The Air & Space Brief: No invasion ‘red lines.’ Overhyped hypersonics? And a DIA ‘slow boil…’

Welcome to the Defense One Air and Space newsletter. Here are our top stories this week:  

“Red line” warnings: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that telling China and Russia what would trigger a U.S. military response—that is, defining a “red line”—“only exacerbates the problem” of China’s air drills over Taiwan’s ADIZ and Russia’s massing of forces along the Ukrainian border. Austin spoke in an exclusive interview with Defense One to kick off the annual summit, Outlook 2022. 

Over-hyped hypersonics? U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cautioned national security leaders and industry executives at the Reagan National Defense Forum this weekend against over-hyping recent Chinese weapons tests—but also called for deeper ties between the Pentagon and large and small technology companies to counter China.

DIA slow boil: The U.S. military is “in a slow-boil crisis” because of Russian and Chinese technology development and a lack of analyst assets to meet the intelligence needs, particularly in areas such hypersonics, computing, and AI, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, told Defense One on Monday. 

Further proof space is fashionable again: Japanese former fashion executive and billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will become the latest space tourist when he launches as scheduled Wednesday aboard a Soyuz capsule headed for the ISS. Maezawa is also set to repeat the journey in 2023 for SpaceX’s eventual moon launch. 

Sign up to get The Air & Space Brief every Tuesday from Tara Copp, Defense One’s Senior Pentagon Reporter. In December 1997, the joint European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft discovered “rivers” of hot plasma flowing under the sun’s surface, deepening our understanding of the connection between solar activity and disruptions of terrestrial communications systems. 

From Defense One

Austin Rejects ‘Red Lines’ for Taiwan, Ukraine // Tara Copp: As crises loom, defense secretary reveals a bit of his diplomacy-first thinking.

Austin Warns Against Over-Hyping Recent Chinese Weapons Tests // Marcus Weisgerber and Tara Copp: The defense secretary also pushed for deeper ties between the Pentagon and technology firms.

‘Slow-Boil Crisis’: DIA Needs More Capability to Track Russian, Chinese Tech Work // Patrick Tucker: It takes years to train intelligence analysts, but the Pentagon doesn’t have “that kind of time.”