News
SpaceX launched a spy satellite Jan. 7. It may have failed. What happens now? –
SpaceX is denying it played any part in the apparent failure of an expensive, mysterious government satellite system that launched Jan. 7.
Business
GAO dismisses Raytheon’s JSTARS protest, cementing Northrop as radar provider –
Raytheon is officially out of the Air Force’s JSTARS recap contest, leaving Northrop Grumman victorious as the radar provider to one of the three primes competing for the contract.
Turkey wants to link F-35 jets to its Air Force network –
Turkey’s defense procurement agency has officially launched a competition to combine all information systems on the country’s planned F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation multirole fighter jets to the Turkish Air Forces’ system network.
U.S. Navy, Textron to weaponize unmanned craft for surface warfare –
The Navy is working on adding a number of anti-surface weapons to an unmanned surface vehicle that so far has been used as a passive platform for mine countermeasures.
Qinetiq’s first PC-21 enters ground testing –
Pilatus has commenced pre-flight testing with the first of two PC-21 trainers on order for the United Kingdom’s Qinetiq-managed Empire Test Pilots’ School.
India cancels minesweepers deal with South Korea –
India has terminated a long-pending $5 billion deal to locally build minesweepers in technical collaboration with Kangnam Corporation of South Korea on the grounds of high costs and compliance issues.
Yemen rebels release F-15 ‘shoot down’ footage –
Yemen’s Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) supported its claim to have shot down an F-15 multirole fighter over Sanaa Jan. 8 when it released infrared footage showing the engagement.
CAIG Z-18 transport helicopter looks to have entered service with PLAGF –
The Changhe Aircraft Industries Group Z-18A transport helicopter has entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force, a news report by the state-owned broadcaster China Central Television has suggested.
Airbus names new CEO and chairman for Airbus China unit –
European planemaker Airbus Jan. 10 named new top executives for its Chinese division, which has been a key focus during French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to China, with Airbus hoping to finalize a major Chinese contract soon.
Victoria Nuland named CEO of Center for a New American Security –
Victoria Nuland, a longtime U.S. State Department official, has been named the new CEO of the Center for a New American Security think tank, while former Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work will be stepping up his involvement with the group.
Defense
U.S. The Navy’s next-generation frigate comes with a big price tag –
The Navy’s next-generation could end up costing just shy of a billion dollars per hull, the Naval Sea Systems Command program manager said Jan. 9.
Navy’s cruiser replacement won’t be a cruiser, says surface warfare chief –
The U.S. Navy’s surface fleet is developing a new class of ship that will replace the cruisers — but it’s not another cruiser.
Surface Navy boss: To fix the fleet, reduce commitments and give us more ships –
The U.S. Navy’s top surface warfare officer has said the military must ease the burden on the service if it’s to fix issues that came to light after a pair of collisions that took the lives of 17 sailors last summer.
Over-the-horizon missile competition nearing completion –
The surface Navy is planning to wrap up its over-the-horizon, anti-surface missile competition in the coming months, the Pentagon’s director of Surface Warfare Division said Jan. 9.
Electronic Warfare: The part of F-35 fighter story you haven’t heard –
Begun at the dawn of the new millennium two decades ago, the F-35 program is providing the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps with replacements for most of their Cold War tactical aircraft (nearly 300 have already been delivered).
This armor could be thinner than a hair and stronger than a diamond –
You wouldn’t expect wrapping yourself in aluminum foil to offer much protection in combat. But what if the foil was far lighter and could stop bullets?
New LCS remains stuck in icy Canada –
The littoral combat ship Little Rock was commissioned in Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 16 in a snow-covered ceremony with more than 8,500 people in attendance, all ready to send the new vessel off to her home port of Mayport, Fla.
Air Force grounded dozens of A-10s in November after hypoxia incidents –
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., grounded 28 of its A-10 aircraft after two pilots reported physiological incidents while flying.
First F-35Bs to deploy with 13th MEU –
The Marine Corps’ F-35B joint strike fighters will deploy on a ship with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, marking the first time the fifth-generation fighters are deploying with a stateside unit, Marine officials announced Jan. 9.
Marines finally field the SMAW Mod 2 –
After several years of testing Marines have finally fielded the updated Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, or SMAW Mod 2.
Veterans
Anna Mae Hays, U.S. military’s first female general, dies at 97 –
Army Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, the first female general in U.S. history, died Jan. 7 at a retirement home in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports. Hays, who retired almost 50 years ago, was 97.