News
U.S. preparing to put nuclear bombers back on 24-hour alert –
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991.
Conflicting accounts in Niger ambush are subject of Pentagon investigation –
The Pentagon is trying to determine whether American forces involved in a deadly ambush in Niger this month diverted from their routine patrol to embark on an unapproved mission, military officials said Oct. 20.
Business
Two-year DHS DOMino contract protest saga concludes –
More than two years after the Department of Homeland Security originally decided to award their Development, Operations, and Maintenance (DOMino) contract to Raytheon, GAO has denied Northrop Grumman’s third protest of the contract award, allowing Raytheon and DHS to begin work under the contract.
Textron secures $333M US Army contract for vehicles used by Afghan Army –
Textron Marine and Land Systems has been awarded an Army contract for nearly $333 million to make up to 255 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles — armored personnel carriers that the company has been making since 2012 for the Afghan National Army.
Blue Origin’s new engine starts hot-fire testing –
Blue Origin on Oct. 19 completed the first hot-fire test of its BE-4 engine, a huge milestone that could pave the way for its use aboard United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket.
Obsidian wins Marine Corps training contract –
Obsidian Solutions Group has been awarded a $97.9 million Marine Corps contract to develop training doctrine and scenarios.
Defense
Navy likely to be passed over for top Pacific Command spot –
U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, the current commander of Pacific Air Forces, is the leading nominee to become the next head of U.S. Pacific Command – a position historically held by Navy officials, Defense News has learned.
Army is working on a new 40 mm round that will make training more realistic –
For years, troops training with 40 mm grenade launchers who needed to fire alongside mounted or dismounted troops on the move couldn’t safely move toward the area where they were firing.
Air Force: No plans to recall retired pilots to fix shortage –
The Air Force says it doesn’t plan on using new flexibility under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to address a pilot shortage by recalling retired pilots.
Air Force could recall up to 1,000 retired pilots amid shortage, retention crisis –
The Air Force could bring back as many as 1,000 retired pilots for up to three years under a major expansion of a recall program, the White House announced Oct. 20.
U.S. Air Force steadily ramping op smart bomb production –
Three years into the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. Air Force is steadily ramping up production of precision-guided bombs.
In Congress, fears grow about lack of strategy on multiple battlefields –
A series of events in the Middle East and Africa has stirred new questions about President Trump’s counterterrorism strategy as the U.S. focus in Iraq and Syria shifts to stabilization, and the battle against the Islamic State moves elsewhere.
‘No silver bullet’: Pentagon struggles to defeat drones in cat-and-mouse game –
The U.S. Army, as well as the other services and Pentagon organizations, is on a quest to find enduring countermeasures to defeat enemy drones in what has become a cat-and-mouse game.
Veterans
In Congress, fears grow about lack of strategy on multiple battlefields –
A series of events in the Middle East and Africa has stirred new questions about President Trump’s counterterrorism strategy as the U.S. focus in Iraq and Syria shifts to stabilization, and the battle against the Islamic State moves elsewhere.
National memorial to female vets marks its 20th anniversary –
Right next to Arlington National Cemetery, which draws about 4 million visitors a year, is a national memorial to military women.
Training on vet suicides set at Nevada prisons –
Four months after he enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18, John Morse IV was on the front lines in Iraq training the sights of laser range finders on combat targets to be shelled.
For some veterans, John Kelly’s remarks add to a worrying military-civilian divide –
The deaths of four Special Forces soldiers in Niger this month have sparked wider debate about military service, the civilian-military divide in the United States and the contours of public discourse about one of the country’s most hallowed communities: the families of troops killed in combat.
This week in Congress: Starting debate on VA health reforms –
House lawmakers will relaunch the debate into sweeping health care reforms within the Department of Veterans Affairs Oct. 24.
Space
Where spaceships go to die –
The graveyard sits in South Pacific between Australia, New Zealand and South America (pictured), and is used by space agencies to safely crash space stations and satellites.