News
Senate votes to repeal Iraq war authorizations
It’s the first significant movement on the issue in years, and it comes just days after the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Pentagon leaders still say ‘no’ to F-16s, MQ-9s for Ukraine
Top U.S. defense officials dismissed the notion that the U.S. would provide aircraft-manned or unmanned-anytime soon to Ukraine in Congressional hearings March 28 and 29.
The complicated and messy task of trying to aid Afghans following the return of the Taliban
Images of Afghans clinging to the landing gear of an American cargo plane rocked the world as the Taliban closed in on Kabul and two decades of fighting in Afghanistan ended for U.S. troops.†
Business
BAE begins major reshuffle of Army, Marine Corps vehicle work sites
BAE Systems is moving most of its production of howitzers and recovery vehicles to other places in order to make room at its York, Pennsylvania, facility to build new Armored Multipurpose Vehicles as well as Amphibious Combat Vehicles, according to a company executive.
AeroVironment upgrades Switchblade 300 with extended endurance
The United States has sent hundreds of Switchblades to Ukraine, highlighting their ease of use.
Killer drones and multi-billion dollar deals: Turkey’s rapidly-growing defense industry is boosting its global clout
Turkey’s revenue from overseas defense exports rose by 42 percent between 2020 and 2021, with foreign contracts making up as much as 90% of revenue for some companies.
Defense
Pentagon urged to use federal workforce instead of contractors
As the Pentagon looks to industry to fortify its national security posture against global rivals Russia and China, the largest federal employee union is urging defense leaders not to overlook the federal workforce when standing up existing military depots.
US Army forms new modernization team to tackle contested logistics
The U.S. Army is creating a new modernization team that will develop contested logistics capability, Gen. James E. Rainey, head of Army Futures Command told Defense News.
Veterans
Vet agency chief calls onboarding times for new hires ‘indefensible’
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough called the months-long onboarding process for new department employees “indefensible” and promised improvements by the end of the year to get those individuals on the job faster.
Transgender vets call for more protections from Congress, VA
Advocates want VA to move ahead with plans to provide gender-affirming surgery to transgender veterans, a policy change first promised in summer 2021.
VA reviewing contract for troubled medical records system, secretary says
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reviewing the $16 billion contract for its electronic health records system, oversight that could halt the troubled rollout of the system to VA facilities, Secretary Denis McDonough said March 29.