A review by the Department of Veterans Affairs could lead to automatic disability benefits for troops who served in the nuclear missile community, including at Air Force bases where the service is studying if Airmen stationed there have been disproportionately diagnosed with cancer.
Aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman is working with SpaceX, the space venture of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, on a classified spy satellite project already capturing high-resolution imagery of the Earth, according to people familiar with the program.
As Congress and the American people consider the merits of future aid to Ukraine and Israel, it is crucial to recognize this support is a vital down payment in the United States’ security at a time when threats are surging.
A surge in demand for small satellites to support national security space programs is exposing weaknesses in the U.S. space industrial base, leading to supply chain issues as the military prioritizes rapid deployment of constellations.
When Space Force leaders talk about resilience, they often point to proliferation—distributing capabilities across large constellations of small satellites—as central to their approach to making it harder for adversaries to disrupt U.S. operations. But proliferation is just one piece of the Space Force’s strategy for safeguarding its capabilities.
U.S. military officials have sent Congress more than $30 billion in “unfunded priorities lists ” separate from their regular budget request, but civilian leaders at the Pentagon support repealing the law requiring that the annual lists be sent to lawmakers, who often use them as a blueprint for increasing the defense budget. “The Defense Department continues to support the ending of statutory requirements for annual unfunded priorities lists,” according to Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood.
Lt. Gen David Deptula, USAF (Ret.) and Doug Birkey chat with 9th Air Force/U.S. Air Forces Central Command Commander Lt. Gen. Alexus “Grynch” Grynkewich. When the U.S. sunset large-scale military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, many assumed military forces in the region would largely be tasked elsewhere—especially the Indo-Pacific. However, adversaries like Iran and numerous proxy groups have continued to pursue acts of aggression that demand a response. Air Force Airmen have answered the call to engage, but this is placing a tremendous strain on the force given concurrent demands elsewhere around the globe. This episode seeks to understand what is driving this mission demand, the scale and scope of current operations, and desired objectives through a leadership lens.
As the Defense Information Systems Agency beefs up its role in “combat support,” agency chief Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner previewed a “hot off the presses” five-year strategy that puts new emphasis on keeping commanders connected, from the president on down, in event of major war.
From rescuing civilians from a sinking ship off the coast of Alaska or flying into a hail of gunfire to save a wounded soldier, U.S. Air Force Special Warfare Pararescue Specialists (PJs) are some of the best in the world at search and rescue. They recommend these books about the things their brothers-in-arms did, that others may live.
