The New York Times
The Israeli military unleashed an intense bombing campaign against an underground bunker near Beirut early Oct. 4 in a bid to target Hashem Safieddine, a cousin and the presumed successor of the assassinated Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, according to three Israeli officials.
Defense One
“The purported sinking of a Chinese nuclear submarine at a Wuhan shipyard pier is the latest example of Western reporting on military developments in China that overlooks important details and context, or even takes the wrong lessons from the fragments of stories they tell,” write J. Michael Dahm, a Senior Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, and P.W. Singer, a senior fellow at New America.
Breaking Defense
Backed by the White House, the United Kingdom agreed to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Oct. 3, after 13 rounds of negotiations over the former African colony, but will continue to retain control of the U.K.-U.S. Diego Garcia military base for an initial period of 99 years.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Driven by the growing reach and threat of adversaries, the Air Force is paying more and more attention to ensuring its bases are energy resilient and can generate combat power in any contingency. Learn more about how bases around the U.S. and the world are making sure their energy grids are more reliable and can take a punch if need be.
DefenseScoop
As the Department of Defense experiments with biometric devices to better track the health and wellness of personnel, it issued a $96 million award Oct. 1 to Finnish health technology company Oura to put its smart rings and services in the hands of service members.
The Associated Press
A hacking group tied to Russian intelligence tried to worm its way into the systems of dozens of Western think tanks, journalists, and former military and intelligence officials, Microsoft and U.S. authorities said Oct. 3.
Breaking Defense
A new memo from Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman sets out to redefine how the Space Force conceptualizes space operations, reframe the service’s missions and create new “terms of reference” for official use. More than just an updated dictionary, it’s a move that “lays down a marker for the Space Force,” Doug Loverro, former head of Pentagon space policy, told Breaking Defense. “This is actually a lot more important to forming the force then selecting uniforms and songs.” But it’s also generated some concern in the military space community.
Rise8
Every time a government agency deploys a new piece of software, someone has to issue an Authority To Operate. It’s a sort of Good Housekeeping seal of approval for secure, reliable software. It can also be a hurdle too high to enable frequent software updates. It doesn’t have to be.
Military Times
The number of National Guard forces mobilized to help with Hurricane Helene relief efforts could continue to grow in the coming days as the scope of the storm’s devastation becomes clearer, military officials cautioned Oct. 3. Nearly 7,000 Guardsmen and another 1,000 Active-Duty Soldiers have already been sent to communities across the Southeastern United States to conduct search-and-rescue missions, clear damaged roads, and transport aid to hard-hit areas.
SpaceNews
The National Reconnaissance Office and the Pentagon are making strides in their collaborative effort to use surveillance satellites to track targets on the battlefield, NRO Director Christopher Scolese said Oct. 3.
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Aviation Week
Sierra Space will study a scaled-up version of its Ghost logistics supply spacecraft concept that could be capable of returning payloads up to 22,000 lb. from Earth orbit under a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract.
One More Thing
Air Force release
The Air Force Recruiting Service reached a significant milestone as it marked the achievement of its Fiscal Year 2024 recruiting goal with a time-honored bell-ringing ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Oct. 1.
