News
‘Accountability’ Marine gets light sentence; judge blasts command
The judge said the videos showed a man who appeared “to be in pain,” “confused” and “significantly frustrated,” rather than a rogue and potentially violent Marine.
Pentagon, State Department square off on Afghanistan accountability
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say constant finger-pointing between the Pentagon and State Department is making it difficult to get a full accounting of the messy withdrawal from Afghanistan.
China, Russia launch joint naval drills in Russian Far East
China and Russia are united in opposing the dominant U.S. influence in global affairs.
Business
First, live hypersonic missile rounds to be delivered to Army unit next year
The U.S. Army will deliver its first operational rounds of its Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon to a unit ìin about a year from nowî and remains on track to meet its deadline to deliver an offensive unit by the end of fiscal 2023, according to the three-star overseeing the effort.
Philippine Air Force receives US ScanEagle drones, more Black Hawks
According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the U.S. military turned over four ScanEagle UAVs worth 200 million Philippine peso ($4 million) during a ceremony at Clark Air Base in Pampanga.
Could half-carriers make a comeback in the drone era?
The development of ever-more-capable drones, plus the perceived vulnerability of large aircraft carriers to the latest anti-ship missiles, has convinced at least one naval observer that hybrid drone carriers, combining the qualities of a flat top and a cruiser, are the warships of the future.
Defense
U.S. Navy, Japanese helicopter squadrons conduct anti-submarine warfare exercise
While experts have noted that China’s undersea capabilities are not as advanced as Russia’s, China still boasts a large fleet.
KC-46 gets new refueling approvals for TRANSCOM missions
The KC-46 Pegasus is now able to refuel the Air Force’s fourth-generation fighter jets during missions for U.S. Transportation Command, expanding the service’s air refueling capacity and the capability of its newest tanker.
Air Force research lab signs agreement with ‘gas-stations-in-space’ company
The Air Force Research Laboratory signed a research agreement with a company pioneering orbital refueling stations for spacecraft, signaling the military’s interest in using the technology to keep satellites on-orbit longer.
Effort to stop move of U.S. Space Command to Alabama gains allies, steam
Tennessee’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper hosted many visitors from Alabama to his Washington, D.C., office last fall and winter. It seems the state’s top lawmakers had been told by the Pentagon that they were falling well behind in the race to house U.S. Space Command and wanted help.
Veterans
VA and Tricare warn sleep apnea patients of CPAP machine recall
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Tricare are notifying patients of a worldwide recall on certain machines used to treat sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts.