The Associated Press
The United States will send Ukraine another Patriot missile system, two U.S. officials said June 11, answering Kyiv’s desperate calls for more air defenses as it battles an intense Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region. The officials said President Joe Biden has approved the move. It would be the second Patriot system that the U.S. has given to Ukraine, although the Pentagon has routinely provided an undisclosed number of missiles for the system.
The Wall Street Journal
Armin Papperger has said his global arms giant plans to risk Russian attack and set up a factory in Ukraine capable of churning out 400 new tanks a year. Such bold declarations have become a hallmark of the 61-year-old Bavarian, who has emerged as a major player in the weapons business and an outspoken figure in a typically reserved industry.
The Associated Press
The Japan crash has reverberated deeply within the Osprey community and left grieving families to maintain a delicate balance. They know the crews were passionate about the Osprey—it performs like no other aircraft in the fleet. But the crashes keep happening, and none of them can stomach the idea of another family facing this kind of grief.
Breaking Defense
Inspired by the flexibility of gig work in the private sector, the Pentagon is in the midst of the prototype phase of an initiative, dubbed GigEagle, designed to tap into talent across the Pentagon workforce, in what officials told Breaking Defense could be a “transformational” approach to staffing up short-term defense projects.
SpaceNews
In a stark illustration of how rapidly the satellite communications landscape is shifting toward large constellations of smaller satellites in low-Earth orbit, the Defense Department plans to add more than 100 of SpaceX’s Starshield satellites to its future SATCOM architecture. Starshield is a militarized version of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites, with enhanced encryption and other security features. And unlike Starlink, which is a commercial service, the Starshield satellites would be owned and controlled by the U.S. government.
The War Zone
The White House does not want to see a third ballistic missile interceptor site created on the East Coast in addition to the ones already in operation in Alaska and California. The Biden administration is “strongly” opposing a measure in the House Armed Services Committee's (HASC) Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act legislation calling for the establishment by December 2030 of an “additional continental United States interceptor site, located at the Department of Defense’s conditionally designated preferred site of Fort Drum, New York.”
Defense News
Whenever the U.S. military launched a satellite over the last six years, the rocket carrying that payload bore the logo of SpaceX or the United Launch Alliance — the only companies eligible to fly National Security Space Launch missions. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck has watched those launches while smaller and emerging providers like his own company lacked a clear pathway to compete for the missions. He and other launch executives have encouraged the Space Force to create entry points for firms building new rockets. And now they may have a way forward.
DefenseScoop
The Defense Innovation Unit has filled another key leadership position, tapping a senior military officer to oversee the service members who work there. Air Force Maj. Gen. Steven “Bucky” Butow has been appointed military deputy for DIU, effective June 1, the organization announced June 10.
Subscription Required
Aviation Week
Boeing plans to hire 400 engineers to work on air dominance programs at a facility under construction by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., the company said on June 11. The announcement comes as Boeing’s Air Dominance unit competes for the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance contract.
Defense One
With a close eye on Ukraine’s use of drones, Estonians are fielding new kit, changing doctrine, and revamping training for unmanned systems in case they also have to repel a Russian invasion one day. Estonia—a country with a population of just 1.3 million—is also being uniquely thrifty, working to field systems whose price is often orders of magnitude cheaper than similar U.S. systems.
One More Thing
Dayton Daily News
Air Force helmets offer pilots more capabilities than ever—greater visibility, mounts for night-vision goggles, and much more. But they also offer their share of challenges, including fatigue with long use and even the possibility of injury when pilots perform high-speed maneuvers or eject from planes. Dayton-area engineers and Cedarville University students have examined the problem. Three Cedarville senior engineering students worked on the issue with an Air Force accommodations group at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in a capstone project in advanced biomechanics technology before they graduated last month.
