News
US troops arrive at border as migration curbs set to end
About 550 U.S. active duty troops have begun arriving along the U.S.-Mexico border in the first group of military support ahead of an expected increase of migrants, U.S. defense officials said May 9.
US busts Russian cyber operation in dozens of countries
The Justice Department said May 9 that it had disrupted a long-running Russian cyberespionage campaign that stole sensitive information from computer networks in dozens of countries, including the U.S. and other NATO members.
Putin claims West is waging a “real war” on Russia at WWII parade
President Vladimir Putin declared May 9 that the West has unleashed “a real war” against Russia, reprising a familiar refrain at scaled-down Victory Day celebrations that may reflect the toll the Ukraine conflict is taking on his forces.
US announces $1.2B Ukraine aid package ahead of counteroffensive
The Biden administration on May 9 pledged a massive $1.2 billion chunk of long-term military assistance to Ukraine as the embattled country readies a counteroffensive that could alter the course of the war.
US announces $1.2B Ukraine aid package ahead of counteroffensive
Business
SOCOM wants new industry pitches to connect autonomous tech
A futuristic-looking small boat cuts through the water near an unnamed adversary’s shoreline, releasing smaller automated boats and firing tube-launched drones as it goes.
This SOCOM program has cut proposal to prototype timelines by half
Since 2020, a small business innovation program used by U.S. Special Operations Command has doubled the speed at which proposals from this slice of the industry see their pitches become prototypes in operatorsí hands, officials said.
USSF launches platform to match promising tech with satellites
The U.S. Space Force said it expects to choose a pool of companies by December for its Space Technology Experimentation Platform 2.0, which it will use to buy commercial satellites to host defense experiments.
L3Harris, BigBear.ai partner on autonomy for surface vessels
L3Harris Technologies, the 10th largest defense contractor by revenue, and BigBear.ai, an artificial intelligence company, are partnering on products to support autonomous surface vessels, a key component of the U.S. Navyís playbook for the future.
UK competition watchdog approves $7.3B Viasat-Inmarsat merger
Viasat’s acquisition of British satellite mobile communications company Inmarsat has cleared a key hurdle with the approval of the deal by the U.K.’s competition authority May 9.
UAE cancels $800m military helicopter deal with Airbus: Government official
“We recently terminated a contract with Airbus Helicopters to purchase H225 helicopters,” Muammar Abdulla Abushehab, defense and security industry affairs sector chief for the Tawazun council, said in a May 8 interview.
Defense
How the US Army aviation chief is prepping for the future fleet
The U.S. Army’s aviation branch is reaching a critical inflection point where it will need to determine how and when to begin retiring its aircraft fleet — while also keeping some of them flying for decades as it adopts new piloted and unmanned vertical lift platforms along with launched effects.
Pentagon strategy urges faster tech transition, more collaboration
The Pentagon’s newly unveiled science and technology strategy calls for better coordination among the military services, more urgency in fielding the latest technology, and greater investment in the department’s physical and digital test and lab infrastructure.
Much better chance USAF can retire F-22s in FY24: Kendall
Rejected by Congress in fiscal 2023, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service’s second go at retiring older F-22s stands a much better chance of surviving the upcoming round of budget negotiations.
Veterans
A pandemic prescription exception was set to expire Thursday, but the DEA will extend the program
The federal government has extended a rule that allowed physicians to prescribe controlled medications across state lines — a pandemic exception that was set to expire May 11 that would have affected hundreds of thousands of veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs health system.
The post Headlines — May 10 appeared first on Aerotech News & Review.