Headlines — February 17 - Aerotech News & Review

News

NATO summit defense spending pledges may exceed 2% target, Austin says
NATO countries will agree to a new pledge this summer to increase defense spending above their previous target, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Feb. 15 at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

US military downs Iranian-made drone in Syria
U.S. forces shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria.

Russian air force ‘has lot of capability left’ one year on from Ukraine invasion
Fighting in Ukraine has been dominated by artillery exchanges, and neither side has been able to establish air superiority.

Moscow’s military capabilities are in question after disastrous battle
Russia’s failed attack on Vuhledar, viewed as the beginning of an expected offensive, renewed doubts of its ability to sustain a large-scale ground assault.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/world/europe/russia-military-vuhledar-ukraine.html?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mil-ebb&SToverlay=de88742f-46f7-4f2c-819d-3b36a47d6a7e

Business

Turkey’s Altay to source transmission from South Korea | Defense Dollars
Turkey will build its first indigenous tank with a South Korean transmission. The deal includes nearly $75 million of supply until 2027.

General Atomics signs 3D printing agreement with automotive-focused startup Divergent
For something like a small UAS, “instead of taking years to develop [a design] it takes months, and instead of taking weeks to manufacture by laying out carbon fiber, we take hours to assemble,” Divergent CEO Kevin Czinger told Breaking Defense.

China imposes sanctions on Lockheed Martin, Raytheon over Taiwan arms sales
China’s commerce ministry on Feb. 16 said it put Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) onto an “unreliable entities list” over arms sales to Taiwan, its latest sanctions against the two U.S. defense contractors.

Babcock wins $480 million bid to run Britain’s Skynet SATCOM program
Babcock International has secured a deal to run the ground elements of the British military’s Skynet satellite communications system.

Defense

Fentanyl deaths among troops more than doubled from 2017 to 2021
Fentanyl, a drug that has gained widespread national attention in recent years for its role in the U.S. opioid epidemic, was involved in 174 overdoses, or about 52 percent of overdose cases, in the military between 2017 and 2021, according to Defense Department data.

Hundreds of tankers, recon jets grounded in hunt for faulty tail pins
Air Force is speeding up its hunt for a faulty component on hundreds of KC-135 Stratotankers that, if it failed in flight, could cause an aircraft’s tail to fall off.

Pentagon technology chief seeks low-cost deterrence concepts
The Pentagon’s chief technology officer is looking for low-cost options for deterring, and, if necessary, intervening in, overseas regional conflicts that involve U.S. allies.

Pentagon working with Congress on unclassified space strategy
Congress directed DOD and the director of national intelligence to “make publicly available a strategy regarding defending and protecting on-orbit satellites.”

Pentagon working with Congress on unclassified space strategy

US Army replaces problematic engine part on Chinooks
The U.S. Army has nearly finished swapping out a leaky part in CH-47 Chinook helicopter engines that led to a number of engine fires, according to the Army Aviation and Missile Command Aviation Branch maintenance officer.

Navy’s Project Overmatch boss pushing hard for international synergy
U.S. Navy networking specialists shepherding the service’s secretive Project Overmatch are invested in international cooperation and connectivity, as Washington and its allies foresee a greater need to collaborate on the battlefields of the future.