by the Air Force from at least 2019. TacRL-2 and other launches of its type are part of Space Force's push to offer more flexible small launch services, called "responsive launch." The mission was built by Space Safari, a new military entity that "responds to high-priority, urgent space needs" through a rapid acquisition and execution process, according to Space Force.
MDA: U.S. Aircraft Carriers Now at Risk from Hypersonic Missiles
U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, Vice Adm. John Hill, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said last week before the Senate.
US Military Guns Keep Vanishing, Some Used in Street Crimes
In the first public accounting of its kind in decades, an Associated Press investigation has found that at least 1,900 U.S. military firearms were lost or stolen during the 2010s, with some resurfacing in violent crimes. Because some armed services have suppressed the release of basic information, AP’s total is a certain undercount.
Lockheed Says Global Demand for F-35 Remains Strong Despite Uncertainty Over US Air Force Plans
Despite lingering questions about the U.S. Air Force’s commitment to buying 1,783 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, Lockheed Martin’s new head of the aircraft program expects growing international demand for the stealth jet, she told reporters. “We really haven’t seen any sort of diminishing interest,” Bridget Lauderdale told reporters during a June 10 visit to Lockheed’s F-35 production line in Fort Worth, Texas. Defense News accepted travel and accommodations from the company.
US and EU Resolve 17-Year Boeing-Airbus Trade Dispute
The United States and European Union said they have resolved a 17-year-long fight over aircraft subsidies, agreeing to suspend tariffs imposed during the Trump administration for five years stemming from the Boeing-Airbus dispute that emerged in 2004.
Space Force Launches Augmented Reality Enabled NFTs
This year seems to be the year NFTs became a commodity. NFT stands for non-fungible token. They’re one-of-a-kind, blockchain-based assets that live on the blockchain. CryptoPunks and Cryptokitties were the first NFTs launched in 2017. Since then artists, YouTubers, actors, brands, and even AIs have created their own NFTs. They went from being an odd, mis-understood commodity to a still somewhat mis-understood but high-valued commodity. For this ground-breaking initiative, Space Force partnered with digital artist companies WorldwideXR and VueXR, to release their own NFTs with augmented reality.