News
Esper says troops in Syria will ‘temporarily’ go to Iraq before returning to U.S.-
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Oct. 22 that American troops ordered out of northern Syria will “temporarily” go to Iraq before they return to the U.S., and that President Donald Trump has not yet approved a plan to keep some troops in Syria to protect oil fields.
U.S. military struggles to find a strategy amid sudden policy changes in CENTCOM region-
The rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria, which included U.S. forces bombing their own equipment at the bases they hastily left behind, is a vivid example of how the U.S. military is being forced to cope with national security and foreign policy decisions announced at the speed of a tweet.
Defense Secretary Esper to urge NATO to pay more to protect Saudi Arabia from Iran-
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Oct. 22 that he will urge allies later this week to contribute more to the defense of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region to counter threats from Iran.
Business
Secretary of Defense recuses himself from troubled Pentagon contract-
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has recused himself from any decision on the Pentagon’s controversial contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, after having spent months reviewing the procurement.
Has Airbus fixed midair refueling problems with F-15 jet?-
Airbus has developed changes to the software that controls the A330 tanker boom specifically for midair refueling of the Boeing F-15 Eagle.
Turkey launches homemade submarine program-
Turkey has launched the country’s first indigenous submarine program, known as MILDEN, a Turkish acronym for “national submarine.”
British-made hypersonic engine passes key milestone at Colorado test site-
The key component of a British hypersonic, air-breathing rocket engine with the potential to fly aircraft and space vehicles at Mach 5 speed has been successfully tested at a site in the United States.
Elbit shows off high-end testbed packed with AI-powered gear-
There are plenty of new technologies in development for ground vehicles as the defense industry pivots from building equipment for counterterrorism missions to meeting high-end threats.
U.S. wanting to buy fewer Chinooks sees U.K., U.A.E. buying more-
Boeing is close to selling 24 Chinook helicopters to the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., according to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, a move that may assuage U.S. lawmakers who have rejected his service’s plans to curtail its purchases of the aircraft.
Defense
‘The White House is not to be trusted right now’-
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, “iced out” and blindsided by presidential decisions he disagreed with, grew increasingly wary of President Donald Trump’s leadership, even losing his cool in private meetings and plotting to quit nearly half a year before he finally resigned, according to a new book by a close aide.
Carrier Ford may not deploy until 2024, 3rd weapons elevator certified-
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) may not be ready to deploy until 2024, further complicating the Navy’s persistent problems of generating deployable carriers from the East Coast.
Veterans
White House responsible for delayed decision on new Agent Orange diseases, documents show-
Two years ago, then Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin decided to add three health conditions to the list of diseases eligible for Agent Orange benefits, but White House officials challenged his authority and impeded enactment, according to internal documents obtained by a veteran through the Freedom of Information Act. Now tens of thousands of veterans are still waiting.
Another Korean War soldier identified from remains returned by North Korea-
The remains of Korean War soldier from Kansas have been identified nearly seven decades after his death.