News
Detained Afghan pilots fly out of Tajikistan on U.S.-brokered flight
U.S.-trained Afghan pilots and other personnel boarded a U.S.-brokered flight out of Tajikistan on Tuesday, ending a nearly three-month detention ordeal that began when they escaped there in their aircraft during the Taliban takeover, Afghan sources said.
Talks with Taliban restart as US worries about al Qaeda threat in Afghanistan
The U.S. and NATO are concerned about the reemergence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the need to rely on the Taliban to fight ISIS-Khorasan as talks with the Taliban restart and regional basing agreements are slow to come.
Adding India to the Five Eyes would cause a new Cold War, Pakistani official says
Proposal in the U.S. Senate draws harsh words as Islamabad works up a new anti-terrorist effort.
Business
U.S. company Viasat to acquire Britain’s Inmarsat in $7.3 billion deal
U.S. communications firm Viasat is set to acquire British satellite comms company Inmarsat for $7.3 billion, the American business announced Nov. 8.
Air Force-backed startup reveals Hypersonic aircraft prototype
The company fired the drone’s afterburning engine during a ceremony in Atlanta.
Defense
Navy conducts live test of resupply drones for ashore, at-sea missions
The Navy and Marine Corps have sought unmanned resupply capabilities for years, but the acquisition process and exquisite requirements have slowed the process of bringing the technology to the fleet.
Electric military vehicles are part of Biden climate agenda, Pentagon says
Fleets of electric vehicles ready to shoulder the military’s workload and slash greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade — that’s what the Pentagon is hoping it can pull off as part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said Nov. 8.
U.S. Army’s hypersonic supervisor talks tech portfolio
Since Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood took over the U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, he’s overseen the Pentagon’s attempt to build the U.S. hypersonic weapons industrial base, begun fielding hypersonic launchers and other equipment to the first unit to receive the capability and has started building out the first battery of a laser-weapon equipped Stryker combat vehicle.
Veterans
VA Secretary wary about burnout as post-pandemic work piles up
In an interview with Military Times, Denis McDonough said his department is looking at telehealth options and other changes but firmly focused on increasing services and benefits for veterans.
Tricare open enrollment begins, and your costs may go up
If you want to make changes to your Tricare coverage, or enroll in a plan, you must do it by the open season deadline.
GWOT memorial made of over 7,000 dog tags will be displayed at Lincoln Memorial
The Fallen Heroes Memorial, sponsored by Veterans and Athletes United and Tunnel to Towers, will be displayed at the Lincoln Memorial from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11, during which the names of the 7,063 service members who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Global War on Terror will be read.
Vets should be getting fewer disability benefits, more help in post-military life says former SECVA
Robert Wilkie also criticized his old department as resistant to reform and stuck in the past.