Task #155386
openEBB: American Airlines jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter at Reagan Airport near DC
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(The Associated Press) A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
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January 30, 2025
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Welcome to the Early Bird Brief, compiled by Anne-Marie Bissada. Please email news tips and suggestions to anne.bissada@mco.com .
Top 5
- American Airlines jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter at Reagan Airport near DC *
(The Associated Press) A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. Read More
- Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more *
(The Associated Press) The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace. Read More
- Air Force demoted two-star after affair, ‘voluminous’ sexting, IG says *
(Military Times) A now-retired Air Force major general was stripped of a star after an inspector general investigation found he engaged in multiple inappropriate sexting relationships – including with an enlisted airman and congressional staffers – and had an affair with a married woman. Read More
- Hegseth moves to ban race, sex consideration from military promotions *
(Military Times) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced plans for a new department task force focused on promoting “merit-based, color-blind policies” throughout the department, including potential changes to military promotions and job assignments. Read More
- All of DOD exempt from White House’s civilian hiring freeze *
(Military Times) Defense Department officials received a “blanket exemption” from the civilian hiring freeze ordered by President Donald Trump, according to memorandums from the Army and Air Force. Read More
Ukraine
- American fighters are dying in Ukraine in growing numbers. Bringing their bodies home is a complex task. *
(CNN) More than 20 Americans are missing in action on the front lines in Ukraine, with a spike in casualties over the past six months as foreigners fill urgent gaps in the country’s embattled defenses, according to a CNN investigation. Read More
- A Russian drone strikes an apartment building in Ukraine, killing at least 4 *
(The Associated Press) A Russian drone blasted a hole in an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine during a nighttime attack, killing at least four people and injuring nine others, officials said Thursday. Read More
- Ukraine discloses new method to defeat Russian fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones *
(The Warzone) A storied Ukrainian military drone unit said it has developed a way to counter an increasingly deadly weapon — Russian first-person view (FPV) drones that use fiber optic cables instead of radio waves to connect with their controllers, making them impervious to jamming and other forms of electronic warfare. Read More
Pentagon
- Hegseth strips Milley of security detail, orders investigation *
(Military Times) New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday stripped former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley of his security detail and ordered the acting inspector general to investigate whether the former Army leader could face criminal charges or a retroactive demotion for misconduct, potentially including undermining the chain of command. Read More
Congress & Politics
- While signing Laken Riley Act, Trump says he’ll send ‘worst criminal aliens’ to Guantanamo *
(The Associated Press) President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the Laken Riley Act into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Read More
- Employee groups, Democrats, experts warn feds not to accept ‘deferred resignation’ offer *
(Defense One) Federal-employee groups, Democratic lawmakers, and good-government experts are warning workers not to respond to the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” email, which officials said offered “buyouts” to nearly the entire federal workforce but whose terms more closely resemble extended paid leave before leaving government. Read More
- California water regulators deny Trump’s claim that US military ‘turned on the water’ in the state *
(The Associated Press) California water officials said this week there’s no truth to President Donald Trump’s assertion that the U.S. military has entered California and “turned on the water.” Read More
- AIDS groups applaud US aid resumption but chaos still rules *
(The Africa Report) Leaders of the global fight against HIV/AIDS let out a sigh of relief on Wednesday as the Donald Trump administration scaled back – at least temporarily – one of the most damaging policies of its first days in office. Read More
- Former US Sen. Bob Menendez gets 11 years in prison for taking bribes and acting as agent of Egypt *
(The Associated Press) Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt — crimes his lawyer said he’s been mocked for as “Gold Bar Bob.” Read More
- A mysterious meeting with Syrian president is at the center of spy chief’s nomination fight *
(The Associated Press) When Tulsi Gabbard returned to Washington from a clandestine sit-down with Syria’s then-President Bashar Assad eight years ago this month, she was greeted with a flurry of criticism. Read More
National Security
- Trump’s missile shield marks shift in homeland defense strategy *
(Defense News) President Donald Trump’s executive order to develop a next-generation homeland missile defense shield marks a shift in the United States’ long-standing homeland missile defense strategy, which has focused on threats from rogue nations like North Korea and Iran rather than from peer adversaries like China or Russia. Read More
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Army
- Amid tense presidential transition, Army chief focused on warfighting *
(Defense News) In response to multiple audience questions about recent presidential executive orders involving the military, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told a crowd of nearly 200 on Wednesday that he remains focused on preparing the service for future conflict. Read More
- Army's hurry-up force-design ideas are due in March, chief says *
(Defense One) The Army is getting ready to move out on its plan to cut force structure and reconfigure some units, a year after the changes were first announced. Read More
Navy
- Navy’s readiness push means longer maintenance for current ships *
(Military Times) The Navy’s new five-part plan to prepare new ships for deployment will require more maintenance time for the current fleet. Read More
- Navy sailor charged with negligent homicide in death of fellow sailor in court Thursday *
(Stars & Stripes) A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday for a Navy sailor charged with negligent homicide in the death of a fellow sailor, service officials said. Read More
- Navy, Marines want more energy storage to supply power hungry warships, bases *
(USNI News) The Department of Defense last month issued a small contract for a Navy project to develop and provide a modular energy storage system for its newest vessels including its all-electric DDG-1000 class of surface combatants. Read More
Air Force
- Air Force special operator killed in hit-and-run by ex-con near MacDill AFB *
(Stars & Stripes) An Air Force special operator was killed Sunday in a hit-and-run incident near MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., by a felon who struck at least three other pedestrians with his car, according to service and law enforcement officials. Read More
- Air Force pondering CCA drones that don’t require runways as officials plan next increment *
(DefenseScoop) The Air Force is conducting mission-level modeling for the next increment of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, and options being considered include drones that don’t require runways to be launched, according to a senior officer. Read More
- Air Force shuts down Athena programs for review in DEI purge *
(Air & Space Forces Magazine) The Air Force’s various “Athena” programs focused on women’s readiness issues at the Major Command level are shut down as the service conducts a review of programs linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as ordered by President Trump. Read More
- Victim killed in Tampa rampage was sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base *
(Tampa Bay Times) The man killed in Sunday night’s violent rampage by a suspect who investigators said intentionally struck four people with his car was a sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, authorities said. Read More
Space Force
- US Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office selects companies for tech accelerator *
(SpaceNews) The U.S. Space Force’s Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO) announced Jan. 29 it selected 10 companies to participate in its inaugural Prime Fusion Pilot Accelerator Program, an initiative aimed at fast-tracking technologies to protect military satellites from orbital threats. Read More
- Ready for 156 Space Coast launches this year, Space Force targets bottlenecks *
(The Orlando Sentinel) The Space Force is prepped to support an average of 13 launches of month from the Space Coast in 2025, but it’s a juggling act that has the world’s No. 1 spaceport running up against infrastructure roadblocks. Read More
Pay & Benefits
- Tricare to allow patients in Tricare West region to receive specialty care without preapproval *
(Military.com) The Defense Health Agency has suspended a requirement for Tricare Prime patients in the West Region to get pre-authorization from their Tricare contract manager for specialty care. Read More
Veterans
- VA benefits won’t be halted under White House funding freeze order *
(Military Times) Veterans benefits and support services will not be disrupted by the White House’s freeze of federal financial programs after administration officials quickly verified that department operations do not run afoul of new rules banning money for diversity and inclusion programming. Read More
Education & Transition
- Air Force’s new jungle survival course prepares troops for remote deployments *
(Stars & Stripes) A new Air Force course in jungle survival is preparing airmen to operate from remote airfields if a conflict forces their squadrons to disperse. Read More
- US Army Garrison Stuttgart force protection exercise gone awry has parents in uproar *
(Stars & Stripes) A force protection exercise by the local U.S. Army garrison caused major disruptions this week, as students were forced to remain on school buses for extended periods of time, military officials said Wednesday. Read More
Military Culture & History
- The Army is moving WWII-era barracks across a base to house visiting troops *
(Task & Purpose) Of the 100,000 troops that go to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin each year to train, hundreds of them might live in barracks built during World War II. Read More
- Inside San Quentin prison a Marine found a new kind of family *
(The War Horse) I exited the county bus in waist chains and leg irons with just enough room to shuffle my feet forward. My Achilles tendon flexed against the sharp metal with every step. Read More
Cyber, Space & Unmanned
- Cummings Aerospace releases its Hellhound for Army competition *
(Defense News) Huntsville, Alabama-based Cummings Aerospace is readying its Hellhound for submission to the U.S. Army’s loitering munition competition set to kick off later this year, having recently wrapped up flight tests of its turbo-jet powered, 3D-printed kamikaze drone. Read More
- Navy reminds sailors about generative AI policy as DeepSeek’s popularity explodes *
(Stars & Stripes) The U.S. Navy says internal correspondence about the use of generative AI has been misinterpreted as a specific ban against DeepSeek AI Assistant, a Chinese-developed program that recently sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Read More
- L3Harris wants to apply VAMPIRE anti-drone system to the maritime environment *
(DefenseScoop) Military contractor L3Harris is modifying one of its ground-based drone defense platforms for the maritime domain in an effort to thwart low-cost systems with other low-cost systems. Read More
- MQ-25A Stingray 2026 debut will unlock unmanned aviation for carrier strike group, say officials *
(USNI News) The Navy’s first unmanned tanker is set to come to an aircraft carrier in 2026, according to the commander of Naval Air Forces. Read More
- How DeepSeek changed the future of AI—and what that means for national security *
(Defense News) Days after China’s DeepSeek detailed an approach to generative AI that needs just a fraction of the computing power used to build prominent U.S. tools, the global conversation around AI and national security—from how the Pentagon buys and uses AI to how foreign powers might disrupt American life, including privacy—is changing. Read More
International
- Poland buys radar-homing missiles for its future F-35 fleet *
(Defense News) The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a deal to buy more than 200 AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) from the United States, becoming the region’s first ally to secure an advanced capability to destroy enemy radar emitters associated with air defense systems. Read More
- US, Algeria sign ‘first-of-its-kind’ agreement to expand military cooperation *
(DefenseScoop) The United States and Algeria formally pledged to deepen their militaries’ partnerships and pursue possible weapons exchanges and new joint asset deployments, multiple U.S. officials familiar with the deal told DefenseScoop this week. Read More
- Syria pushes Russia for compensation with talks on bases stalled *
(Bloomberg) Syria’s new government pressed Russia for compensation during its first talks with a Kremlin delegation since the ouster of President Bashar Assad. Read More
- Leader of rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad is named country’s interim president *
(The Associated Press) The Syrian factions that toppled President Bashar Assad last month named an Islamist former rebel leader as the country‘s interim president on Wednesday in a push to project a united front as they face the monumental task of rebuilding Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war. Read More
- Israel’s ban on UNRWA comes into effect despite backlash *
(Al Jazeera) A ban on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Israel has come into effect, impacting the organisation’s life-saving work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Read More
- Netherlands to buy Rheinmetall anti-drone cannons in $1.35 billion buy *
(Defense News) The Netherlands plans to buy 22 Skyranger mobile air-defense cannons from Germany’s Rheinmetall to protect ground troops against the increased threat of drones, in a project with a budget of €1.3 billion (US$1.35 billion), the Dutch Ministry of Defence said. Read More
- DR Congo president vows 'vigorous' fight to halt M23 rebel advance *
(BBC) Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory. Read More
- Olaf Scholz attacks rival’s ‘unforgivable mistake’ as AfD backs migration plan *
(The Guardian) The leader of Germany’s conservative opposition has been backed in his controversial plans to restrict migration by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, in what Olaf Scholz branded “an unforgivable mistake.” Read More
- Migrants describe flights aboard US military planes carrying out Trump’s swift deportations *
(The Associated Press) Margarita Raymundo walked down the ramp of the U.S. Air Force cargo jet and onto the tarmac of Guatemala City’s airport, barely three days after a U.S. Border Patrol agent had apprehended her, along with three other migrants. Read More
- EU unveils plan to 'reignite' innovation in response to pressure from China, Trump *
(France24) The EU outlined plans to simplify business regulations on Wednesday amid tariff threats from US President Donald Trump and concerns over China's ascent in the digital sector. Laws on corporate sustainability reporting and supply-chain standards will be streamlined to "reignite" EU innovation while meeting Green Deal goals, the bloc said. Read More
- Rohingya refugees’ boat runs aground in Indonesia’s Aceh province *
(Al Jazeera) More than 70 Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar have arrived at a tourist beach in Indonesia’s Aceh province. Read More
Video
- Trump announces order for military to prepare Guantanamo for illegal migrants *
(Military Times) Trump announces order for military to prepare Guantanamo for illegal migrants Read More
- F-35 crashes and explodes in Alaska; pilot ejects safely *
(Military Times) F-35 crashes and explodes in Alaska; pilot ejects safely Read More
- Service members file lawsuit challenging Trump’s trans troops order *
(Military Times) Service members file lawsuit challenging Trump’s trans troops order Read More
- Air Force triples funding for prototype sixth-gen fighter engine *
(Military Times) Air Force triples funding for prototype sixth-gen fighter engine Read More
- Texas deploys ‘Tactical Border Force’ to US southern border *
(Military Times) Texas deploys ‘Tactical Border Force’ to US southern border Read More
- US Marines install concertina wire on the southern border wall *
(Military Times) US Marines install concertina wire on the southern border wall Read More
Commentary & Analysis
- Trump 2.0 and the fracture of US cyber power *
(Military Times) China’s cyber targeting took a dangerous turn in 2024. No longer content with espionage, Beijing has started laying the foundation for destructive cyberattacks on American networks. And yet, the new Trump administration is renewing an effort to break apart its greatest asset for counterstriking: the “dual hat” arrangement between U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and the National Security Agency (NSA). Under this arrangement, one individual simultaneously serves as military cyber commander under the Defense Department and the nation’s top signals intelligence chief. Splitting this leadership structure would greatly damage U.S. cyber effectiveness. Read More
- Fighting ghosts: Passive integrated air defenses *
(War On The Rocks) An MQ-9 Reaper drifts ominously through the crisp, pre-dawn sky over Sanaa, Yemen. Its matte-gray fuselage blends seamlessly with the deepening hues of early morning, its whirring sensors casting an invisible gaze over bustling streets below. Read More
- Israel and the delusions of Germany’s ‘memory culture’ *
(The Guardian) After the second world war, Germany’s contrition and radical self-cleansing, under allied supervision, as the chief tormentor of European Jews ought to have been straightforward. No country, however, matches its convoluted journey from ground zero in 1945 to Gaza today. Read More
- The Trump administration vs the ‘axis of upheaval’? *
(War On The Rocks) Will the Trump administration try to break the so-called “axis of upheaval”? Read More
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