News
American Airlines jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter at Reagan Airport near DC
A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more
The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.
Air Force demoted two-star after affair, ‘voluminous’ sexting, IG says
A now-retired Air Force major general was stripped of a star after an inspector general investigation found he engaged in multiple inappropriate sexting relationships – including with an enlisted airman and congressional staffers – and had an affair with a married woman.
A Russian drone strikes an apartment building in Ukraine, killing at least 4
A Russian drone blasted a hole in an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine during a nighttime attack, killing at least four people and injuring nine others, officials said Thursday.
Ukraine discloses new method to defeat Russian fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones
A storied Ukrainian military drone unit said it has developed a way to counter an increasingly deadly weapon — Russian first-person view (FPV) drones that use fiber optic cables instead of radio waves to connect with their controllers, making them impervious to jamming and other forms of electronic warfare.
Air Force
Air Force special operator killed in hit-and-run by ex-con near MacDill AFB
An Air Force special operator was killed Sunday in a hit-and-run incident near MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., by a felon who struck at least three other pedestrians with his car, according to service and law enforcement officials.
Air Force pondering CCA drones that don’t require runways as officials plan next increment
The Air Force is conducting mission-level modeling for the next increment of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and options being considered include drones that don’t require runways to be launched, according to a senior officer.
Air Force shuts down Athena programs for review in DEI purge
The Air Force’s various “Athena” programs focused on women’s readiness issues at the Major Command level are shut down as the service conducts a review of programs linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as ordered by President Trump.
Victim killed in Tampa rampage was sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base
The man killed in Sunday night’s violent rampage by a suspect who investigators said intentionally struck four people with his car was a sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, authorities said.
Space Force
US Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office selects companies for tech accelerator
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO) announced Jan. 29 it selected 10 companies to participate in its inaugural Prime Fusion Pilot Accelerator Program, an initiative aimed at fast-tracking technologies to protect military satellites from orbital threats.
Ready for 156 Space Coast launches this year, Space Force targets bottlenecks
The Space Force is prepped to support an average of 13 launches of month from the Space Coast in 2025, but it’s a juggling act that has the world’s No. 1 spaceport running up against infrastructure roadblocks.
Veterans
VA benefits won’t be halted under White House funding freeze order
Veterans benefits and support services will not be disrupted by the White House’s freeze of federal financial programs after administration officials quickly verified that department operations do not run afoul of new rules banning money for diversity and inclusion programming.