Breaking Defense
Warning of “growing hostile surveillance and active targeting” in Africa and threats to U.S. forces in the Red Sea, U.S. Africa Command put counter-uncrewed systems and integrated air defenses at the top of its $500 million unfunded priorities list (UPL) sent to lawmakers. “It is only a matter of time before U.S. forces in East Africa are attacked by an enemy [uncrewed system], cruise or ballistic missile,” the wishlist says.
Reuters
Leaders of the G7 nations condemned Iran's attack on Israel and said on April 14 they would work to try to prevent an "uncontrollable regional escalation" in the Middle East. Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, had called a meeting of G7 heads after U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a coordinated diplomatic response to the unprecedented drone and missile attack launched overnight by Iran.
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Inside Defense
The Missile Defense Agency this month will pick a winner between Lockheed Martin and Northrop in the Next Generation Interceptor competition, slicing a year off the original source-selection plan to develop the homeland defense guided missile based on information produced during the first round of the contest.
Military.com
Ukraine's military chief on April 13 warned that the battlefield situation in the industrial east has “significantly worsened in recent days,” as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh push along several stretches of the more 1,000 km-long (620-mile) front line. In an update on the Telegram messaging app, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyy said that Moscow had “significantly” ramped up its assaults.
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Stars and Stripes
Capt. Joseph Remaniak feared one of his worst nightmares had become reality as sirens blared across al Asad Air Base in Iraq. Troops rushed to bunkers and planes hastily lifted off the runway Jan. 20, minutes ahead of an incoming ballistic rocket attack. “Truthfully, I thought we were about to take rounds to the face,” Remaniak, commander of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, said in a recent interview.
The Associated Press
China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics, and other technology that Moscow, in turn, is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft, and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment.
Defense One
The declaration of a French fighter purchase underlines Serbia’s intention to diversify its sources of military importation, while underlining the falloff of Russian defense exports in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
DefenseScoop
The Air Force has been using wargames to flesh out how future AI-enabled platforms could best be employed on the battlefield. But officials are also eyeing another use case—leveraging artificial intelligence to improve wargaming itself.
Defense News
The U.S. Space Development Agency expects its constellation of missile detection satellites to track its first missile launch in the coming weeks. The eight spacecraft, built by SpaceX and L3Harris Technologies and launched in three batches over the last year, make up the agency’s so-called Tranche 0 Tracking Layer. The systems will demonstrate the ability to observe and collect information on missile launches.
One More Thing
The War Zone
A little over a month after some of the first Block 70 F-16C/D Viper fighters left the United States for their new home in Bahrain, we now have our first look at how these jets might look when armed up for an actual combat mission.
