News
Iraqi prime minister arrives in Mosul to declare victory over ISIS –
Dressed in a military uniform, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul July 9 to congratulate Iraq’s armed forces on their victory over the Islamic State and mark the formal end of a bloody campaign that lasted nearly nine months, left much of Iraq’s second-largest city in ruins, killed thousands of people and displaced nearly a million more.
Business
Lockheed gets $5.6 billion for work on next batch of F-35s –
The Defense Department has awarded Lockheed Martin a $5.6 billion undefinitized contract that will allow the company to continue work on the 11th lot of F-35s.
Back on track: Testing of Piaggio Hammerhead UAVs resumes a year after crash –
Piaggio Aerospace has resumed test flights of its Hammerhead UAV following a crash last year, and says it will start deliveries to the UAE in 2018.
‘A-29 for America’ mounts charm offensive ahead of OA-X experiment –
Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer are touting the A-29s American pedigree ahead of an upcoming flight demonstration that could pave the way for a competition with Wichita, Kansas,-based Textron and potential sales to the U.S. Air Force.
IARPA announces dates for two proposers’ days –
Two new programs are slotted to undergo proposer’s days, according to a press release from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.
FLIR secures $17.9 million Coast Guard sensor contract –
FLIR has been awarded a $17.9 million Coast Guard contract for infrared sensors.
Defense
House Armed Services panel unveils $696.5 billion defense authorization bill –
The House Armed Services Committee unveiled its $696.5 billion defense policy bill July 3, which reflects an emerging deal among House Republican leaders but falls short what pro-defense lawmakers sought.
Life support: Navy’s struggle to define an LCS bare minimum –
Over two days in May, a bizarre scene played out in Washington involving the U.S. Navy’s controversial littoral combat ship program and the fiscal year 2018 Budget request.
Report: Army improperly tracked sarin, other chemical agents –
Officials at an Army chemical and biological storage and testing facility did not follow protocols while tracking inventories of sarin, a dangerous nerve agent, according to a recent inspector general report.
Take three years off: Army expands Career Intermission Pilot Program –
The Army is expanding opportunities for soldiers to participate in its Career Intermission Pilot Program, according to a new directive from the secretary of the Army.
Keel laying marks official construction of attack submarine –
The keel of the nation’s 20th Virginia-class attack submarine named for Oregon was laid July 8 at the manufacturing plant for General Dynamics’ Electric Boat.
Veterans
Meet Esther Blake, the First Woman to Join the Air Force –
After her eldest son was shot down while flying a B-17 and reported missing during World War II, Esther Blake became a woman on a mission — to enlist in the military herself and help end the war. She joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1944 and, 69 years ago today, on July 8, 1948, the 51-year-old became the first woman to enlist in the Air Force.
Veteran unemployment rises again in June –
The first month of summer may have brought an extra 200,000 jobs for Americans, but veteran employment took a slight hit.
VA to make public all employee firings –
Veterans Affairs officials on July 7 announced plans to publicly list firings and demotions for any department employee as part of their pledge to bring more accountability to the bureaucracy.
Space
Four students sealed in steel bunker for 200 days –
Sealed behind the steel doors of two bunkers in a Beijing suburb, university students are trying to find out how it feels to live in a space station on another planet, recycling everything from plant cuttings to urine.