News
Trump says US will act alone on North Korea if China fails to help –
Donald Trump has issued China with an ultimatum that if it fails to put pressure on North Korea to disable its nuclear program, then the U.S. is prepared to take action against Pyongyang on its own.
First China-built carrier on target for April 23 launch –
China’s defense ministry has confirmed that the country’s first locally built aircraft carrier has entered its final stage of construction before the hull is launched, which media reports suggest could be as early as April 23, the founding anniversary of the navy.
Business
Leidos to develop high-power electromagnetic technology –
Leidos has been awarded a $38 million Air Force Research Laboratory contract to conduct electromagnetic research.
India’s Hindustan Aeronautics clocks highest ever sales –
India’s sole military aircraft producer, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, has reported its highest ever sales turnover, of $2.62 billion for the fiscal year that started April 1, 2016. In the previous fiscal year, total sales turnover was $2.57 billion.
Raytheon radar executes first ballistic missile test –
After a series of previous successes, Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar successfully searched, acquired, and tracked a ballistic missile during the first dedicated ballistic missile defense exercise at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility, the company announced March 31.
Airbus faces cash headache, lengthy talks over A400M delays –
Airbus faces a cash squeeze and months of uncertainty over its troubled A400M airlifter after buyer nations upheld penalty clauses for delays to Europe’s largest defense project.
French, Indonesian naval firms extend submarine study –
French naval defense specialist DCNS and Indonesian shipyard PT PAL have extended cooperation on studies for a potential order and local assembly of submarines for the Asian nation, the French president’s office said.
Advice for Leonardo’s next CEO –
As Leonardo’s next CEO gets ready to take over the Italian firm amid questions about his lack of experience, two of Italy’s leading defense analysts have offered up a list of ways to keep the company on track.
Russia reveals Su-30SME export ‘Flanker’ details –
Russia has revealed new details of the Su-30SME export variant of the Sukhoi ‘Flanker’ fighter that it launched in early 2016.
Raytheon launches Overseer multi-sensor mission system –
Raytheon has launched the Overseer multi-sensor mission system at its new intelligence, surveillance, target, acquisition, and reconnaissance integration centre in Broughton, north Wales.
Russia’s Rosatom to expand icebreaker fleet –
Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom will expand its nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet as the deadlines for commissioning a number major projects draw near and the implementation of the Northern Sea Route development concept goes ahead. Rosatom will have to order up to five nuclear-powered icebreakers of a new generation – Leader, the corporation’s CEO Aleksey Likhachev has told TASS.
Defense
Army, Navy secretary nominees expected to be named soon –
The White House is expected to nominate soon its choices for secretary of the Navy and secretary of the Army, as well as the Army undersecretary spot.
Why Pentagon doesn’t want Turkey’s help in Syria –
Like a marriage held together for the sake of the kids, the U.S. and Turkey keep saying nice things in public, while privately fuming and slowly drifting apart.
With Trump approval, Pentagon expands authority over battle decisions –
Week by week, country by country, the Pentagon is quietly seizing more control over battle decisions, sending hundreds more troops to war with little public debate and seeking greater authority to fight extremists across the Middle East and Africa.
New sensor platform increases situational awareness –
The Navy has taken a step forward in deploying a new mine-detection sensor platform. The helicopter-borne array should give operators a way to glean situational awareness around nautical mines from a safe stand-off distance.
Navy to conduct drone flight research on Dauphin Island, Alabama –
An agreement has been reached with the Mobile County Commission to conduct U.S. Navy drone flight research at Jeremiah Denton Airport on Dauphin Island, Ala., according to the Alabama Media Group.
Navy chemists developed and patented transparent armor –
Naval research chemist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have developed an armor which is transparent, lightweigt and enables damaged armor to be repaired immediately while in the field, said the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Public Affairs.
The Corps’ quest for the best rifle for infantrymen –
The commandant of the Marine Corps wants to vastly expand the fielding of infantry automatic rifles by putting them in the hands of nearly every “0311” rifleman.
Growing readiness woes: Only three in 10 Air Force planes are ready to fly –
On March 22, as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un prepared to test-launch a missile and tensions rose on the volatile Korean peninsula, a lone B-1B Lancer bomber took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and flew across the Pacific on a Continuous Bomber Presence sortie.
Veterans
The Evolution of the Tomb of the Unknowns –
War losses may now be identifiable, but the memorial, located in Arlington National Cemetery, serves a bigger purpose.
Advocates launch new campaign to highlight ‘badass’ women vets –
Got Your 6’s newest public service campaign wants to remind Americans that military women aren’t just a key part of America’s fighting force.
VFW survey: Fix VA services instead of outsourcing them –
An overwhelming number of Veterans of Foreign Wars members prefer fixing Veterans Affairs medical services to establishing a new private-care based health system for them, according to a new survey released this week by the group.
Study: Military service narrows racial wage gap among women –
Serving in the military can boost women’s future earnings and quash significant racial and ethnic disparities in pay, a new study has found.
No more burials at Arlington in 25 years? Famed cemetery is running out of space –
When Arlington National Cemetery was established in 1864, it served as an overflow for other Washington, D.C.,-based burial grounds overburdened by the rising tide of Civil War casualties.
Space
SpaceX launches its first recycled rocket in historic leap –
SpaceX successfully launched and then retrieved its first recycled rocket March 30, a historic feat and the biggest leap yet in its bid to drive down costs and speed up flights.
SpaceX reuses Falcon 9 rocket, but long road ahead for military adoption –
SpaceX made history March 30 with the successful launch of a reused Falcon 9 rocket, marking the first time a commercial company has been able to send a previously-launched rocket into space a second time.
Elon Musk’s reusable rocket just changed space game –
The successful test flight of a used rocket is a milestone in the effort to drastically lower the cost of putting a satellite in orbit.