News
VA expects 30K voluntary job cuts by October, erasing need for layoffs
Voluntary retirements and resignations are expected to trim 30,000 Veterans Affairs workforce positions by the end of September, forgoing plans for potential forced resignations this fiscal year to meet administration goals to reduce the size of government, department leaders announced Monday.
Sailor pleads guilty to bribing official for unauthorized military IDs
A Navy reservist pleaded guilty Wednesday to bribing a public official for unauthorized Defense Department identification cards, the Justice Department announced.
Air Force base in Alaska is top choice for military’s first nuclear microreactor
A remote Air Force base in Alaska has been selected to be the first U.S. military installation with a nuclear microreactor under a Defense Department pilot project.
Veterans disaster relief group rushes to Texas after floods
Team Rubicon, a veterans-led disaster response organization, has sent reconnaissance teams to central Texas and established a quick reaction force there to help people dealing with the aftermath of recent devastating floods, said the group’s CEO Art delaCruz.
‘A new challenge’: Air Force vet becomes two-time living organ donor
Lindsay Gutierrez never planned on joining the military. Raised in Oklahoma with dreams of working in special effects makeup, she earned her bachelor’s degree in theater and set her sights on Hollywood. But life rarely follows the script.
Air Force
13 retired 4-stars urge Congress to fund E-7 and more F-35s
former Air Force Chiefs of Staff and seven other retired 4-star generals joined Air & Space Forces Association leadership in calling on Congress to triple the number of F-35A fighters the Air Force buys in fiscal 2026 and to reinstate funding for the E-7 Wedgetail battle management platform that was omitted from the Pentagon’s 2026 budget request.
New fuzes for GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators requested by USAF
The U.S. Air Force is exploring new options to help with the development of improved fuzes for the 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bomb. The service is also interested in additional sources for the production of other key GBU-57/B components, as well as assistance in sustaining its current stocks of the bombs. This follows the first combat use of the MOP in strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last month.
AFMC boss Richardson retires after 42-year career: ‘I love this stuff’
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42-year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.
Former Mildenhall airman sentenced for sexual assault in base dorm during 2019 ‘spree’
It took six years, but a former airman who federal prosecutors said went on a sexual assault spree at RAF Mildenhall in England is now facing prison time followed by two decades of supervised release.
Air Force fighters control semi-autonomous drones in ‘crucial’ test
The U.S. Air Force recently took a significant step in its push to integrate crewed fighters with semi-autonomous drones, the service’s research lab says.
After US apology for assault, 2 more service members arrested on Okinawa
Days after two Marine colonels formally apologized to Okinawan officials for a lance corporal’s misconduct, two more U.S. troops were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of assaulting local residents near Kadena Air Base, police said Monday.
Defense
Integration, existing weapons and uncertainty: In Paris, industry makes its Golden Dome pitch
US firms have not been shy about their desire to cash in on President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome homeland defense initiative. But ironically, companies used an international gathering — this year’s Paris Air Show — to start laying out their visions.
Europe on American weapons purchase spree
A wave of new US arms deals with European allies has highlighted growing defence investment across the continent, as several countries secure high-value contracts to bolster their airpower and missile defence capabilities amid heightened regional tensions.
South Korea canceling AH-64 Apache order a sign of what’s to come
News has emerged out of South Korea that the country’s plans for a follow-on buy of 36 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters have been aborted. These aircraft would have joined 36 AH-64s already procured for Republic of Korea (ROK) service.
Lockheed delivers first SPY-7 radar antennas to Japan
Lockheed Martin announced today it delivered the first shipset of four SPY-7(V)1 radar antennas — which will be equipped on Japan’s future Aegis System Equipped Vessel (ASEV) — to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.
Helsing to build drone submarine factory in Plymouth
Defence technology company Helsing will open its first UK Resilience Factory in Plymouth, creating high-value jobs and establishing the city as a national centre for marine autonomy, the government has announced.
