More nations expected to sign up for Pentagon’s Ukraine aid group

A group of international defense chiefs convened by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to coordinate military aid for Ukraine is likely to be larger when it meets for the second time on Monday.

Military commands spent pandemic money on space analytics, IT upgrades

The U.S. military commands responsible for North America misused at least $19 million in COVID-19 relief money on space-related data analytics connected to the Pentagon’s JADC2 endeavor, as well as office information technology upgrades, investigators said.

Commentary

Winning in Ukraine: a French perspective

Besides their military support for Kyiv, France and Germany are also mindful of leaving the door open to a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

Pentagon making progress on cybersecurity amid challenges, watchdog says

“Safeguarding federal computer systems has been a longstanding concern,” the GAO wrote in a May 19 memo to congressional committees, noting cybersecurity has been “on our high-risk list since 1997.”

SOFIC

Why Latin American partners need a better way to share intel than WhatsApp

Better tools could help with a host of regional problems.

Republicans lay battle lines over Biden’s plan to retire B83 megaton bomb

Congressional Republicans are pushing back against the president’s plan to retire an aging nuclear weapon, decrying the effort during a series of hearings this week dedicated to the administration’s fiscal 2023 budget request for nuclear forces and atomic energy.

SOFIC

Pentagon tech chief wants an ‘all in one’ sensor

It is one of several critical technologies that Heidi Shyu, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, included in remarks at SOFIC.

Ukraine getting battalion’s worth of artillery in new $100 million aid package

The U.S. is sending Ukraine another $100 million in military assistance, including heavy artillery and counter-artillery radars, the Biden administration announced Thursday.

SOFIC

Lasers, water landings, crewless ops: Upgrades are coming for the C-130 family

The 1960s-era design continues to transform.

Israel launches Edge of Tomorrow program to improve lethality, bring in new tech

Edge of Tomorrow is meant to ultimately deliver thousands of systems, as well as technology later developed based on those systems, for operational use.

What’s new in Navy and Marine Corps unmanned boats

The more the Navy experiments with unmanned systems, the more it's learning what it needs — and what it doesn't.

Commentary

Why a ‘Buy Allied’ approach matters

There are at least four essential reasons why making the U.S. aerospace and defense industry exclusively “Made in America” is neither feasible nor desirable.

British military feels out industry for helicopter buy worth over $1 billion

The New Medium Helicopter competition will likely be colored by the question of which company can generate jobs and skills for the country.

Here are the high-end weapons Zelenskyy hopes the new Ukraine aid bill will provide

The Senate has passed a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that will enable the Biden administration to transfer more advanced, high-end weapons systems in order to counter Russia.

Colombia to buy 12 French-made Caesar howitzers

The acquisition is part of the country’s effort to modernize and to increase its conventional military capabilities for countering insurgencies and drug trafficking.

Space Force ‘reverse industry day’ to address gaps in sensing, tracking

During industry meetings this week, program managers will hear from companies about capabilities they're developing to address tactical ISR capability needs.

Russia claims its Zadira laser weapon destroyed a drone in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that the claim reflects Moscow’s desire to find an alternative to missiles.

New Air Force One planes could be up to three years late

"We are way off the initial plan," subcommittee chairman Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said in Thursday's hearing.

Ukrainian troops training with US electronic jamming kit

The comments Wednesday come roughly two weeks after the Department of Defense announced it would send electronic warfare gear to Eastern Europe as part of a $150 million security assistance package.

Navy says it will lose millions by not committing to 10 destroyers in upcoming contract

The U.S. Navy doesn’t want to over-commit to buying too many ships in the next five years, in case it can’t follow through due to fiscal or supply chain issues. That will cost the service millions of dollars.

Senate confirms defense official tasked with overseeing Ukraine aid logistics

The Senate has confirmed a Defense Department official who will be tasked with overseeing the logistics of the sprawling, multifaceted effort to deliver military equipment to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Swedish, Finnish NATO bids raise the prospect of a beefier Baltic Sea posture

With Sweden and Finland in NATO, the alliance would be able to recalibrate its force posture in the Baltic Sea to a level capable of evening out the regional deterrence balance with Russia, according to Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist.

Army acquisition chief would welcome tank ramp-up if Congress funds it

Army acquisition chief, Doug Bush, said Abrams tanks could be produced at a faster rate should Congress decide to support a ramp-up and that the Pentagon and the Army were looking at options to possibly field Abrams tanks more quickly to Poland.

Pentagon CIO stands ground on December timeline for JEDI follow-up

“It’s just going to take us a little bit longer than we thought,” John Sherman, the Pentagon's chief information officer, said in a March briefing.

SOFIC

Spec ops optics: US forces seek new sights and ways to defeat fog

Having eyes on the battlefield can mean the difference between hitting the right or wrong target, or even hitting the target at all, which is why U.S. special operators are looking to upgrade a host of optics items.

Defense Innovation Unit picks designs for space nuclear propulsion demo

DIU plans to launch a demonstration mission in 2027, showcasing the advantages of nuclear-powered spacecraft for maneuver operations in cislunar space.

SOFIC

Special ops force calls for ‘untethered’ tool for recon and resupply

For the past two decades, radio frequencies were open, and it was uncommon for those deployed to encounter extensive jamming or interception. That’s not the case when facing more advanced adversaries like Russia or China, as opposed to terrorist organizations.

SOFIC

Special operators need counter-drone, counter-IED tech in a smaller package

The command expects to pick a device in less than two years.