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The MQ-20 stood in as a surrogate for the Navy’s future MQ-25 Stingray and other drones that will operate from its carriers’ decks.

The Army is putting more accountability measures in place to ensure that good recruiters are not pulling the weight for an entire recruiting station and that “ineffective” ones are reassigned to make sure local offices are helping with service-wide recruitment goals, according to a policy memo obtained by Task & Purpose.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine even before being sworn in. He has explicitly refrained from providing any details as to how exactly he may do that, arguing it would be foolish to show his cards before any such negotiation. Any possible deal entailing a peace-for-territories trade would represent a significant reversal from President Joe Biden’s promise to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.” It would also fly in the face of Europe’s preference to continue to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s war of aggression.

Many of America’s top military commanders predict that mastering teaming between humans and increasingly capable AI algorithms and autonomous machines will provide an essential advantage to the warfighters of the future. The chief of staff of the Air Force has stated that “the military that masters human-machine teaming is going to have a critical advantage going forward in warfare.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks meet with members of the Defense Policy Board at the Pentagon Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2023. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)Public Domain

U.S. Defense Secretary Austin has sent out a memo to troops where he said the American military was committed to an orderly transition to the Trump administration, adding that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out “all lawful orders.”

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Five months after launching an experimental chatbot for airmen, guardians, civilian employees and contractors to interact with, the Department of the Air Force is drawing some early lessons from the deployment of the generative AI technology.
The capability, dubbed NIPRGPT because it’s intended to be used on the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet), was released in June by the Air Force chief information officer and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

A colonel at a nuclear missile base whose position oversees accountability for nuclear weapons was relieved of command for “loss of trust and confidence,” the Air Force said in a release.
Col. Jeremy Russell, commander of the 341st Maintenance Group at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, was relieved by the wing commander on Nov. 7. No other details were released on why Russell was relieved, including any indication whether his firing was related to the 341st Missile Wing’s nuclear mission.

There is a growing disconnect between the foreign policy objectives of the United States and the resources it devotes to national security. However, inertia has hampered meaningful policy change in recent years. Chris and Melanie discuss a recent article from Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim in Foreign Affairs that analyzes the challenges of overcoming status quo bias. Chris commends Taiwan for purchasing new missiles for defense purposes and Melanie praises Australia for adapting to the new missile age. Episode Reading Pat Conroy, Address to the National Press Club, October 30, 2024.

Over the last year, the Defense Department has reduced its civilian cyber vacancy rate to 16 percent, a decrease of 4.8 percent from last year, according to an official.
Those efforts are part of the execution of the DOD’s cyber workforce strategy and implementation plan. In a global fight to attract and keep cyber professionals, the Pentagon was facing a shortfall of 24 percent, and it’s been looking to take bold action to change the tide.

In 2021, Michael Shurkin and Aneliese Bernard wrote “Ten Things the United States Should Do to Combat Terrorism in the Sahel,” where they argued that the United States should craft an effective counterterrorism strategy to address worsening jihadist violence in the region. In the wake of a changing geopolitical landscape in West Africa over the last few years, we invited Michael and Aneliese back to reflect on their article. Read more below: Image: Defense Department (Photo by Sgt.