Early Bird Brief: September 5, 2024

Welcome to the Early Bird Brief's LinkedIn Edition, a tightly edited round-up of today's most important military and defense stories. To get the full EBB, with dozens of stories, subscribe here .

Today's Top 5:

Expect a $833B defense budget for FY25, but not on time, lawmaker says

(Military Times) House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Rob Wittman’s comments at the Defense News Conference on Wednesday came just 26 days before a potential partial government shutdown if House and Senate leaders cannot pass a budget extension by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Read More

US Navy sailor detained in Venezuela, Pentagon says

(The Associated Press) A U.S. Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela after traveling there unauthorized on personal business, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The enlisted sailor was detained last week by Venezuelan law enforcement, two defense officials said. Read More

Air Force going ‘line by line’ to bring down nuclear missile costs

(Defense News) The U.S. Air Force “underestimated” the complexity of building a sprawling network of launch centers and other ground infrastructure for its next nuclear missile, which led to severe projected cost overruns, the service’s acquisition chief said Wednesday. Read More

How the Marine Corps is testing a ‘narco-boat’ for resupply efforts

(Marine Corps Times) The U.S. Marine Corps is testing out an autonomous system inspired by a “narco-boat” to bolster resupply efforts, as the service focuses on island hopping and projecting power from land to sea, according to the head of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. Read More

Space Development Agency’s first satellites demo key capabilities

(Defense News) Following a successful optical communications test this week, the Space Development Agency’s first batch of data-transport and missile-tracking satellites have met all of the agency’s demonstration targets, according to director Derek Tournear. Read More

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