Pentagon establishing new agency to oversee US military space technology development

Illustration only

 

The Department of Defence (DoD) is creating a new Space Development Agency (SDA) oversee the development of sensors and weapons to counter advances by Russia and China, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a memo published on Thursday.

Joint Chiefs Chairman: Google ‘Is Indirectly Benefiting The Chinese Military’

WASHINGTON (CBS SF / CNN) — America’s top general said Thursday that Mountain View-based Google’s work in China “is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military.”

“The work that Google is doing in China is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military and I’ve been very public on this issue as well,” Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Pentagon: Military Logistics System Not Ready for War With China or Russia

U.S. Marines participate in a military exercise / Getty Images

 

Defense Science Board warns military supply system ‘decayed’ and needs rapid upgrading

The strategic American military system for moving troops, weapons, and supplies over long distances has decayed significantly and needs rapid upgrading to be ready for any future war with China or Russia, according to a report by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board.

A special task force on survivable logistics evaluated the military’s current airlift, sealift, and prepositioned equipment and supplies and found major problems with supporting forces during a “high-end” conflict.

U.S. Government Report: America Likely to Lose Next War

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct sling-load operations. (The U.S. Army)

 

More evidence supports a 70-year-old prophecy.

“The security and well-being of the United States are at greater risk than at any time in decades.” This is the first line of a report from the National Defense Strategy Commission released November 14, arguing that the U.S. is in danger of losing a war against major powers like Russia and China.

Pentagon: U.S. Lacks ‘Adequate’ Defense Against Hypersonic Weapons

Getty Images

 

DOD will request more funding to develop lasers, other weapons

The United States is not equipped to combat Chinese or Russian hypersonic weapons that have the capacity to overwhelm American missile-defense systems, according to a senior Pentagon official.

Michael Griffin, the under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said Tuesday the Pentagon has not deployed “adequate” defenses against the highly maneuverable and difficult-to-detect weapons being aggressively pursued by U.S. adversaries.

U.S. Weapons Systems Vulnerable to Cyberhacks, Report Warns

Getty Images

 

Investigators ‘routinely found mission-critical cyber vulnerabilities’

Major U.S. weapons systems are increasingly vulnerable to hacking attacks, according to federal investigators who “routinely found mission-critical cyber vulnerabilities” in multiple critical systems operated by the Department of Defense.

The Defense Department has been caught flatfooted when it comes to protecting critical systems that oversee and run an increasing number of U.S. defense systems, according to a new Government Oversight Report that warns defense officials have little understanding of how to protect these systems from hacking attacks by foreign governments and other rogue actors.

The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies

Recognition of this urgent and grave matter is finally receiving recognition by the mainstream media. Chinese microchips have been planted within every facet of U.S. life, from the military to household PC components, as well as everyday appliances such as irons and microwaves.

Further information previously archived on Global Geopolitics can be found within the following previous posts:

The Secret Ways of Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei (2013)

Security backdoor found in China-made US military chip (2012)

 

Click for a larger animated version. (Illustrator: Scott Gelber for Bloomberg Businessweek)

 

The attack by Chinese spies reached almost 30 U.S. companies, including Amazon and Apple, by compromising America’s technology supply chain, according to extensive interviews with government and corporate sources.

In 2015, Amazon.com Inc. began quietly evaluating a startup called Elemental Technologies, a potential acquisition to help with a major expansion of its streaming video service, known today as Amazon Prime Video. Based in Portland, Ore., Elemental made software for compressing massive video files and formatting them for different devices. Its technology had helped stream the Olympic Games online, communicate with the International Space Station, and funnel drone footage to the Central Intelligence Agency. Elemental’s national security contracts weren’t the main reason for the proposed acquisition, but they fit nicely with Amazon’s government businesses, such as the highly secure cloud that Amazon Web Services (AWS) was building for the CIA.

Star Wars? Pentagon Wants to Deploy Space-Based Missiles to Counter Enemy Hypersonic Weapons

Note: Video available on website.

 

CBN News has learned the Department of Defense is looking into deploying space-based missiles and sensors to bring down high-speed hypersonic missile attacks from China and Russia.

Michael Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said a network of 1,000 missile interceptors deployed on satellite launchers could be built for $20 billion.

Here Are 410 Movies Made Under The Direct Influence And Supervision Of The Pentagon

Ironically, the Top Gun remarks made from 2014 and 2015 on Global Geopolitics were actually alluding to government hands in Hollywood, shaping American views.

 

 

A year ago we featured a detailed report by authors Tom Secker and Matthew Alford exposing just how vast the Pentagon and CIA programs for partnering with Hollywood actually are, based on some 4,000 new pages of formerly classified archived documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The report noted at the time that “These documents for the first time demonstrate that the US government has worked behind the scenes on over 800 major movies and more than 1,000 TV titles.”

Pentagon pushes space force programs even without Congress’ approval, funding

 

The US Defense Department is plowing ahead to make good on US President Donald Trump’s promise to start up a Space Force, proposing the establishment of a satellite-procurement agency, a new Space Operations Force and a brand-new combatant command ? though without Congressional approval or clear funding.

The Pentagon is circulating a 14-page document to lawmakers that outlines a general plan for the Space Force and how Congress can write it into law, Defense One reported Tuesday.

Cyber Command moves closer to a major new weapon

A proposal for the next generation cyber operations platform went out to industry recently, however, details are scarce. (J.M. Eddins Jr./Air Force)

 

The Air Force issued a formal proposal earlier this month for the Department of Defense’s long-awaited cyber weapon system, known as the Unified Platform, sources tell Fifth Domain.

DoD officials have said the Unified Platform is one of U.S. Cyber Command’s largest and most critical acquisition programs to date. Industry officials have said it is necessary to conduct cyber operations and is critical to national security.

Defense Chiefs: U.S. Cannot Win Global Cyber Wars

Getty Images

 

“Permanent global cyberspace superiority is not possible due to the complexity of cyberspace”

The Defense Departments warns in a new organizational document that the United States cannot win the global battle over cyber security due the overwhelming complexity of the issue and the rapidly changing landscape in cyberspace, according to the document.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a new organizational guidance issued earlier this month, assessed the United States will never be able to fully achieve dominance in the cyberspace realm, but that officials are working on a series of plans to boost the country’s offensive and defensive capabilities in this realm.

U.S. military seeks to be more lethal, including in space: Mattis

The U.S. military is seeking to be more lethal in all domains, including space, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said yesterday.

In a briefing with reporters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mattis said U.S. Northern Command will have to change to meet the challenges of the future, to include space-related security challenges.

The US is running out of bombs — and it may soon struggle to make more

Key suppliers for weapons such as the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile are fleeing the defense-industrial base, which could have an impact on the ability of America to wage war in the future. (R. Nial Bradshaw/U.S. Air Force)

 

WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon plans to invest more than $20 billion in munitions in its next budget. But whether the industrial base will be there to support such massive buys in the future is up in the air — at a time when America is expending munitions at increasingly intense rates.

The annual Industrial Capabilities report, put out by the Pentagon’s Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, has concluded that the industrial base of the munitions sector is particularly strained, something the report blames on the start-and-stop nature of munitions procurement over the last 20 years, as well as the lack of new designs being internally developed.

Some suppliers have dropped out entirely, leaving no option for replacing vital materials. Other key suppliers are foreign-owned, with no indigenous capability to produce vital parts and materials ― setting up the risk that a conflict with China could rely on Chinese-made parts.

US Navy Resurrects Its Cold War-Era Atlantic Fleet To Counter Russia

 

In a stunning surprise, the United States Navy announced Friday that it would reactivate its Second Fleet to counter the increasing threat from Russia.

Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations, said the fleet, deactivated in 2011, could oversee roughly 6,700,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the Caribbean Sea and from the East Coast of the United States to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Our National Defense Strategy makes clear that we’re back in an era of great power competition as the security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex,” said Admiral Richardson.