Radar Sweep
Military Families in Hawaii Water Crisis Ask Lawmakers for Better Medical Care, More Answers
Military family members affected by the fuel-tainted water crisis in Hawaii have come to Washington, D.C., to press for answers about the contaminants in their water and more action. They are calling for more medical tests and home testing, long-term medical care and follow-ups. They also urged lawmakers to take steps to hold the Navy accountable.
VA Hospital Warns Thousands of Vets of Possible Infection Risk from Improperly Cleaned Equipment
Roughly 4,000 patients at a Georgia Veterans Affairs hospital have been advised to get tested for several blood-borne viruses following concerns over the facility's sterilization procedures for reusable medical devices. Veterans at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center are being notified that they need to be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV following a discovery that the durable medical equipment used during their procedures "may not have received all the necessary steps for complete and safe reprocessing," according to press release sent to WMAZ-TV of Macon, Georgia.
Russia’s Says Its New A-100 Jet Has Flown With Its Radar Turned On For The First Time
Russia's prototype A-100 Premier next-generation airborne early warning and control plane has flown for the first time with its radar turned on, according to the state-owned companies responsible for the design. The announcement comes just under two weeks after a Russian newspaper published a story asserting that Western sanctions on the country were hampering the development of this aircraft.
The Latest on Missile Warning & Defense
Recent Russian and Chinese missile launches raised the stakes in space. Find out the latest news on sensing, tracking, and defending against enemy missile strikes.
State Department Approves $13B F-15EX Sale to Indonesia, on Heels of Rafale Deal
The US State Department has cleared Indonesia to buy up to 36 Boeing F-15EX aircraft as part of an estimated $13.9 billion deal, just hours after Indonesia announced another major investment in the French-made Dassault Rafale. Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto had previously indicated that Indonesia was interested in buying both Rafales and the F-15EX, as part of a major defense spending increase planned for the coming decades.
Defense Innovation Unit Partners with Orbital Insight to Take on Satellite Spoofing
The Pentagon’s innovation hub is working with industry to identify satellite spoofing operations using commercially available data. Through a new program called Harmonious Rook, the Defense Innovation Unit has partnered with geospatial intelligence company Orbital Insight to develop a platform that can detect Global Navigation Satellite System spoofing. The company announced the contract in a Feb. 10 news release.
Space Force Eager to Invest in Debris Removal Projects
It’s not the job of the U.S. Space Force to clean up orbital debris. However, the military wants to partner with private companies that can perform that service and help cultivate that sector of the industry, vice chief of space operations Gen. David “DT” Thompson said Feb. 10. Speaking at an AFCEA information technology event, Thompson said he frequently is asked about the growing hazards in space caused by debris and his answer is that “it’s a hard problem.” That said, “right now the most important thing we and others can do is stop making the problem worse.”
Why Are There So Few African American Air Force Pilots?
In 1941 and amid pressures of World War II, the U.S. military cracked open the door to Black pilots. During the war, Tuskegee Army Air Field turned out 650 single-engine pilots, 217 multiengine pilots, and 60 auxiliary pilots. Seven decades later, underrepresentation is still an issue for Black pilots in the service. Of the U.S. Air Force’s nearly 14,000 active-duty pilots, only 2 percent—fewer than 300—are Black, according to service data provided to FLYING.
Air Force Reserve Medics Mobilized a Second Time for COVID Response
As COVID-19 continues to impact the U.S. healthcare system in pockets of the country, the Air Force Reserve is once again mobilizing approximately 40 ground medical personnel to assist civilian hospitals in New York and California at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For the past two years, active, Guard and Reserve medical forces have assisted FEMA by providing military medical personnel activations to U.S. Army North, under U.S. Northern Command's oversight.
'He's Making it Worse': Frustrations with Hawley's Pentagon Nominee Blockade Boil Over
Frustrations with Sen. Josh Hawley‘s monthslong slow-walking of Pentagon nominees boiled over on Feb. 10, as one top Democrat slammed the Missouri Republican for hamstringing the military as it responds to the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Hawley—who has blocked the quick confirmation on Pentagon nominees in recent months over how the Biden administration withdrew from Afghanistan—stymied an attempt from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to approve three Pentagon nominees on Feb. 10.
US Military Camouflage: The Differences between Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Others
It seems like every few years one of the branches of the military changes its camouflage uniform. It seems this way because it is this way for every branch besides the Marine Corps which hasn’t changed its camouflage pattern since 2002. Keeping up with this can be difficult, especially since we are adding branches to the military—Shout out Space Force, which actually does exist.