DoD Outlines New Tech Strategies
The Defense Department outlined its vision for the US military to strengthen its tech superiority amid a global race for technological advantage. The plan includes a list of “critical technology areas” including biotechnology, quantum science, FutureG, trusted AI and autonomy, directed energy weapons and systems, hypersonics, and integrated sensing and cyber.
DoD Creates New UFO Task Force
The Defense Department will streamline the collection and analysis of UFO reports, following the government’s acknowledgment that these reports are worth studying and might pose a threat to national security.
Esper’s Farewell: ‘Do the Right Thing’
Offering parting advice to “do the right thing,” former DefSec Mark Esper also says he was no “yes man” to President Trump.
USAF Flies Secret F-X Fighter Jet
The Air Force has built and flown a mysterious full-scale prototype of its F-X future fighter jet, but details will remain a mystery within the connected air warfare systems platforms in space or the cyber realm.
FEMA Asks for DoD Medical Help in TX and CA
About 740 military personnel were dispatched to Texas and California after the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested DoD assistance in tamping down the coronavirus pandemic. Soldiers are being dispatched from the Army’s Urban Augmentation Medical Task Forces from the 627th Hospital Center out of Fort Carson, CO.
No Punishment – But No Protest in Uniform
ArmySec Ryan McCarthy: “We don’t want to punish our soldiers … we want to just make sure everybody understands, we don’t want to protest in uniform.”
MD Opens Elective Medical Procedures, Beaches & More
MD Gov. Larry Hogan cited some good trends in lifting restriction on elective medical procedures and expanding outdoor activities under stay-at-home orders. But MD schools will remain closed through the school year.
Zoom Only One Security Concern
On the heels of FBI warnings about the Zoom teleconferencing tool, federal agencies are increasingly concerned about numerous vulnerabilities across as teleworking expands the surface for hacking and attacks.
Women to Register for the Draft, Says Panel
For the first time in US history, a Selective Service panel will recommend requiring women between 18 and 25 register for future military drafts as young men are required to do.
DoD Adjusts Cash Flow to Contractors in Response to Coronavirus
DoD will raise progress payments to improve cash flow to contractors as the coronavirus continues to impact the economy. Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics have already cautioned investors; Boeing has closed its Puget Sound plants; and CAE, GE, and Airbus, government contractors with large commercial exposure, are taking various aggressive actions to rein in costs and staunch losses.
