Weekly Briefing: Air Warfare News and Analysis

The latest Air Warfare news and analysis from Breaking Defense.

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Weekly Briefing Air Warfare

Roper Hints NGAD Could Replace F-35; Why? Life-Cycle Costs The NGAD program "represents a chance to design an airplane that is more sustainable than the F-35, if in fact the F-35 cannot get its cost-per-flying-hour down," said outgoing AF acquisition head Will Roper.

JADC2 May Be Built To Fight The Wrong War To compete with China, DoD needs to focus on spoiling Chinese military and paramilitary success at lower levels on the escalation ladder. This is more closely aligned with maneuver warfare concepts like DARPA's Mosaic Warfare.

Colorado Politicians Vow To Fight Huntsville Choice For SPACECOM Several experts said the decision shouldn't be that big of a surprise, given that Huntsville had been poised to win the first contest — in part due to its much lower cost of living, as well as plenty of available office and housing space.

Space Force Reaches Out To New Partners– Eye On China "Other areas we're looking for opportunities are also out in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, to develop new and different partnerships in space that we may not have enjoyed in other domains in the past," Gen. DT Thompson, vice chief of the Space Force, says.

New IC Commercial Space Council Hopes To Speed Intel To Users NRO, NGA, CIA, DIA and NSA are the "standing members" of the new council, says its chairman David Gauthier of NGA.

Air Force Leaders Exits 'Business As Usual, Experts Say; Roper Rumors Outgoing AF acquisition head Will Roper is rumored "to be in the mix" to take DoD acquisition czar Ellen Lord's place, along with CSIS's Andrew Hunter.

DoD Drone Strategy Focuses On Low-End Threats – Not Nation-States In April, the Yuma, Ariz. test range will host a competition of "low collateral damage" countermeasures designed to stop mini-drones without firing a shot. But can such a restrained approach stop the drone swarms Russia and others are developing?

Navy Plans Ship-Killer Missiles On Amphib Ships "The LPDs need the ability to reach out and defend themselves and sink another ship," said Marine Maj. Gen. Tracy King, the Navy's director of expeditionary warfare.

Dunlap: His Full Interview On All Domain, JADC2 Watch the full video of our 45-minute interview with Preston Dunlap, Chief Architect of the Air and Space Forces.

Congress, It's Time For Two-Year Budget Deal: Eaglen At AEI It will take time for the Biden administration to build its national security and defense strategies. In the absence of a new defense strategy, the most logical route for Congress would be to plan a two-year budget deal that buys back readiness and investment lost to the Budget Control Act.

US Could Finalize UAE F-35 Deal By Inauguration Day Congress narrowly failed to block the controversial $23 billion deal the Trump administration forged with the UAE, and the Biden team has expressed skepticism, but the rush is on to wrap it up

AFRL's Golden Horde 'Swarms' Would Increase Fighter Lethality "The Air Force has been quite open about the need to develop a new generation of weapons that are smaller and better suited for stealth aircraft operations," says Mitchell Institute's Mark Gunzinger.

Pathfinder: The MQ-9 You Don't Know [Sponsored]

Take another look. The world's workhorse unmanned aerial system (UAS) is adding a host of upgrades designed to win the fight now and bring the future faster.

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