Pete Hegseth launched a public campaign on Dec. 4 to shore up faltering support for his selection as defense secretary, saying in a high-profile interview that President-elect Donald J. Trump told him: “I got your back. It’s a fight. They’re coming after you.” But even as Mr. Hegseth insisted that Mr. Trump was urging him to fight, the president-elect appeared to be having serious conversations about picking Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and his onetime primary rival, to be the defense secretary instead.
President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 4 nominated Daniel Driscoll to be the next U.S. Army secretary, saying the veteran will be a “fearless and relentless fighter” for the service. ... Driscoll has a background in venture capital and private equity firms but has most recently worked as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance. The two were classmates at Yale Law School.
The integration of data-centric information systems with operational technologies that control physical assets is increasingly enhancing the need for U.S. entities to modernize their cybersecurity and resilience approaches, according to experts from government and industry.
The Space Force’s push to prepare for a future war in the Indo-Pacific in the next few years is not just about quickly fielding more resilient satellites and ground systems—it also means ensuring Guardians and the broader joint force are trained and ready to use those capabilities during a conflict.
OpenAI, the artificial-intelligence company behind ChatGPT, is getting into the business of war. The world’s most valuable AI company has agreed to work with Anduril Industries, a leading defense-tech startup, to add its technology to systems the U.S. military uses to counter drone attacks. The partnership, which the companies announced Dec. 4, marks OpenAI’s deepest involvement yet with the Defense Department and its first tie-up with a commercial weapons maker.
The Pentagon’s next No. 2 may be a billionaire investor with deep ties to the defense industry that suggest potential conflicts of interest but also a familiarity with the military acquisition system. Numerous media outlets reported on Dec. 3 that President-elect Trump has said he will nominate Stephen Feinberg, co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, to be U.S. deputy defense secretary.
While it cannot be seen by the human eye, electronic warfare and its importance to the modern fight is clear. Learn more about how the Department of the Air Force is upgrading its EW capabilities, from in space to in flight, on orbit and onboard fighters.
Speaking with the different firms and organizations present at this year’s Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), it is clear the training and simulation community is trying to take lessons from real-world conflicts in order to keep training as relevant as possible for the modern warfighter.
Steve Nordlund, who has led Boeing Defense’s fighter jet business for the last two years, is retiring, Breaking Defense has learned. Nordlund, whose official title is vice president and general manager of Air Dominance, will be replaced by Dan Gillian, currently the vice president of Mobility, Surveillance & Bombers. Gillian, in turn, will be replaced by Jamie Burgess, Boeing Defense’s current vice president for program management.
The Pentagon says more testing is required to demonstrate that the 25mm automatic cannon mounted internally on the F-35A variant of the Joint Strike Fighter is indeed now an effective weapon. Various software and hardware issues had long left the stealthy jets unable to shoot straight, but fixes intended to resolve them have been implemented.
Outgoing national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Dec. 4 the Biden administration is putting the finishing touches on a last-minute effort to reform regulations governing the exportation of critical missile technologies to key U.S. allies. Sullivan, who spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the White House is “finalizing a national security memorandum on missile technology exports to modernize our implementation of the MTCR, the Missile Technology Control Regime.”
Lockheed Martin does not expect to sign the contract for two lots of F-35 production before year-end, though it could secure a so-called “undefinitized” contract action that would enable the manufacturer to incur costs and book revenue on the program, CFO Jay Malave says.
To make a little money during the pandemic, a Soldier in Virginia allegedly opened a small bakery to sell his grandmother’s pies. He called his business “Granny’s Delight.” But federal authorities say there was no bakery, no pies, no “Granny,” and the only “delight” was $41,000 in fraudulent small business loans that the Soldier used on golf and vacations.