Air Force Times
The U.S. Air Force meshed fearsome with furry in tests of electronic warfare equipment aboard a widely used drone. The service’s 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron in April completed initial ground and flight testing of an MQ-9A Reaper outfitted with the Angry Kitten ALQ-167 Electronic Countermeasures Pod, a cluster of components contained in a vaguely cat-shaped tube.
Defense One
By November, Pentagon cybersecurity leaders aim to lay out just how private contractors will be expected to work with government agencies to safeguard data and ward off attacks. “We are working on a strategy—a [defense industrial base] cybersecurity strategy—that we hope to have out later this year,” David McKeown, DOD’s chief information and security officer, said at GovExec’s Cyber Summit event.
POLITICO
The U.S. will support a joint international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter aircraft — but whether any of those jets will be sent directly from the U.S. to Ukraine is still up in the air, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said May 21. President Joe Biden announced support for the coalition, which has pledged to train pilots on the long-requested F-16 fighter planes, during the G-7 summit in Japan over the weekend.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has defined seven Operational Imperatives for the Department of the Air Force to work on, warning that “if we don't get them right, we will have unacceptable operational risk.” From a resilient space order of battle to the development of next-generation tactical air dominance and global strike platforms, these imperatives will define the Air Force for decades to come—Dive deeper into each one with our new “Operational Imperatives” pages highlighting all the latest news and developments on these critical efforts.
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The Washington Post
Far from Washington’s marble floors and limestone facades, an unremarkable military facility in one of New England’s most picturesque shore-side destinations has become ground zero in the extraordinary leak of government secrets that has unnerved foreign capitals, embarrassed the Biden administration, and triggered an expansive effort to account for the breach.
SpaceNews
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) is wading into the contentious battle over the proposed relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. Rogers on May 19 released a letter he sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall requesting that they preserve all documentation concerning the selection of the command’s headquarters location.
Task & Purpose
Earlier this month U.S. Central Command announced it carried out an air strike against an al-Qaeda leader in Syria. Now the Pentagon is looking into whether or not it killed a civilian instead. U.S. Central Command originally reported that the strike on May 3 targeted a “senior al-Qaeda leader” in northwest Syria, but did not provide any additional details to the operation or the target. The United States has been steadily carrying out air strikes and raids in Syria this year, going after commanders of ISIS. But according to family and witnesses, the victim of the May 3 strike was Lotfi Hassan Misto, a 56-year-old former bricklayer and father of 10.
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
In Episode 129 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, John Baum discusses securing battlespace effects in the 21st century with Heather “Lucky” Penney from the Mitchell Institute. Combat aircraft serve a strategic purpose, such as precise strikes or electronic attacks, relying on efficient kill chains—systems and processes to Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess enemy targets. The U.S. military’s advantage in rapidly closing kill chains is now threatened by China's countermeasures, risking operational failures with severe consequences. To overcome these challenges, the Air Force must enhance kill chains by leveraging information age advantages and deploying ample capable mission aircraft.
CBS News
With the U.S. supplying billions-of-dollars of munitions to Ukraine and growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, some Pentagon generals are sounding alarms about the dwindling supply of U.S. weapons ... at a time when the cost of replacing them is skyrocketing—we wondered why the Pentagon is finding it hard to procure weapons it needs at a price taxpayers can afford? A six-month investigation by 60 Minutes found it has less to do with foreign entanglements than domestic ones—what can only be described as price gouging by U.S. defense contractors.
DefenseScoop
In his final weeks at the Defense Innovation Unit, Mike Madsen is helping its newly sworn-in chief get poised to “really take DIU to the next level,” he told DefenseScoop in an interview. Madsen joined the U.S. military in 1994. He’s a decorated pilot and former legislative liaison who brought a unique perspective to DIU, where he’s served as deputy director and director of strategic engagement, and most recently as acting director.
Defense News
A satellite image obtained by Defense News shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase. China is continuing to revamp a bomber base that was identified in recently leaked U.S documents as hosting a new supersonic reconnaissance drone.
One More Thing
KSN
The remains of a Kansas Army Air Forces Airman killed in action in Europe have been identified. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) says U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Robert C. Elliott’s remains were officially accounted for on Feb. 8, 2023. In the summer of 1943, Elliott, 24, was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. He was an assistant engineer on a B-24 Liberator nicknamed the Damfino.
