SOURCE: ANI

The United States conducted a subcritical nuclear test at Nevada earlier this week, according to a statement released by the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The experiment, the third under the administration of President Joe Biden, was carried out on Tuesday to collect “essential data” regarding the country’s nuclear warheads, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The experiment was the first in the Nimble series, executed at the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation (PULSE) facility in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The NNSA, an arm of the US Energy Department, said it relies on subcritical tests to support the safety and effectiveness of nuclear warheads, without the use of nuclear explosive testing.

SOURCE: General Atomics

 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully demonstrated an inflight release of its Advanced Air-Launched Effects (A2LE) platform, releasing an A2LE from the internal weapons bay of a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The demonstration took place on Nov. 28, 2023, over Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, capping a manufacturing, structural test, and flight demonstration.

GA-ASI’s design and engineering team partnered with Divergent Technologies, Inc. for the A2LE vehicle design and build, matching GA-ASI’s aircraft design expertise with the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS™) to support rapid, low-cost manufacturing of the demonstration vehicle.

SOURCE: Anduril Industries

Today, the United States Air Force announced that Anduril has been selected as one of two vendors to move forward on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Over the next phase, Anduril will design, manufacture, and test production-representative CCAs.

“There is no time to waste on business as usual. With the CCA program, Secretary Kendall and the Air Force have embraced a fast-moving, forward-looking approach to field autonomous systems at speed and scale,” said Brian Schimpf, CEO and Co-Founder. “We are honored to be selected for this unprecedented opportunity, which signals a demand for continued expansion of the defense industrial base. Anduril is proud to pave the way for other non-traditional defense companies to compete and deliver on large scale programs.”

SOURCE: AFI

On April 12, 2024, a mishap involving a USAF F-22 stealth fighter jet was reported by the Okinawa Defense Bureau. The incident occurred at a base on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

According to reports, the F-22 encountered a landing gear issue while it was being towed. The exact nature of the problem and the cause are not yet known.

SOURCE: REUTERS

Canada’s domestic spy agency concluded that China interfered in the last two elections, an official probe heard on Monday, the firmest evidence so far of suspected Chinese meddling in Canadian politics.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won both the elections, held in 2019 and 2021. Under pressure from opposition legislators unhappy about media reports on China’s possible role, Trudeau set up a commission into foreign interference.

The commission was shown a slide on Monday containing an extract of a February 2023 briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

SOURCE: AFI

A recent sighting of an F-117 Nighthawk flying low over California in March 2024 has taken the internet by storm. Social media platform [X] exploded with comments praising the jet’s unique design, with some claiming it still looks futuristic even “50 years down the line.”

While the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was officially retired from active service by the U.S. Air Force in 2008, this legendary aircraft is far from gone. As we’ve been reporting for years, the Nighthawk continues to fly for a variety of purposes.