Defense One
The United States is open to allowing more countries to participate in the technological side of the monumental Australia-United Kingdom-U.S. agreement known as AUKUS, but they would have to show they can contribute in meaningful ways, officials said June 26. “We are in conversation with a variety of countries who are interested. And frankly, it goes far beyond just those countries, and we're grateful for that. The fact that countries are interested in it is a positive, and we will explore those appropriately,” Kurt Campbell, the deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, said.
Breaking Defense
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Pentagon—larger than any one geopolitical foe—is its struggle to move quickly enough to keep up with technological development and the breakneck evolution of the modern battlespace. And while the Defense Department has rolled out several initiatives to make up ground, in his first op-ed since assuming the title of secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall argues that there’s a way to go faster, with Congress’s help.
SpaceNews
The United Kingdom will participate in a U.S. Space Command initiative focused on purchasing commercial space domain awareness data, the U.K. military space chief announced June 26. U.S. Space Command operates the so-called Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations Cell (JCO) at Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. The United Kingdom will stand up a JCO-U.K. cell and collaborate with the U.S.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Driven by advancements in technology and research, the Air Force and Space Force are adapting how they train their warfighters to complete the missions at hand. Keep up with all the latest news on changes and improvements to the services’ training enterprises.
DefenseScoop
The Pentagon’s overarching vision to connect assets operating across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace under one network—known as Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2)—would ultimately enable the U.S. military to process and analyze data captured from sensors in all those domains to speed up decision-making. But at this point, members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) are not convinced the individual branches and other Defense Department components are moving quickly enough to enable the joint integration of data and technologies necessary to fully realize JADC2.
Military.com
Barracks would legally have to be considered habitable under one version of an annual defense policy bill advanced last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee, a move that could set a new higher standard of quality for the housing. The on-base military housing is now exempt from the legal requirements of basic habitability imposed on privatized military housing, which is run by for-profit companies. Barracks owned by the military have recently been plagued by mold that has turned the living quarters into health hazards.
Subscription Required
Stars and Stripes
he Air Force will perform dozens of commemorative flyovers across the United States on June 27 to celebrate 100 years of the military refueling aircraft in-flight, service officials said. The Army Air Service—a predecessor to the Air Force—developed a way in the 1920s to extend flight missions by allowing aircraft, which then were strictly propeller-driven, to stay in the air without landing to refuel.
Janes
The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) suffered significant losses during the seeming mutiny of the Wagner Group on June 24. Footage posted online during the event showed a number of fixed- and rotary-winged aircraft types of the VKS being shot down by Wagner forces during the mercenary group's short-lived insurrection against the Russian military and political leadership.
One More Thing
Simple Flying
Europe's last remaining Boeing B-17 heavy bomber, famously known as the Flying Fortress, will again take to the skies. This comes after the B-17 had been grounded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for more than a month due to safety concerns related to the aircraft's wings.
