US Must Rethink Space Policy In Face Of Enormous Change
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WASHINGTON: In the vast swirling enterprise of global security space, the United States must come to terms with the tectonic shifts occurring as commercial companies come to dominate launch, the building of satellites and the sensors and software on which they depend, and figure out how to lead the way. That’s the conclusion of what… Keep reading →
No $ For New B-52 Engines Til 2020; Nuke Modernization Moves Ahead: Gen. Rand
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CORRECTED: Inserted Photo Of Minuteman III; Removed Photo Of Titan WASHINGTON: Gen. Robin Rand, the Air Force bomber and missile boss, really wants new jet engines for his aging B-52s. The service has invited interested companies to a two-day information session in December and Boeing and Rolls-Royce are already publicly campaigning for the contract. But,… Keep reading →
Spectrum (EW) Should Be A Warfighting Domain: Rep. Bacon
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WASHINGTON: After two decades of decline, American electronic warfare is recovering, but not fast enough, says general-turned-congressman Rep. Don Bacon. What the military needs to do, Bacon said is to elevate the electromagnetic spectrum to an official domain of warfare — alongside land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace — and appoint general officers as EW… Keep reading →
Air Force Launches Major Electronic Warfare Study: VCSAF
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WASHINGTON: After two decades of relative inattention, the Air Force is sharpening its commitment to Electronic Warfare because, in the words of its Vice Chief of Staff, “he that dominates the spectrum wins.” That includes the launch of a formal Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team (ECCT) to study the subject, Gen. Stephen Wilson said. But, the brainy… Keep reading →
Readiness Crisis? What Crisis, Ask Top NCOs
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WASHINGTON: Congress and pundits have raised the cry of a readiness crisis, but the military’s top enlisted men want America to know there’s no such thing. In a rare press briefing today by the most senior non-commissioned officers of all five services (including Coast Guard), plus the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the… Keep reading →
Inside The Wargame: The Challenges Facing Air Force’s MDC2
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SUFFOLK, VA: Inside one of six large rooms in Lockheed Martin’s Lighthouse complex here, flanked by a phalanx of huge TV and other screens, an earnest conversation between a cyber warrior and a “commander” plays out. We’re in the middle of a three-day wargame, one of a series of exercises to help develop the early stages… Keep reading →
Clock Ticks As Argentine Submariners Run Out Of Air; US, Allies Race To Rescue
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In an extraordinary international response, a dozen nations have poured assets into the stormy South Atlantic to help find and save 44 Argentine submariners from the missing sub San Juan. It’s a stark contrast to the last great submarine disaster, when Russia was slow to accept international help for the stricken Kursk in 2000 and lost all… Keep reading →
Air Force Pilot Shortage Worsens; 10% Of Billets Empty
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PENTAGON: Despite a year of offering bonuses, trying to bring back former pilots and talking up the glories of being an Air Force pilot, the service’s most precious resource continues to dwindle. At the end of fiscal 2016, the service needed 1,500 pilots. On Oct. 31 of this year, that number had swollen to about… Keep reading →
When The Football Comes Out, Who Watches The President?
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Corrected: The article referred to the E-4B command aircraft, but Brig. Gen. Bowen was referring to the E-6B. WASHINGTON: The men and women of US Strategic Command watched a clock count down. When it did, they knew their base would be “a smoking hole in the ground.” It was a simulation, sure, but “it’s deadly serious,”… Keep reading →
‘Extraordinary’ National Security Space Changes, 7-Year V-22 Multiyear In NDAA
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UPDATED: Adds Changes To Air Force Space Command CAPITOL HILL: Principal DoD Space Advisor. Gone. Air Force’s new A-11 space staff. Kaput. Defense Space Council. Dead. And that’s really just the beginning of what the Senate and House Armed Services Committees hath wrought to national security space in the National Defense Authorization Act. The… Keep reading →