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☆ US government to pay out $975,000 to settle civil sexual assault case against former senior general
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A yearslong court civil suit involving sexual assault allegations against former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten has been settled for $975,000, according to court records. The sum will be paid out by the US government to Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, who alleged sexual assault and battery against Hyten in 2019. Reached by CNN on Thursday, Hyten said “the settlement is between the government and Col. Spletstoser.” He said he was not involved in negotiations. The Air Force cleared Hyten of the nine allegations of sexual misconduct in 2019 after a criminal investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. “General Hyten has cooperated with the investigation.

Persons: John Hyten, Kathryn Spletstoser, Hyten, Donald Trump, ”, Spletstoser, Ariel Solomon, “, ” Solomon, ” Hyten Organizations: CNN, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Hyten, Justice, Air Force, Air Force Office, Special Investigations, Pentagon, Court, Central, Central District of, United States, Solomon Law Firm Locations: Spletstoser, Central District, Central District of California

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years of fraught by development setbacks. Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe, Branson, Burt Rutan, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Virgin, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, VSS Unity, America, Galactic, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, . Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Los Angeles

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years fraught by development setbacks. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

The flight, dubbed Galactic 01, comes two years after Branson himself rode along with five other Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) personnel for the company's first fully crewed test spaceflight of its rocket plane, VSS Unity. Back then, Virgin Galactic officials said they expected to begin regular commercial operations in 2022 following additional test flights. Virgin Galactic had projected booking its first 1,000 paying customers, charging about $250,000 per seat, by the time commercial service opened. An earlier prototype of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. Billionaire rival Jeff Bezos, whose astro-tourist venture Blue Origin has already flown several commercial passenger flights, has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe Skipper, Branson, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson's, Jeff Bezos, Virgin, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin, Unity, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, VSS, Galactic, SpaceX, Origin, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, . Air Force, America, Corporate, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Branson, Bezos, Los Angeles

☆ NATO 'Air Defender 2023': Hundreds of warplanes fly over Germany in alliance's largest-ever aerial drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

An F-16 fighter airplane takes off from the Schleswig-Jagel Air Base in Jagel, Germany, on June 12 during the Air Defender 2023 exercise. “Air Defender is necessary because we live in a more dangerous world. Two US Air Force A10 fighter jets taxi onto the runway ahead of Air Defender 2023. Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and former Royal Australian Air Force officer, said Air Defender 2023 should give Russian military planners a lot to think about. Similar planes are taking part in Air Defender 2023.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Oleksandr Vilkul, Andriy Dubchak, Gregor Fischer, Oana Lungescu, “, Putin, Amy Gutmann, Ingo Gerhartz, CNN’s Nic Robertson, Formidable ‘ hodge, Karl, Josef Hildenbrand, ”, Brynn Tannehill, it’s, Adam Casey, Tannehill, Peter Layton, Harald Tittel, ” Layton, ” Tannehill Organizations: CNN, NATO, Air, Russian, Russia, Operational Command, Alliance, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jagel, Base, AP NATO, “, ” United, Russia –, Latvia –, German Tornadoes, US Air Force, RAND Corp, US Navy, Aviators, Griffith Asia Institute, Royal Australian Air Force, US, Air National Guard, National Guard, Air Force Locations: Germany, German, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kryvyi, Black, Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet Union, Schleswig, Jagel, ” United States, Russia – Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, US, Finnish, Spangdahlem, NATO

☆ Opinion | A President Governing From Behind Bars?!
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

First, it seems increasingly plausible that he will become the first former president to be convicted of a felony. Second, he also seems increasingly likely to win the Republican nomination for president, with the betting markets also giving him about a 22 percent chance of going on and actually being elected president. But some smart lawyers believe that for Trump, the “peril is extreme,” as one former federal prosecutor put it. Still, deference may end upon conviction, and defendants in less serious cases have ended up with substantial prison sentences. And during Trump’s presidency, Reality Winner leaked a single document and was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Persons: Trump, William Barr, ” Trump, it’s Organizations: Republican, Trump, Air Force Locations: Florida

☆ F-16s for Ukraine: Kyiv would face big hurdles in using US-made jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Ukraine’s quest for US-made F-16 fighter jets received a big boost over the weekend when US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Kyiv’s pilots to be trained to fly them. In fact, one active duty F-16 pilot told CNN that expectations may be way too high. An F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft has its landing gear extended to land at the US military airfield at Spangdahlem, Germany. This is a multi-year process, and that’s just for the basic tactical unit of employment,” the F-16 pilot said. “To bring in Western aircraft, Ukraine might need to repave and potentially extend a number of runways, a process which Russia would likely detect.

☆ Belgorod: Bomb found in Russian city accidentally struck by own air force
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Darya Tarasova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —More than 3,000 people were evacuated on Saturday from residential buildings in the Russian city of Belgorod after a bomb was found close to the area accidentally bombed by Russia’s air force earlier this week, Russian state media reported. Explosives specialists assessed the device and said there was no danger of explosion, according to TASS. Late on Thursday, a Russian warplane dropped a bomb on Belgorod – a city of more than 400,000 people close to the border with Ukraine – leaving a large crater, blowing a car onto a roof and damaging nearby buildings. The Belgorod region has been the scene of several explosions and bombings since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. The city was one of Russian troops’ staging areas in the run up to the invasion.

☆ Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line. US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say. They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said. "Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added. William GreerSince taking over as the top Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.

☆ The U.S. Is Not Yet Ready for the Era of ‘Great Power’ Conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Michael R. Gordon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Clint Hinote returned from a deployment in Baghdad in the spring of 2018 to a new assignment and a staggering realization. A classified Pentagon wargame simulated a Chinese push to take control of the South China Sea. The Air Force officer, charged with plotting the service’s future, learned that China’s well-stocked missile force had rained down on the bases and ports the U.S. relied on in the region, turning American combat aircraft and munitions into smoldering ruins in a matter of days.

☆ Under the radar, Germany trains Ukrainians on advanced air defence weapon
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It is a modern system, whereas they have known the potential of the Leopard tanks for a while," said a German air force officer by way of explanation. Asked about the main differences to older Soviet-built air defences such as the S-300 or Buk, the Ukrainians cited greater effectiveness but also greater complexity. A German trainer said IRIS-T, built by German arms maker Diehl, could not be operated by "turning a switch on and off. It takes only a third of the time to set up its radar compared with the decades-old Patriot system - a critical factor, as any air defence system gives away its position once the radar is turned on. In Ukraine, the air space is closed - if anything flies there, it can be dangerous," said Dmytro.

☆ The US Air Force is finally getting rid of its A-10s, and its focus may be straying from the Warthog's unique mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Those retirements would shrink the Air Force's A-10 fleet to 260 aircraft, and Air Force leaders plan to continue decommissioning A-10s in the years ahead. Not so closeUS Air Force joint terminal attack controllers during a close air support training with an A-10 in Nevada in September 2011. Michael HolzworthCurrent and former Air Force officials have said that the F-35 would take over the A-10's mission after the Warthog left the fleet. So it will perform the mission very differently," said Kendall, who is now the Air Force's top civilian official. Those skills "are perishable," Boeding added, "and the stakes are too high to not train dedicated crews (ground and air) in purpose build close air support aircraft."

☆ China might have sent a spy balloon over the US as a power play to prove it can do what it wants, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Chinese spy balloon was detected over the US, the Department of Defense said. Experts say spy balloons can do things satellites can't, and China may have wanted to get caught. The balloon, the Pentagon said, was "most certainly" sent by China to spy on the US. What is the Chinese spy balloon? A spy balloon is a balloon with any kind of surveillance equipment is attached.

☆ Air Force offensive lineman, 21, dies after experiencing a 'medical emergency' on his way to class
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

An offensive lineman with the U.S. Air Force died after experiencing a "medical emergency," the Academy announced Tuesday. In May 2021, he graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School. Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the Air Force Academy's superintendent, said Brown was "well-respected in his squadron." Brown was also remembered as a "standout" offensive lineman on the school's Falcons football team, playing in their 2021 and 2022 seasons. Brown's death will be investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, a standard protocol for on-base military deaths, the Academy said.

[1/4] Taiwan's Air Force's Mirage 2000-5 aircraft is seen at Hsinchu Air Base, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangHSINCHU, Taiwan, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A Taiwan air force officer revealed details on Wednesday of a rare interaction between the island's military and NATO, describing how he had attended a six month academic programme with senior officials in Italy. Speaking to reporters on a trip to the Hsinchu air base in northern Taiwan, air force Lieutenant Colonel Wu Bong-yeng said he had attended a six month course at the NATO Defence College in Rome in 2021, returning to Taiwan in January last year. Taiwan's defence ministry told Reuters that Wu was not the first officer it had sent to the defence college. In August, China staged large-scale war games around Taiwan to express anger at then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taipei.

☆ Pro-Putin operatives in Germany work to turn Berlin against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Now the main Russian Cossack organisations are loyal to Putin, and they are fighting alongside Russia’s forces in Ukraine. He is regularly pictured on his and other social media pages at Cossack gatherings, often wearing Cossack military uniform. Felk has worked as a security guard and has run a logistics firm, according to posts on Felk’s OK social media account. Photos shared by Kharkovsky on social media show him and other participants standing in front of a Great Don Army flag. Eremenko confirmed to Reuters that he worked for Russian military intelligence, the GRU.

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine shows why troops need to learn to put their phones away, top US Marine general says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To do that, younger troops will have to unlearn some habits, the Marine Corps' top general says. New Marine recruits turn in cell phones at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in October. Targeting cell phones has been a feature of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine since 2014. Ukrainians and foreign governments have eavesdropped on Russian troops using unsecured phones to talk to each other and to their families in Russia. A Marine records a Drum and Bugle Corps performance at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in March 2014.

☆ Who Is Viktor Bout? What to Know About the Man Traded for Brittney Griner
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( James Hookway | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A former Soviet air force officer, Viktor Bout had been regarded as one of the world’s leading arms traffickers when the U.S. agents helped arrest him in a sting operation in Bangkok in 2008. Critics called him one of the world’s most effective arms traders and he was rumored to have been the inspiration for the Hollywood movie “Lord of War.” Suspected clients included Liberia’s Charles Taylor and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi . He has spent the last 10 years in a U.S. prison, to which he had been sentenced after being convicted of trying to sell weapons to Colombian rebels. Russian authorities had long tried to secure his release, however, finally achieving their goal in a prisoner exchange with Brittney Griner , the WNBA star who had been sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.

☆ Exclusive: Former U.S. military pilot arrested in Australia listed same Beijing address as Chinese hacker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Beijing address is listed in Australian company filings for the pilot and a U.S. blacklisting for the Chinese businessman, however, it was unclear whether they used the Beijing address at the same time. Another aviation source said Duggan went to Beijing to work with Stephen Su, also known as Su Bin in China. When Reuters visited the Beijing address this week the reporter was told it was a residential building and denied entry. Under Australia's extradition treaty with the United States, an extradition request must be made within 60 days of arrest. Robert Anello, the lawyer who represented Su Bin in the 2014 hacking case, declined to comment and Su Bin could not be reached for comment.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Former U.S. military pilot arrested in Australia listed same Beijing address as Chinese hacker -documents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

☆ The Columbus, Ohio, Warehouse Boom: How warehouses brought stifling dust and diesel fumes — and a chance for refugees to grab the American dream
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

What binds them, despite different nationalities, immigration stories, and languages, are warehouse jobs. As Columbus' warehouse development begins encroaching into residential areas, a consensus is gathering here — as it has elsewhere — that warehouses make for poor neighbors. Tariq Tarey for InsiderIn Canal Winchester, Halstead's efforts to put the question of warehouse development before voters were stymied. The town council bypassed her group's referendum by declaring a state of emergency to approve the warehouse development. There aren't clear lines between the winners and losers of Columbus' warehouse boom.

☆ Former day care workers at Air Force base accused of spraying children in the face with cleaning liquid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A federal grand jury handed down a 30-count indictment alleging that former Robins Air Force Base day care employees Zhanay Kiana Flynn, 27, and Antanesha Mone Fritz, 29, abused children in their care in January and February 2021. The indictment charged Flynn, Fritz and former day care director Latona Mae Lambert, 51, with one count each of failing to report suspected child abuse. “Properly caring for our Airmen and their families is of utmost importance," a spokesperson for Robins Air Force Base said in a statement. We are fully supporting the ongoing investigation and reviewing processes to ensure the appropriate measures are in place to safeguard our children.”An investigation into the allegations is ongoing by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Security Forces, with support from the FBI, according to the Justice Department. According to the Department of Defense, child care centers on military bases are randomly inspected at least four times a year and receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children or a similar body.

☆ China's new J-20 is nothing 'to lose a lot of sleep over,' but the US's stealth advantage isn't safe, US commanders say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

China's air force has rapidly grown in size and capability, adding advanced jets like the J-20. The J-20 isn't "anything to lose a lot of sleep over," the head of US Pacific Air Forces said this week. But US Air Force leaders do say the US needs to work to stay head of the progress China is making. "We can take a look at it today and say we're not going to lose a lot of sleep. I'll lose sleep if we don't continue to modernize our Air Force to ensure that we stay ahead of where they are."

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