Mattis Resigns as Defense Secretary
Updated F-35 Will Get Maritime Strike Capability
Report Details Confusion of Mistaken Active Shooter Response at Wright-Patterson
Pentagon’s Space Force Plan Nixes Separate Secretariat, Expands Joint Chiefs
Gatwick Airport Crisis Spotlights Drone Threat
Grassroots Initiative Gives Airmen Home Away from Home for the Holidays
Hack The Air Force 3.0 Uncovers Over 120 Vulnerabilities in USAF Website, Systems
AFSOC Stands Up MQ-9 Squadron at Hurlburt
Air Force Special Operations Command this week stood up a new MQ-9 Reaper squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The new squadron, the 65th Special Operations Squadron with the 1st Special Operations Group at Hurlburt, was created as part of an increase in MQ-9 operations and to give airmen a new assignment option in addition to an AFSOC Reaper squadron at Cannon AFB, N.M. The new squadron, which officially activated during a Tuesday ceremony, will include more than 60 new personnel at the base, though no new aircraft will be based there. Hurlburt is already home to the Air Force Reserve’s 2nd Special Operations Squadron. —Brian Everstine
RADAR SWEEP
Northrop Grumman Receives $3.6B Contract for Infrared Missile Countermeasures
The Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman $3.6 billion for an extended contract for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures production and support services. UPI
US Withdrawal From Afghanistan Focus of Talks to End War, Taliban says
The latest talks between the Taliban and a U.S. peace envoy on the war in Afghanistan focused on the withdrawal of NATO troops, the release of prisoners and halting attacks on civilians by pro-government forces, a Taliban spokesman said Wednesday. Military Times
Raytheon Awarded $141 Million For 1,260 Small Diameter Bomb II Glide Bombs
Raytheon was awarded a $141 million contract to produce 1,260 Small Diameter Bomb II glide bombs and associated equipment, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a December 18 release. The Defense Post
Inside the Nasty Battle to Stop Amazon From Winning the Pentagon’s Cloud Contract
A salacious dossier, a mystery client with an alias, dueling allegations of sexual misconduct. They’re all part of the dirty-tricks campaigns unleashed over the last 10 months as some of the U.S.’s technology giants battle to win a $10 billion cloud-computing contract that the Pentagon plans to award to a single company. Bloomberg
South Korea Seeks Smaller Military Drills With US Amid North Korea Talks
South Korea wants to hold smaller joint military drills with the United States next year, the defense ministry said on Thursday, scaling back larger exercises as part of an effort to boost nuclear diplomacy with North Korea. Reuters
One more thing…
Ho, Ho, Ho!
NORAD has been tracking Santa’s progress on Christmas Eves since 1955. Generations of children (and adults) have listened to the radio, called a telephone hotline for updates, followed television reports, and since 1997, followed NORAD Tracks Santa on the internet. This year, don’t wait for Christmas Eve to visit NORAD’s Christmas-themed website, which features new games daily, stories, history, videos, music, and—not incidentally—facts about the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD Tracks Santa