Soldiers Seek Fighter-Pilot Goggles
The Army’s FY21 budget calls for fighter pilot-like situational awareness, augmented reality, do-it-all goggles for nearly half of all close combat forces, from infantry to scouts and engineers — that’s more than 40,000 by next year.
Reaper Drone Gave Soleimani Little Chance
General Atomics’ Reaper drone had Soleimani in its sights upon his commercial plane’s arrival in Baghdad. The $64 million drone is armed with laser-guided Hellfire air-to-surface missiles used in attacks on high-value terrorists.
More Deployments as Tensions Remain High in Middle East
Thousands more troops are preparing to be deployed to the Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran, since the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a recent airstrike near Baghdad.
DoD Gets $738B of $1.3T Budget Bill
$1.3T budget deal avoids a government shutdown giving $738B to defense and $632B for non-defense spending into the coming year.
New Ford Carrier Declared Navy’s Top Priority
Facing bipartisan criticism of the $13B, most modern and most expensive carrier in history, Acting NavSec Thomas Modly declared deployment of the troubled Ford carrier to be the Navy’s top priority.
DoD Fails 2nd Audit – No Surprise
DoD’s second-ever financial audit shows some progress, but uncovers more new problems than fixes. DoD has 3 million employees, 4,500 defense sites in 160 countries, a $292 billion inventory, more than $2.9 trillion in total assets, and $2.8 trillion in liabilities.
Boeing Says 737 Ban to Lift By End of Year
Boeing tells shareholders the ban on its 737 Max planes will be lifted before the end of the year. Grounded since March after two fatal crashes, 737 Max production costs rose in the quarter by almost $1 billion. The company is sticking to its plan to increase production of the planes to 57 a month by the end of 2020, up from 42 currently.
Troops May Guard Syrian Oil Fields
DefSec Mark Esper says some US troops may stay to guard Syrian oil fields, to make sure they don’t fall into the hands of a resurgent Islamic State.
F-35As Heading to Pacific Theater
Two US Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs, assigned to the 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., break off from formation at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, on Sept. 6, 2019. (US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Larue Guerrisky) Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff. In preparation for the arrival of the first of its F-35s next spring, Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska has…
Turkey Strikes Border, Thwarting Kurdish Fighters
Turkish military strike at a Kurdish route into northeastern Syria after President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced a US troop withdrawal from the area.
