News

Marines’ new mortar, rocket simulator delivers training with no blast
The Marine Corps expects to sling more rounds of all kinds downrange in any future conflict, which means Leathernecks need to fire more mortars, rockets and bullets in training to stay proficient.

Why commissary groceries aren’t delivered to your doorstep just yet
Commissary customers will have to wait a while longer for the new home delivery program, as the original timeline faces delays and officials say there is no current start date.

CIA warning helped thwart ISIS attack at Taylor Swift concert in Vienna
The C.I.A. provided intelligence to Austrian authorities that allowed them to disrupt a plot that could have killed thousands of people at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna this month, the agency’s deputy director said on Wednesday.

Abe air wing training flight missions on simulators aboard aircraft carrier
Aviators assigned to Carrier Air Wing 9, embarked on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), can now fly missions, including against enemy aircraft, without having to leave the aircraft carrier. Abraham Lincoln is equipped with Simulators at Sea, a program run through Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to train aviators while underway. There are simulators for the F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, EA-18 Growlers and E-2D Hawkeyes aboard the aircraft carrier, according to a NAWCAD release.

Marine Corps MQ-9 Reapers to operate in Okinawa for intelligence, surveillance ops
Up to six U.S Marine Corps MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles will operate from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for a year to carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions around the southwest region of Japan, according to a Japan Ministry of Defense and Foreign Ministry public explainer document released Tuesday.

 

Air Force

Air Force splitting up intelligence and cyber effects organization
As part of the Air Force’s sweeping changes to be better organized to fight a sophisticated China threat, the service is splitting up its intelligence and cyber directorate on the Air Staff at the Pentagon.

Air Force receives new aircraft for electronic-attack missions
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, head of Air Combat Command, flew on the new aircraft during its Aug. 23 delivery flight and performed co-pilot duties during its landing and taxiing phase, the command said in a statement. The plane took off from L3Harris Technologies’ facility in Waco, Texas, where it was heavily adapted from a Gulfstream G550 business jet with electronic attack components built by BAE Systems.

Study contracts for CCA engines will help Air Force explore the ‘art of the possible’
The Air Force is getting ready to award $10 million worth of study contracts for engines that could power later versions of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, but has not yet nailed down performance specifications, service engine officials said last month. They are continuing to take the pulse of industry for innovative solutions that will meet CCA propulsion needs for the long-term.

Air Force celebrates 70 years of the C-130 Hercules while preparing for its next phase
Seventy years since its first flight on Aug. 23, 1954, the C-130 Hercules has remained one of the most durable and versatile military aircraft in history. It has traversed every continent and been used by over 70 nations, and there is no sign its importance will diminish any time soon.

What happens when recon airmen command and control a fighter exercise?
The 9th Reconnaissance Wing has more than 60 years of experience gathering intelligence from the air, but two military exercises earlier this month saw Airmen from the wing do something completely different: command and control fighter and transport aircraft as part of a massive exercise across the western U.S.

 

Space Force

Space Force No. 2 says there is risk of China or Russia launching large-scale attack in orbit
China and Russia have been monitoring U.S. efforts to protect its space assets and are trying to devise ways to counter them, to include a potential large-scale attack, the Space Force’s No. 2 officer said Aug. 28.

 

Defense

First F-35 for Poland rolls out of Lockheed’s Fort Worth plant
Polish defense leaders got at sneak peek at the country’s first F-35A combat jet on Wednesday during an unveiling ceremony at Lockheed Martin’s manufacturing site here.

Aerovironment wins nearly $1B to supply Switchblade munitions to Army
The U.S. Army has awarded Aerovironment a contract worth up to $990 million to provide Switchblade loitering munitions for infantry battalions, according to a Pentagon announcement posted Tuesday evening.

 

Veterans

IAVA founder launches new effort to put independent veterans in office
Before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended his long-shot, independent bid for president last week, he beat expectations in his state-by-state battle to access ballots and left some voters intrigued about looking beyond the two-party system.

VA Crisis Line’s switch to 988, press 1, a success, watchdog finds
The transition of the Veterans Crisis Line to the three-digit “988, press 1” option proved to be a success, although the Department of Veterans Affairs should improve staff support and supervision, a VA Office of Inspector General review has found.

Opposition to new veterans cemetery in California sparks legal fight
A group seeking to block a veterans cemetery from being built in Anaheim Hills’ Gypsum Canyon has filed a lawsuit against the city, hoping to instead get a veterans burial ground in Irvine, where years of efforts to locate one failed to come to fruition.