News
Capitol Hill dysfunction threatens key defense initiatives
Congress is struggling to perform its most foundational duties this year, and experts say itís starting to take its toll on national security.
Tuberville to seek Marine Corps leader vote despite abortion protest
The Alabama lawmaker has blocked promotions for more than 300 senior Pentagon officers as a protest against a Department of Defense policy.
West Point sued over using race as an admissions factor
The lawsuit was filed by the same group behind the lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions.
Austin urges nations to dig deep, give Ukraine more air-defense kits
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged allied defense leaders Sept. 19 to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine, to help the country block increasing barrages of Russian missiles.
Business
Israeli companies showcase drones that take off, land vertically
Israeli defense companies made drone technology with a vertical take-off and landing capability a focus at this year’s DSEI defense and security trade exhibition in London, unveiling two new systems with launch customers already secured.
Elbit sells SkyStriker loitering munition to mystery European customer
Elbit Systems will supply several hundred canister configuration SkyStriker loitering munitions to an undisclosed European country in a $95 million deal, the Israeli firm announced Sept. 18.
Leidos nabs $7.9B Army tactical IT hardware contract to support JADC2 aims
Leidos will provide the Army with tactical information technology (IT) hardware solutions to help build out a unified network and support its Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) efforts under a new contract worth up to $7.9 billion, the company announced.
RTX business unit installing space observation system in California
A year after being acquired by RTX, the company formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, U.K.-based Northern Space and Security, or NORSS, is preparing to deploy its ground-based space observation system in the mountains of California.
US sanctions firms in China , Russia, Turkey over Iran’s drone program
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high, despite the release of five American detainees from Iran this week.
Paramount expands Indian manufacturing hub for armored vehicles
South Africa’s Paramount Group is expanding its manufacturing hub in India to broaden the range of combat vehicles it will produce there, including 4×4 and 6×6 infantry fighting platforms in the lineup for global customers.
Defense
What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash in South Carolina
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions.
Old is new again as Air Force special ops branch revamps training
“The intent, as we’re looking at all of our pipelines, is what can we establish as ‘basic mission qualified’?” Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind said.
Active duty troops, some DOD employees could work without pay during government shutdown, Pentagon says
The U.S. military will keep active-duty troops and a limited number of civilian defense employees at their posts during a federal government shutdown, Pentagon officials have said. But they might have to go without pay until lawmakers reach a budget agreement.
AFSOC wants MQ-9 Reapers to act as ‘capital ships’ for smaller drones
The head of Air Force Special Operations Command envisions a future where MQ-9 Reaper drones act as ‘capital ships’ from which smaller uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) launch to establish a sensor grid or a communications pathway for the joint force.
AFSOC Wants MQ-9 Reapers to Act As ‘Capital Ships’ For Smaller Drones
USAF acquisition boss: In upcoming reorganization, speed is the priority
In the major “re-optimization” review of the Air Force ordered by Secretary Frank Kendall earlier this month, speed of acquisition will take top priority, superseding cost and performance as secondary factors, service acquisition chief Andrew Hunter told reporters last week at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference.
Air Force Acquisition Boss: In Upcoming Reorganization, Speed Is the Priority
Veterans
Injured women vets lonelier, more stressed than male peers: report
Female veterans, especially those with lingering military injuries, struggle more with loneliness, anxiety and reintegration into civilian life than their male peers, according to new research released by Wounded Warrior Project on Sept. 19.
Veterans group knocks Tuberville hold on promotions as ‘un-American assault on our military’ in new ad
VoteVets is out with another political ad taking aim at Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for holding up more than 300 senior military officers over an abortion policy in the Defense Department.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4211588-votevets-group-knocks-tuberville-hold-on-promotions-as-unamerican/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mil-ebb&SToverlay=342f5a58-c37b-4142-b049-1f737335b507
VA suicide hotline botched vet’s cry for help. The service hasn’t suitably saved texts for 10 years.
Workers at the national Veterans Crisis Line mismanaged communication with a veteran who died by suicide within an hour of texting the hotline and failed for 10 years to establish protocols to save veterans’ text messages for future follow-up, according to a report by the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General.
