News
Dozens of Afghan troops missing from military training in U.S. –
Forty-four Afghan troops visiting the United States for military training have gone missing in less than two years, presumably in an effort to live and work illegally in America, Pentagon officials said.
Business
Poland drops Caracal helicopter talks with Airbus –
The Polish Ministry of Economic Development has announced the end of negotiations over a potential offset deal with Airbus Helicopters, indicating that the Ministry of Defence will not purchase Caracal military transport helos for the country’s military.
Northrop Grumman awarded IR countermeasures contract –
Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $149.7 million contract for infrared countermeasures.
Underwater drone launches mini-drones –
An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has successfully launched multiple micro-AUVs (M-UAV) during a Navy demonstration.
VIDEO: Iran reveals newest RQ-170 attempt –
Iran has revealed its newest attempt at reverse engineering the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned air vehicle, which according to local media has been dubbed the Saeqeh, or “Lightning.”
As anti-corruption efforts expand globally, defense sector remains an outlier –
A recent anti-corruption summit produced hundreds of commitments, exactly eight of which concerned defense.
General Dynamics leans in for U.S. Army’s light reconnaissance vehicle –
If the U.S. Army doesn’t want the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to fulfill its requirement for a nascent Lightweight Reconnaissance vehicle, what does it want?
Defense
Defense Innovation Board lays out first concepts –
The Board came out with a series of rough recommendations for Secretary of Defense Ash Carter – or his successor – that they believe will lead to injecting a culture of innovation into the Pentagon.
New Littoral Combat Ship joins U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet in Asia-Pacific –
The U.S. Navy vessel will operate out of Singapore for the duration of its 7th Fleet deployment.
Veterans
Congress fails to pass VA medical marijuana provision –
Veterans pressing Congress to let VA doctors recommend medical marijuana for their patients in states where the drug is considered legal had their hopes dashed last month when Congress passed a pared version of the Veterans Affairs funding bill without the marijuana provision.
Lawmakers push VA for evidence of suicide hotline fixes –
A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs to outline what improvements it has made to a suicide hotline after a watchdog found that crisis calls were going to voicemail.