News

U.S. military says Afghan pullout nears halfway mark-
The U.S. pullout from Afghanistan is speeding up, with military planners saying almost half of U.S. forces and equipment has been sent home or destroyed.
 
U.S. to hand Bagram base to Afghan forces in 20 days, says official-
The U.S. military will hand over its main Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces in about 20 days, an official said June 1, as Washington presses on with withdrawing the last of its troops from the country.
 
Pentagon eyes new bombs for war with China, not ISIS-
The Air Force will buy fewer Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs; Hellfire missiles; and small-diameter bombs as it prepares to invest in state-of-the art, long-range weapons that are better-suited for operations in the Pacific, according to its fiscal 2022 budget request.
 
Citing NATO drills, U.S. bomber flights, Russia to form new military units-
Russia’s military will form 20 new units in the country’s west this year to counter what it claims is a growing threat from NATO, the defense minister said May 31.
 
 

Business

Production delays expected for JLTV program-
The production run for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle will likely be extended if proposed fiscal cuts come to pass, according to the Army’s director of the budget.
 
Croatia to drop €1 billion on used Rafale fighter jets-
Croatia’s government has made a decision to buy 12 second-hand Rafale F3-R fighter jets from France for the country’s Air Force, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
 
UAE, U.S. companies partner to provide cyber ranges in Gulf-
United Arab Emirates firm Beacon Red and U.S.-based Quali announced an agreement to work together to deliver cyber training and testing environments to Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
 
 

Defense

Biden’s defense budget leaves analysts scratching their heads-
President Joe Biden’s proposed military budget cuts reduce the Air Force fleet and would install a glacial pace in reconstituting the Navy’s coffers, leaving hawkish defense analysts worried about China pulling away.
 
Pentagon shelves plans for new Air Force Two-
In the meantime, the Air Force is in the early stages of developing supersonic and hypersonic passenger aircraft.
 
U.S. Army’s $5.5B wish list seeks to restore cuts made to protect force modernization-
The U.S. Army’s fiscal 2022 wish list — known as an unfunded requirements list — asks for $5.5 billion in additional money that would help reduce risk to operational readiness and protect critical modernization efforts, according to the Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville.
 
Navy’s railgun looks like it’s finally facing the axe in new budget request-
After some 16 years of research and development, the U.S. Navy appears poised to kill its electromagnetic railgun program.
 
Navy keeps next-generation fighter research costs classified-
The Navy is keeping classified the amount of Fiscal Year 2022 money it wants to develop the next-generation fighter aircraft set to replace the fleet of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, according to service budget documents.
 
USMC seeks to jettison some weapons platforms to invest in mobility, high tech-
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to shrink its force and divest itself of heavy weapons platforms such as tanks and towed artillery to pay for new investments in cyber space, artificial intelligence and high mobility, according to new budget documents and briefings.
 
Rocket delivery of cargo anywhere in an hour in new Air Force budget proposal-
The U.S. Air Force has released new details about its questionably ambitious plans to develop a capability to send payloads weighing up to 100 tons, including cargo and potentially personnel, roughly equivalent to the maximum load of a C-17 airlifter, anywhere in the world within one hour via a space launch rocket or derivative thereof.
 
 
Veterans

Remains of 2 Kentucky sailors returned for burial 80 years after Pearl Harbor attack-
The remains of two Kentucky men who died 80 years ago during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were returned to the commonwealth this week for burial.
 
Remains of misidentified Marine returning to Tennessee-
The body of a U.S. Marine captain killed in World War II is coming home to Tennessee, more than 70 years after a body misidentified as Capt. Glenn Walker was buried there.
 
No longer ‘Unknown’: Offutt lab wraps up identification of USS Oklahoma dead-
Six years ago, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed 61 caskets containing USS Oklahoma remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. They were shipped to the agency’s laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the first major identification project at a facility that opened in June 2013.