“My whole fleet is not operationally running yet, but I have enough capacity and the right crews training to provide the capabilities on the battlefield,” AFSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Conley said.
By Valerie InsinnaTop defense insights from 2024
A curated look at standout opinions and analysis covering topics like uncrewed systems, NATO partnerships, US-Saudi defense dynamics, and evolving warfare strategies, spotlighting key issues shaping the global defense landscape.
“It’s our vocation to go fly this thing,” said 21st Special Operations Squadron commander Lt. Col. Matt Davis in his first interview since a V-22 crash killed eight servicemembers in November.
By Valerie Insinna
During a military exercise in Wyoming, an MQ-9 Reaper made history by conducting its first highway landing alongside what the Air Force says is the greatest number of aircraft to pull off the tactic.
By Michael Marrow
Flight demos will take place in summer or fall 2023, but it remains unclear whether development will turn into a bonafide program of record.
By Valerie Insinna
“I was asking myself, what would I say to myself in the aftermath of fatal mishap if we discovered that the reason for this was this clutch issue,” said AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife. “Would I look back and say that I did everything that I could do today? And I couldn’t answer that in the affirmative.”
By Valerie Insinna
AFSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife ordered the safety standdown on Tuesday in the wake of two safety incidents that had occurred over the past six weeks, with a total of four such events occurring since 2017, AFSOC said.
By Valerie Insinna
L3 Harris could produce up to 75 AT-802U Sky Warden aircraft to replace US Special Operations Command’s U-28 Draco.
By Valerie Insinna
How automation and artificial intelligence can help warfighters in high-stress situations
Many operations are experiencing some degree of data automation or AI enablement, and the usability of that data is key to decision making.
The company has demonstrated the capability to do ‘pattern of life’ monitoring, staying over a 40 kilometer area for more than four days, said CEO Ryan Hartman.
By Theresa Hitchens
Notably, Slife called out the need to operate in and around “an island environment that is not serviced by a major fixed operating base runway.”
By Aaron Mehta
A weather “data coverage gap exists in areas that we operate on a regular basis in the military,” says Dan Stillman, director of marketing for Tomorrow.io’s space and government division.
By Theresa Hitchens
“The SOF that we have is not the SOF we will need” for the future, head of Air Force Special Ops Command, Lt. Gen. James Slife, warned today.
By Paul McLeary
The new owners bring venture capital and software expertise to upgrade Area-I’s ALTIUS mini-drone, already a favorite in Army experiments with ‘Air-Launched Effects.’
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
“The whole reason we’re doing this is because the National Defense Strategy talks about the need to do cost effective [counter-terrorism] operations, cost effective irregular warfare,” AFSOC commander Gen. Slife said.
By Paul McLeary
SOCOM has budgeted $106 million in 2021 to buy the first five of up to 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft to perform close air support for its troops on the ground, light attack and ISR missions. The planes would replace Air Force Special Operations Command current fleet of U-28 Draco aircraft.
By Theresa Hitchens
