News
Seven Iranian boats came after U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf –
A U.S. coastal patrol ship faced seven Iranian Republican Guard Corps Navy fast in-shore attack craft before swerving to avoid crashing into one on Sunday, according to a 5th Fleet spokesman.
Trump, Clinton promise VA reform and attack each other’s plans –
Just a day before a joint event on military and veterans issues, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in separate speeches both vowed to build up the military and warned their opponent doesn’t understand the needs of troops.
Business
Boeing collects $2 billion in bonuses for Missile Defense System that doesn’t work –
Boeing collected nearly $2 billion in bonuses from the Pentagon for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system even though the interceptors failed to destroy their targets.
America’s new nuclear-armed missile could cost $85 billion –
The U.S. Air Force’s program to develop and field a new intercontinental ballistic missile to replace the aging Minuteman III in the nuclear arsenal is now projected to cost at least $85 billion, about 36 percent more than a preliminary estimate by the service.
Rheinmetall establishes a Polish subsidiary –
German military land systems group Rheinmetall has announced the establishment of a subsidiary in Poland.
Leading Turkish anti-riot gear maker eyes military armor market –
A local company that holds a near-monopoly in water cannons and anti-riot vehicles in Turkey is now entering the country’s armored-vehicles market, hoping to capture a good share in this lucrative Turkish industry.
Leonardo-Finmeccanica signs long-term letter of intent with Poland’s PGZ –
Italian defense group Leonardo-Finmeccanica has announced that it has signed a long-term letter of intent with Polish state-owned defence industrial group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa relating to a series of technology areas.
India’s HAL conducts first technical flight of indigenous helicopter –
India’s sole aircraft and helicopter producer, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, conducted the first technical flight Sept. 6 of its indigenous light utility helicopter in Bengaluru, India.
Israel MoD proposes easing of restrictions for defense exports –
The Israeli Defense Ministry celebrated a decade since establishment of an export control agency with a spectrum of sweeteners for exporters who play by the rules.
Geospatial company Vricon awarded Army contract –
Vricon has been awarded a contract to provide the Army with geospatial data.
Northrop Grumman to demo mine-hunting sensor on British USV –
Northrop Grumman will demonstrate its mine-hunting sonar on a British unmanned surface vessel.
Defense
DOD plan to attack funding ‘gimmick’ nets rebuke from Ryan, Thornberry –
An internal strategy memo in which Pentagon leaders aim to “play hardball” to derail the Republican-led House’s defense funding “gimmick” drew the fire from House Majority Leader Paul Ryan Sept. 6, who called the memo “shameless.”
Senate rejects defense bills again, foreshadowing CR –
U.S. Senate Democrats again voted down the 2017 Pentagon and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bills Sept. 6, teeing up a stopgap funding resolution to avert a government shutdown.
F-35 test marks final unmanned QF-4 target drone flight –
Aug. 17 marked the closing of another chapter in the life of the venerable McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, with the QF-4 full-scale aerial target drone completing its final unmanned mission over White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Air Force joins investigation into SpaceX rocket explosion –
The Air Force has joined the investigation to determine what exactly caused a SpaceX rocket to explode in a spectacular fireball on the launch pad.
Army, DRS set to integrate new bridging system on tanks –
The Army is readying production of a new bridging system used by Armored Brigade Combat Teams after awarding DRS Technologies, Inc., a $400 million production contract to integrate the bridge platform onto an M1 Abrams tank.
U.S. Army’s new ground-launched missile: Raining down death from 500 kilometers away –
The U.S. Army is working to engineer a sleek, high-speed, first-of-its-kind long-range ground launched attack missile able to pinpoint and destroy enemy bunkers, helicopter staging areas, troop concentrations and other fixed-location targets from as much as three time the range of existing weapons, service officials said.
Stealthy destroyer ready to set sail to join U.S. Navy –
The largest and most expensive destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy once headed to sea in a snowstorm during builder trials. Now, it’s heading into the remnants of a tropical storm as it leaves Maine for good.
U.S. Navy’s new super frigate will be armed with some of the most lethal weapons on the planet –
The Navy is now finalizing the weapons, sensors and technologies it plans to engineer into a new, more survivable and lethal Littoral Combat Ship variant designed to perform anti-submarine and surface warfare functions at the same time, service officials said.
U.S. Navy’s new stealth destroyer soon to test weapon systems –
The new warship is expected to be commissioned next month.
Veterans
Hero refused to carry weapon, but was awarded Medal of Honor –
When Mel Gibson unveiled his upcoming World War II drama about the first conscientious objector to be awarded a Medal of Honor, he had five words to describe the soldier: ‘Real heroes don’t wear Spandex.’
VA estimates 107,000 vets have undiagnosed or untreated hepatitis C –
With more than $2 billion appropriated for new hepatitis C drugs during the past two years, the Department of Veterans Affairs treated 65,000 veterans for the virus, but about 87,000 remain untreated and an additional 20,000 are undiagnosed. VA officials are seeking $1.5 billion in the 2017 fiscal year to treat more veterans, a group in which hepatitis C is especially prevalent.
New law allows female World War II pilot to be inurned at Arlington –
It took an act of Congress, but World War II pilot Elaine Harmon is finally being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
House approves Gold Star families bill after Trump’s feud with Khans –
The House passed the Gold Star Families Voices Act as one of its first orders of business Sept. 6. The legislation allows families of servicemembers killed in action to contribute to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Currently, only living veterans are allowed to provide testimonials and biographical information.
Space
Now that’s a long haul flight –
An American astronaut who set the U.S. record for cumulative time in orbit has safely returned to Earth along with two Russian cosmonauts, following a six-month mission on board the International Space Station.
What lies beneath Uranus and Neptune? –
They are vast, icy worlds composed almost entirely of dense clouds of gas.
NASA’s asteroid-hunting spacecraft to blast off –
On Sept. 8, NASA hopes to launch a spacecraft on its journey towards an asteroid, where it will collect and return samples that experts believe may hold the building blocks of life.
A ‘galactic fossil’ from the birth of the Milky Way –
A dense cloud of stars in the heart of the galaxy has survived as a “galactic fossil” from the birth of the Milky Way.