News
Trump makes it clear: No military exercises with South Korea –
A day after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said there were no plans to cancel future joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, President Donald Trump made it clear: they’re not happening.
Business
Northrop Grumman gets a start on next-gen missile warning satellites –
The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $47 million for an analysis of system and payload requirements for a new missile warning satellite system in polar orbit.
Ukraine tests cruise missile — can it hit Moscow? –
Ukrainian state-run defense firm Ukroboronprom has announced a successful test of the new Neptun cruise missile. The anti-ship missile struck a maritime target 100 kilometers away from its launch point in the south of the Odesa region on Aug. 17.
Pentagon is downplaying serious problems with the F-35, watchdog says –
The Pentagon is trying to paper over serious problems with the F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft that could endanger troops, according to an investigation released Aug. 29 by the Project On Government Oversight.
Israel to charge drone maker executives with fraud, export violations –
Israeli prosecutors say they plan to charge executives of an Israeli drone company with fraud and export violations concerning its dealings with a “significant client.”
Is there a ‘power lobby’ in Russia’s parliament pushing defense spending? –
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International says about one-fifth of the members of Russia’s lower house of parliament are part of what it calls a “power lobby” that has significantly influenced sharply growing expenditures for national defense and law enforcement.
Defense
After nearly two decades in development, the U.S. Navy is close to operating with its new stealth fighter –
The U.S. Navy’s carrier-launched F-35C is being integrated into the carrier air wing as it pushes toward being declared operational early next year.
U.S. military on track to match record 2017 for airstrikes in Somalia –
U.S. forces killed three Shabaab terrorists in an airstrike Aug. 27. The strike occurred 40 km southwest of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, according to a U.S. Forces Africa Command press release.
What will Trump’s Space Force cost? The Pentagon hasn’t figured that out yet –
The Pentagon does not yet have a cost estimate for President Donald Trump’s requested Space Force, a sixth and separate military branch dedicated to countering the looming threats in outer space.
U.S. Army to bring new vehicle protection technologies to fleet as early as 2020 –
The U.S. Army is planning to bring new vehicle protection technologies to the fleet as early as 2020 to include reactive armor tiles as well as laser warning and signature management capabilities, according to Col. Glenn Dean, the program manager for the service’s Stryker combat vehicle.
Navy making room for railguns in next warship, but no extra investments –
The Navy’s next large surface combatant will have all the space, weight and power margins the sea service could need now and into the future to accommodate new weapons in development – but the director of surface warfare said the Navy would not accelerate weapons development to get them ready in time to outfit the new ships.
From high-tech lasers to old school wire, Marines test both ends of communications spectrum –
Marines recently hit both ends of the communications spectrum with Jarheads in Okinawa using infrared lasers to send large data files without using radio frequencies that easily can be jammed to stateside Marines shooting old-school high frequency comms from Wisconsin to Miramar, Calif.