The Air & Space Brief: Gen. CQ Brown on the Ukraine effect, China’s space jamming goals, DOD looks for longer-range weapons for Ukraine

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

The Ukraine effect: Russia’s invasion has prompted a ‘bit of a shift’ on Capitol Hill on the urgency for the U.S. military to modernize, and that could bolster the Air Force’s argument to Congress to allow it to divest legacy systems that won’t survive a future major powers fight, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told reporters Tuesday. Brown has been pushing through the Air Force’s ‘accelerate change or lose’ modernization plan since 2020. Last year during Congressional hearings, there were “a handful” of strong supporters for the modernization overhaul; now Brown perceives there’s more, based on  last weeks’ hearings with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley. “There’s a bit of a shift,” Brown said. 

China’s space jamming: China has become increasingly reliant on space to prevail in a major conflict with the United States, and is aggressively launching, acquiring, and obtaining through espionage the counter-space capabilities necessary to do so, according to a new Defense Intelligence Agency space security report released Tuesday. The 80-page report found that China “probably is developing jammers dedicated to targeting SAR, including aboard military reconnaissance platforms,” and has claimed that capturing or destroying satellites or sensors “would make it difficult for the U.S. and allied militaries to use precision-guided weapons.” 

Longer-range weapons for Ukraine: The Pentagon is considering Ukraine’s requests for more advanced weapons to “give them a little more range and distance,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks told reporters Tuesday. While the United States has provided billions of dollars in military aid and equipment to Ukraine—$1.7 billion since the start of the invasion alone, and $300 million announced in April—the Ukrainians have repeatedly asked for advanced weapons and air defense systems to repel Russian forces. A focus on getting Ukraine more long-range weapons could also take the pressure off the United States’ Javelin stockpiles, experts said. The U.S. has sent thousands of those anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. 

Sign up to get The Air & Space Brief every Tuesday from Tara Copp, Defense One’s Senior Pentagon Reporter. On April 14, 1970, the world held its breath as the three astronauts aboard Apollo 13 saw their mission and lives imperiled by a fuel cell explosion during their mission to the moon. Apollo 13 returned successfully five days later.

From Defense One

DIA Warns China's Space Tech Seeks to Block U.S. Radars, Jam Munitions // Tara Copp

Beijing's rapid acquisition of counter-space capabilities is most worrisome, says a new 80-page Defense Intelligence Agency report.

US Looking at New Weapons to Help Ukraine Expand Distance and Range // Patrick Tucker

New package of Ukraine aid coming soon.

Russian Scientists Say They Have A New System to Monitor Attacks on the Russian Internet // Patrick Tucker

Attacks on Russian web services have grown considerably since the start of the invasion.