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☆ The US Air Force's plan to give its biggest planes new missions has gotten China's attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force officials say they're pursuing a plan to drop "palletized effects" from cargo planes. Minihan said "palletized effects" could include much more than just "kinetic effects" like missiles. There's other kinetic effects, non-kinetic effects, jammers, that if it can fit in the back and can be air-launched" then it could be employed to deliver "decisive effects," Bauernfeind said. "When it comes to palletized effects, I'm not looking for big modifications. AdvertisementAdvertisementA palletized effects system in the air during a live-fire test in Norway in November 2022.

Persons: It's, Brandon Esau, Mike Minihan, Minihan, Tony Bauernfeind, Bauernfeind, Brandon Esau Minihan, Derek Solen, Solen, Brigette, Brigette Waltermire Solen Organizations: US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Special, Command, Air Mobility Command, Staff, Air and Space Forces, Washington DC, Air Force Special Operations Command, China National Defense, PLA, Communist, Military Commission, US Air, China Aerospace Studies, Science, US Air National Guard / Tech Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, Florida, Norwegian, Norway

Excerpts of a new biography of Musk published by The Washington Post last week revealed that the Ukrainians in September 2022 had asked for the Starlink support to attack Russian naval vessels based at the Crimean port of Sevastopol. However, in the months since, the U.S. military has funded and officially contracted with Starlink for continued support. Until Musk’s refusal in Ukraine, there had not been a focus on whether there needed to be language saying a firm providing military support in war had to agree that that support could be used in combat. “We acquire technology, we acquire services, required platforms to serve the Air Force mission, or in this case, the Department of the Air Force,” said Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “So that is an expectation, that it is going to be used for Air Force purposes, which will include, when necessary, to be used to support combat operations.”

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Frank Kendall, Musk, he'd, Starlink, Kendall, ” Kendall, “, Mike Minihan, ”, Andrew Hunter Organizations: SpaceX, Air Force, The Washington Post, U.S ., Pentagon, Air Force Association, Air, Air Mobility Command, ”, ” As U.S, ., Department of Locations: Md, Ukraine, Crimea, Sevastopol, Russia, Harbor , Maryland, ” As

☆ The US Air Force is stripping most of the identifying information off of its biggest planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Thomas Novelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US Air Mobility Command has ordered its refueling and cargo planes to obscure their identifying markings. "At the end of the day, it's still very clearly an Air Force plane unless you're going to start painting them white or something," Paladino said. A US Air Force C-130 with most of its markings removed at Rafael Hernández International Airport in Puerto Rico on February 25. Minihan's memo, which was leaked in late January, highlights the mentality and war footing on which he's placed Air Mobility Command, which has historically been used as a support organization for combat operations. Air Mobility Command played a major role in the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021 and continues to help deliver weapons and aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

☆ Rep. Michael McCaul on Air Force general's prediction of war with China: 'I hope he's wrong... I think he's right'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A top congressional Republican on Sunday said he agrees with a memo by a four-star Air Force general that predicts the U.S. will be at war with China in two years. In the memo sent Friday and obtained by NBC News, Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, wrote, “I hope I am wrong. McCaul also accused the Biden administration of “projecting weakness” on the world stage and argued that there are “very high” odds of war with China because of it." The Air Mobility Command has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes and is responsible for transport and refueling. The signed memo was addressed to all air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders.

☆ Odds 'very high' of U.S. military conflict with China, top Republican says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A top Republican in the U.S. Congress said on Sunday the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan "are very high," after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned the United States would fight China in the next two years. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote. McCaul said that if China failed to take control of Taiwan bloodlessly then "they are going to look at a military invasion in my judgment. "The odds are very high that we could see a conflict with China and Taiwan and the Indo Pacific," McCaul said. On Saturday, a Pentagon official said the general's comments were "not representative of the department's view on China."

☆ U.S. four-star general warns of war with China in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A four-star U.S. Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments. "I hope I am wrong," General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote. China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing's rule. In response to a request for comment, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that military competition with China is a central challenge.

☆ Air Force general predicts war with China in 2025, tells officers to get ready
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A four-star Air Force general sent a memo on Friday to the officers he commands that predicts the U.S. will be at war with China in two years and tells them to get ready to prep by firing "a clip" at a target, and "aim for the head." In the memo sent Friday and obtained by NBC News, Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, said, “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025.”Air Mobility Command has nearly 50,000 service members and nearly 500 planes and is responsible for transport and refueling. His order builds on last year’s foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready the Mobility Air Forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail.”In March 2021, Adm. Philip Davidson, then commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that “Taiwan is clearly one of [China’s] ambitions. “I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years,” said Davidson.

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