Pentagon begins awarding contracts for next round of replicators
Defense News
The Pentagon has selected systems for the second tranche of Replicator, an initiative designed to quickly field thousands of drones to counter China in a future conflict. Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, told reporters on Aug. 8 that the program has awarded contracts for some, but not all, of the systems it will buy in the program’s second phase.
Israel has repelled Iran’s first direct attack. Is it ready for the next one?
The Washington Post
As Israel prepares for an attack from Iran – refueling fighter jets, deploying anti-aircraft batteries and coordinating with Washington over the deployment of American military equipment – there are growing concerns about one of its most important lines of defense: a U.S.-led Arab coalition that helped thwart the last Iranian attack.
SPONSORED: Humble beginnings offer lessons in serving our country
King Aerospace
Every team member at King Aerospace is proud to serve their country and meet the needs of their government and military, as demonstrated by their commitment to servant leadership and devotion to God, country and family at locations across the United States and around the world.
Ukraine’s advance into Russia is a surprising turn in the war
The New York Times
After losing ground to Russia in brutal, grueling fighting in Ukraine in previous months, Kyiv changed tactics this week and launched a surprise attack on Russian territory that caught Moscow off guard and opened a new front in the 30-month war.
Nearly autonomous satellites could be available in a decade, Space Force predicts
Defense One
Tomorrow’s military satellites shouldn’t require as much human control, the Space Force’s chief purchasing officer said Aug. 8. … By making its satellites autonomous, the service could reduce its dependence on ground-based control stations, which officials say are vulnerable to cyberattacks.
OPINION: 3 steps to fix the Pentagon’s procurement madness
Break through defense
“The Pentagon’s typical response to any problem is to create more Pentagon offices to exert more control, which is the opposite of how startups and small businesses operate. The reason small businesses and startups have difficulty breaking into defense procurement has nothing to do with their ability to navigate the physical confines of Pentagon personnel. It has everything to do with how the Department of Defense procures items,” writes retired Maj. Gen. John G. Ferrari, a senior nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Cheap drones with first-person view function now hunt bigger prey in Ukraine
Defense News
Low-cost drones with first-person view cameras are proving increasingly capable of attacking larger platforms – such as attack helicopters – in Ukraine as their development has accelerated and they can now fly faster and farther. On August 7, the Ukrainian military released footage showing one of its unknown FPV drone models successfully hitting the tail rotor of a Russian Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopter over the battlefield.
While the Gaza pier is packed, experts worry about the possible consequences of a war in the Pacific
Military.com
Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, a maritime historian and former merchant seaman who served with JLOTS in the 1990s, stressed to Military.com that the Gaza mission “should be a warning to everyone about what an operation in the Pacific would look like.”
Pay for PIPIR: Defense Department launches new Indo-Pacific partnership for weapons purchase and receipt
Break through defense
According to the US Department of Defense’s top procurement official, the Pentagon is currently preparing a new partnership program in the Indo-Pacific region to explore opportunities for joint production and sustainment of weapons.
US Department of Defense FutureG Office implements and tests 5G capabilities for military operations
DefenseScoop
The U.S. Department of Defense’s office responsible for research and development of next-generation cellular technologies is currently conducting several projects to give soldiers access to 5G-enabled communications – from improving surveillance at bases in Africa to testing the technology with NATO allies.
Another member of the security forces found dead at US base in South Korea
Stars and Stripes
On August 5, a soldier was found dead at South Korea’s Kunsan Air Base, less than two weeks after the death of a fellow soldier from the same unit.
How a TikTok video led to a military officer being court-martialed
Military times
In hindsight, Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Dickerson admits he shouldn’t have posted the TikTok video of himself in uniform lip-syncing a profanity-laced parody of “Let it Go” from “Frozen” and giving the camera the middle finger. The image shows the gold oak leaf rank insignia on his shirt and the caption reads, “Working the day before vacation is so so.”
