Roughly 400 active-duty troops will remain on the US-Mexico border until Sept. 30, nearly two months past their original orders, after a Pentagon extension of their deployment. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved extending the troops, a mix of Army soldiers and Marines, to continue assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, with border enforcement operations, Air Force Lt. Col. Devin Robinson, a Pentagon spokesman, told Task & Purpose on Sept. 5.
The United States—which since the advent of flight more than a century ago has relied on two vast oceans as a buffer against adversaries attacking U.S. citizens and soil with low-flying aircraft and missiles—this summer began designing a next-generation domestic air defense system to protect cities and critical infrastructure from Russian and Chinese cruise missiles.
The three U.S. military service secretaries went on the offensive against Sen. Tommy Tuberville over his ongoing hold on senior military nominations in an interview with CNN on Sept. 5, saying he is aiding communist and autocratic regimes, and being used by adversaries like China against the U.S.
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.
The U.S. Air Force has been open about its hunt for more bases and new missile defenses in the Pacific, which reflects the assumption that the region’s scarce runways would be among the first items targeted in a conflict with China. Less is heard about similar efforts by the People’s Liberation Army, which has the very same problem of how to ensure that its own aircraft have places to fly and fight from.
The Polish government on Sept. 5 rolled out a new armed, unmanned aerial vehicle concept aimed at countering smaller drones, known as the HAASTA, to kick off the annual MSPO defense trade show. In the announcement, the government stated the design draws on “insights gained from recent years of combat operations”—a not-so-veiled reference to the Ukraine conflict, which Poland has been studying intensely. Design of the system follow a new standard, STANAG 4703, which sets airworthiness requirements for fixed-wing light unmanned aircraft.
“When analysts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies ran a series of war games simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan last year, they learned something surprising. The games indicated that the U.S. Air Force, fighting nearly alone after the destruction of much of the U.S. Navy, could almost single-handedly destroy the Chinese invasion force,” writes commentator David Axe.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers traveled to Britain this spring in an effort to get tough on China. But House China committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and his delegation quickly found their British counterparts had another matter top of mind: AUKUS, the trilateral nuclear-powered submarine agreement with Britain and Australia. Officials from those countries made clear to Gallagher and other U.S. lawmakers that Congress must take steps to ensure the deal is a success. Specifically, they want lawmakers to approve a blanket exemption for the U.K. and Australia within Washington’s stringent export control regime.
The Army has opened a new collaboration, prototyping and testing center aimed at linking members of the Army aviation community with new and emerging technologies from non-traditional vendors. The Applied Innovation Center (AIC) opened its doors Aug. 29 in Huntsville, Alabama — strategically located near Redstone Arsenal where the Army’s program executive office for aviation and U.S. Army Aviation Missile Command are headquartered. While the AIC is an Army aviation organization, the intent is for it to be available to other Defense Department components and potentially expand to other strategic locations across the country in the future.
The remains of a Tuskegee pilot have been identified, 79 years after he went missing during World War II, according to the Defense Department. Second Lt. Fred L. Brewer Jr. was piloting a single-seat P-51C Mustang nicknamed "Traveling Light" in late October 1944 out of Ramitelli Air Field in Italy when he went missing in action, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.