News
North Korea could cross ICBM threshold next year, U.S. officials warn –
North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year, U.S. officials have concluded in a confidential assessment that dramatically shrinks the timeline for when Pyongyang could strike North American cities with atomic weapons.
Official: U.S. Navy ship fires warning shots near Iranian ship –
A U.S. Navy ship fired on a fast approaching Iranian ship July 25 in the latest U.S. skirmish with Iranian vessels in the northern Persian Gulf.
Business
Guardion enters C-UAS fray –
Capitalizing on its successful first steps into the counter-unmanned aerial vehicle market, Rohde & Schwarz has teamed up with ESG and Diehl to expand and enhance the Ardronis suite into a new product line under the Guardion designation.
Jordan receives additional Black Hawk helos –
The Royal Jordanian Air Force has received into service a further two Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopters to augment the 24 it already fields.
China aims to be a world leader in artificial intelligence –
China’s State Council has announced a long-term plan to become a world leader in artificial intelligence, with the intention partly focused on boosting military industrial capabilities.
Five countries invited to bid for Croatia fighter buy –
The Croatian Ministry of Defense has submitted requests for proposals to acquire “multi-purpose combat aircraft” to the U.S., Israel, South Korea, Sweden and Greece, the ministry said in a statement.
CMI, KNDS make the cut with final bids for Renault –
Franco-German joint venture KNDS and Belgian CMI submitted competing bids for Renault Trucks Defense, meeting the deadline for best and final offers, defense specialists said July 25.
Australia awards quantum key contract –
QuintessenceLabs has been awarded an Australian military contract to develop quantum key distribution, or QKD, for cybersecurity and communications security.
Three firms secure Navy IT contract –
Three companies have been awarded a Navy IT contract.
ViaSat awarded DISA contract –
ViaSat has been awarded a Defense Information Systems Agency contract to support Blue Force Tracking 2.
L3 to provide Airbus helos with sensors –
L3 has been chosen by Airbus to provide sensors for H225M helicopters.
Defense
Annual Defense Bill aims to rein in Pentagon outsourcing –
Supporters say measure would protect federal employees from seeing their jobs contracted out.
Jim Mattis is waging a war on waste –
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is making the war on waste his own. Faced with a report last month from one of the Pentagon’s watchdogs that the U.S. may have wasted upwards of $28 million by supplying the Afghan army with custom woodland camouflage uniforms in a country where forests cover only 2.1 percent of the total land area, Mattis issued a blunt call to action to some of his deputies.
Mattis: Get unnecessary training off warfighters’ backs –
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has ordered a review of all the administrative and training requirements that prevent trigger pullers and pilots alike from focusing on warfighting.
Air Force seeks to increase max range of stand-off cruise missile –
The Air Force wants to extend the maximum range of its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile in response to growing threats in Eastern Europe and the western Pacific.
Veterans
PTSD disability claims by vets tripled in the last decade –
More than one in five veterans receiving federal disability payouts suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, a figure that has spiked in the last decade.
Trump promises huge increase in private sector care for veterans –
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening promised to triple the number of veterans “seeing the doctor of their choice” in coming months as part of an ongoing, ambitious reform plan at the Department of Veterans Affairs.