Air Force researchers are designing an autonomous aircraft that can take down a manned plane in air-to-air combat, with the goal of pitting the two against each other in July 2021. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, head of the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said the ...
A recent defense decree by Russian president Vladimir Putin says that country can use nuclear weapons to retaliate against non-nuclear attacks—such as with hypersonic weapons or massive cyber action—if the intent is to disable Russian command and control. The statement, which laid out conditions for ...
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on June 3 abruptly reversed a plan made earlier in the day to send home a portion of the Active-duty troops called to Washington to quell civil unrest in the National Capital Region, following a meeting at the White House. The ...
Military troops on June 2 continued to respond to nationwide protests over George Floyd’s death, as some lawmakers raised concerns about the prospect of sending in Active-duty service members. The death of Floyd, a black man who died in police custody May 25 after asphyxiation ...
The Navy on June 1 awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to upgrade the F-35's Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) capabilities. The contract provides $26.7 million to engineer changes to the F-35 for the "full up" mission, presumably to add weapons and/or ...
President Donald Trump on May 28 announced he will extend the Title 32 orders of National Guard personnel activated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through the middle of August, ensuring thousands of Guardsmen will get access to certain federal benefits. As of the morning ...
The Pentagon is rolling back some of its stringent restrictions on travel, allowing for more permanent change of station moves and deployments, saying the military’s largely been spared in the COVID-19 outbreak by the effectiveness of such measures. During a May 28 town hall, Chairman ...
Another fifth-generation wireless connectivity initiative will come to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., as part of the Pentagon’s broader push into 5G research. The Defense Department announced May 28 its research and engineering branch will partner with the Air Force Warfare Center to build a ...
A coalition of military and veterans associations is urging lawmakers to reverse Pentagon plans to close or downsize military medical facilities as the COVID-19 outbreak spreads. In February, the Pentagon said it planned to close or downsize 50 medical clinics, including 12 on Air Force ...
The Pentagon announced May 26 it will start rolling back restrictions on movement, even though a third U.S. service member and two people affiliated with the Air Force recently died from COVID-19. A Wisconsin Army Reservist died of the disease caused by the new coronavirus ...
A readiness task force spanning several major Air Force organizations is looking at new ways to measure fleet readiness other than the controversial mission-capable rate. After trying and largely failing to get certain fighter jet fleets to reach 80 percent mission-capable, or ready to enter ...
While the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing the nation and military to learn how to operate in a strange new world, it hasn’t diminished the force’s readiness, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. John Hyten said on May 21. According to ...