Who Pays for Clearing Suez Canal?
Disputes grow regarding who should pay for dislodging the massive Ever Given container ship from the Suez Canal. Egyptian authorities say they won’t release the ship until its owners agree to pay up to $1 billion in compensation.
Who Has AI Advantage in US vs. China?
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence releases its AI report and shows how the US stacks up against China. The NSCAI vice chair says the US does not have the strategy, organizational structure, and resources to win the competition with China for effective implementation of AI, and he warns that the US needs to take the competition seriously, and it needs to win it.
Biden Proposes $715B Defense Budget
President Joe Biden has rolled out his defense budget for the next fiscal year. He is asking $715 billion for the Pentagon. The FY22 proposed budget represents a 1.6% increase over this year.
Is Universal Conscription Needed Now?
Concerns that an all-volunteer military cannot meet contemporary needs and efforts to eliminate male-only draft registration are reaching the Supreme Court, Congress, and Pentagon this spring.
1st Martian Flight Test On Track
NASA’s rotocraft Ingenuity deployed successfully and survived its first Martian night where frigid temperatures can freeze and crack unprotected electrical components. Testing this week will attempt the first aircraft flight in the very thin air of another planet.
Russia Tests US in Arctic, Eastern Europe
Russia is increasing its military presence in the Arctic region and testing new weapons there as well, as upping its saber rattling in Eastern Europe. In the past two weeks, Moscow has moved to test the Biden administration and its allies. US Air Force GEN Glen VanHerck says it’s an attempt by Russia “to reassert on a global stage their influence and their capabilities.”
DoD Issues Report on Its Telework Practices
The Pentagon releases a new report on teleworking practices since the pandemic sent majority of employees to work from home. Among the findings: 47% of those responding said their productivity increased while working from home during the pandemic, 41% felt they were about as productive while teleworking as they were in the office, and nearly 12% felt their productivity slipped.
Expect Mandatory Cyber-Breach Reporting
An executive order is anticipated that will require contractors to notify government customers in the event of a cybersecurity breach. Congressional legislation further intends to make breach notification requirements standard in government and in the private sector.
737 MAX Returning to Service
Boeing intends to deliver most of the stored backlog of the 737 MAX by 2023. Deliveries resumed in December after a 22-month grounding; in February 130 MAXs recorded at least one flight.
F-35B Sea Trials on Cavour Completed
The four-week sea trials on the Italian navy’s Cavour aircraft carrier for the operational use of the F-35B fighter jet have been completed. The trials — more than 115 ski jump short take-offs, 120 vertical landings, and two vertical take-offs – were conducted with two specially instrumented F-35Bs that belonged to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 from NAS Patuxent River.
