News
Iran readying massive military exercise in Persian Gulf, officials say –
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard is expected to soon begin a major naval exercise that could demonstrate its ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for global energy supplies, US officials say.
DOD exempts wounded warriors from ‘deploy or get out’ policy –
Service members wounded in combat will be exempt from the Defense Department’s new policy to be deployable in 12 months or face separation from the military, the Pentagon announced this week.
Business
U.S. Air Force may replace 3 types of aircraft with a single platform –
The U.S. Air Force is looking to replace three aircraft — the E-4B command post, the C-32A executive airlifter and the Navy’s E-6B command post — under the purview of a single program known as NEAT.
A jet sale to Egypt is being blocked by a U.S. regulation, and France is over it –
France is seeking to reduce its reliance on U.S. approval for French arms exports as Washington withholds clearance for an American component on the French Scalp cruise missile, which blocks the sale of additional Rafale fighter jets to Egypt.
U.S. Army increases investment on counter-drone program –
Leonardo DRS has received an additional $13 million to continue engineering and testing a vehicle-mounted system that the U.S. Army hopes will protect soldiers from small drones, according to a July 31 Defense Department statement.
White House industrial base study focuses on near-term fixes –
The defense industrial base study that President Trump ordered a year ago is nearing completion, a well-informed administration source told Breaking Defense. But the Executive Order 13806 study may come as a surprise: Instead of a sweeping agenda to restore America’s high-tech lead for future decades, the study will recommend near-term fixes to more mundane problems that could lose the U.S. a war if one broke out tomorrow.
Sierra Nevada Corp believes few new data rights make its UH-1N replacement offering a winner –
Sierra Nevada Corp believes that its offering of recapitalised Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters for the U.S. Air Force’s UH-1N replacement programme will be a winner because the service will have to spend less money acquiring data rights.
U.S. Army discloses timelines for Block 3 Chinook –
Boeing is to begin development of a Block 3-standard Boeing CH/MH-47 Chinook transport and assault helicopter toward the end of the 2020s, ahead of fielding by the U.S. Army in the late 2030s/early 2040s.
Defense
Congress finalizes $717 billion defense budget authorization months ahead of schedule –
Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill Aug. 1, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks.
Pentagon delays Space Force report –
The day after Defense One published details from an 11th-hour draft of the much-anticipated report, the Pentagon has delayed its release.
Opposition to a Space Force simmers in Senate –
But Republicans who oppose the president’s push appear largely content to hold their fire until next year.
SPAWAR inks lucrative contract –
The Navy has pulled the trigger on the lucrative engineering services contract for afloat and ashore operations worldwide.
Fast attack sub marked for deployment –
The Navy’s North Dakota submarine has been certified for overseas deployment.
Failure of two ships to participate in RIMPAC highlight amphibious readiness gap –
The two U.S. amphibious warships that were planned to be central to the Rim of the Pacific 2018 exercises were unable to fully participate in the event due to mechanical failures that highlight continued readiness problems with the Navy’s amphibious fleet.
Air Force zeroing in on cause of T-6 hypoxia problem –
Since late last year, a rash of unexplained physiological events such as hypoxia has caused dangerous breathing problems for pilots of T-6 Texan II training aircraft, and led to multiple groundings.
U.S. Air Force’s senior-citizen chopper may have to hold off retirement –
The U.S. Air Force has some of the most high-tech aircraft in the world flying missions at the spear’s tip. But a remarkably large number of its systems are what would gently be referred to as “vintage.”
Veterans
Here’s why Armed Forces Retirement Home is slowing down its planned fee hikes –
Residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home will have a temporary reprieve from a proposed fee increase, which now will be phased in over three years, officials announced.
VA officials push back on Congress’ blue water Navy benefits fix –
Veterans Affairs officials strongly opposed legislative plans to extend disability payouts to roughly 90,000 veterans who claim exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, saying the move could set a problematic precedent for future benefits awards.