News
Families blast decision not to punish higher-ranking officers in Niger ambush-
“I’m angry as hell,” Debra Gannon, the mother of Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, told ABC News, as she sat inside a popular Fort Bragg bar, next to a photo of her son on a memorial wall.
France promises a presence in the Pacific amid an anticipated ‘global confrontation’-
France’s armed forces minister has pledged the country will remain committed to the Pacific region, as she warned of a “global confrontation” emerging there.
Business
Will the stars finally align to upgrade Britain’s ‘obsolete’ tanks?-
Britain has fallen behind its allies and potential adversaries in key armored combat vehicle capabilities and must do more to become a force to be reckoned with, Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt has warned.
France reports 30 percent jump in arms sales for 2018-
France’s weapons export in 2018 were worth €9.1 billion ($10.27 billion), up 30 percent compared to 2017, making last year “one of the best figures of these past 20 years,” according to Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. This figure keeps France in the top three arms exporters globally after the United States and Russia.
U.S. Commerce Department offers solution for obtaining minerals critical to the military-
A report by the U.S. Commerce Department recommends the government strengthen relations with foreign companies that provide minerals critical to military development.
Defense
Tactics, tech, work of close combat experts is turning warfare ‘upside down’-
The days are coming when a squad leader on a battlefield, far from headquarters and large supporting units, will pull out something that looks like a smartphone, open an app and push a button and something in front of his squad will explode.
These three military bases may soon house unaccompanied immigrant children-
Three military installations are being considered to temporarily shelter unaccompanied immigrant children who have been apprehended at the border, officials said.
Spec ops’ roles to deter Russia may shift more to conventional soldiers-
Congress wants to ensure special operations forces are being used for missions that fit their roles, leaving other tasks to conventional troops.
Soldiers will soon test Army hypersonics missiles-
By next year the Army will have the capability to do just about everything it needs to run hypersonic projectiles except launch the missile, the three-star general over the program said.
Army to test ATLAS robotic gun: Bruce Jette-
The Army’s acquisition chief, Bruce Jette, has ordered the service’s famed night vision lab to develop an experimental “automated turret” for live-fire testing next June.
What’s up with a Russian jet buzzing a Navy patrol plane again?-
The U.S. 6th Fleet has accused a Russian fighter jet of harassing a Navy patrol plane multiple times during a three-hour span June 4.
Navy’s $2.7 billion plan to build drone ships faces hurdles in Congress-
Budget hawks on Capitol Hill say the Navy hasn’t presented enough proof that its plans for a fleet of new unmanned ships is worth billions of taxpayer dollars.
Navy recovers C-2A from fatal 2017 crash from 3 miles underwater-
A year and a half after a fatal crash in the Philippine Sea, the Navy has recovered the wreckage of the missing C-2A Greyhound from more than three miles below the surface, USNI News has learned.
Navy to station advanced warships, helo squadron in Spain-
Five years into basing four guided-missile destroyers in Spain as part of a larger European ballistic missile defense scheme, the Navy announced it will start to cycle out the warships for more modernized hulls..
Lawmakers want Navy to take new look at destroyer hybrid electric drive-
Pushing the military to become more energy efficient is an emerging theme of the House Armed Services Committee Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. For the Navy, this means taking a second look at installing hybrid electric drive systems on Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.
U.S. Air Force gears up for aggressor drills to simulate combat with China’s J-20 fifth-generation fighters-
The United States Air Force will use its F-35A fifth-generation fighters to mimic the role of its Chinese counterpart, the J-20 “Powerful Dragon”, in “aggressor” training exercises amid rising concern in Washington about Beijing’s growing strength in strategically sensitive areas such as the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Veterans
Making VA, DoD records compatible is an immense challenge: contractor –
“This won’t be easy,” the prime contractor said June 4 of the $16 billion effort to overcome decades of failure and finally make veteran and military health records compatible with a few computer clicks.
Vets denied VA home loans if they work with cannabis –
The Department of Veterans Affairs is denying home loans to veterans if they work in the cannabis industry, according to a letter sent May 23 to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie from Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, and 20 other members of Congress.
VA to expand veterans’ access to private medical care June 6 –
The Department of Veterans Affairs on June 6 will launch a major expansion of veterans’ access to private doctors – a reform effort President Donald Trump has promised since his 2016 campaign but that some stakeholders think has been rushed.