Sarah Sicard, Author at Defense News https://development.defensenews.com Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News Sat, 08 Aug 2026 21:09:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/favicon-def.png?w=32 Sarah Sicard, Author at Defense News https://development.defensenews.com 32 32 255354031 Gen. Jim Slife sworn in as Air Force vice chief of staff https://development.defensenews.com/air/2024/01/02/gen-jim-slife-sworn-in-as-air-force-vice-chief-of-staff/ https://development.defensenews.com/air/2024/01/02/gen-jim-slife-sworn-in-as-air-force-vice-chief-of-staff/#respond Tue, 02 Jan 2024 23:00:41 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2024/01/02/gen-jim-slife-sworn-in-as-air-force-vice-chief-of-staff/ https://development.defensenews.com/air/2024/01/02/gen-jim-slife-sworn-in-as-air-force-vice-chief-of-staff/feed/ 0 32510 0 Gen. Jim Slife stepped into the role of Air Force vice chief of staff at a Dec. 29 ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, ending the service’s three-month stretch without Senate-confirmed officers in its top two leadership posts.

Slife’s assignment to the Air Force’s second-highest position is part of a wide-ranging shuffle of the branch’s top brass that began in the fall. His promotion to four-star had sat in limbo since September as part of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s lengthy blockade of over 400 military nominees that ended Dec. 19.

“Leaving things better than when you found it … is one of his hallmarks,” Gen. David Allvin, who became the service’s uniformed boss in November, said at Slife’s swearing-in event. “I could not be happier to be able to have this ceremony, put these stars on and get to work with Jim.”

The career special operations pilot replaces Allvin as vice chief of staff following a yearlong stint as deputy chief for operations.

As vice chief, Slife will help drive new policies to organize, train and equip 689,000 uniformed and civilian employees across the active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Together, he and Allvin will tackle a slew of modern military challenges ranging from lackluster recruiting, to sweeping deployment reforms, to a host of digital-age threats.

Slife will also join the Pentagon’s other No. 2 officers in shaping requirements for major acquisition programs as the Air Force tackles its own multibillion-dollar modernization plan.

“We stand at the precipice of a different strategic environment,” he said at the ceremony. “[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ] Brown called on us to accelerate change. [Air Force Secretary Frank] Kendall has empowered us to actually think about … what we need to have to be competitive for the next several decades.”

Slife’s Air Force career began at Auburn University, where he earned his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He went on to become a decorated pilot with more than 3,100 flight hours on the MH-53 Pave Low search-and-rescue helicopter and the MQ-1 Predator attack drone, among other platforms, according to his official biography.

He also led Air Force Special Operations Command for more than three years and served as the vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.

It’s the first time in more than a decade that neither the Air Force chief of staff or its vice chief hail from a fighter background.

While Slife’s proponents have praised him as a strategic thinker who looks to improve airpower overall rather than push parochial interests, others have criticized him for what they see as seeking change at the expense of military readiness.

“He’s not very patient. He’s not willing to look at things and shrug his shoulders,” one retired general said of Slife last May. “I think they’ll probably be, kind of, [Allvin] as the idea guy … and then Slife as the executor.”

]]> Ukraine invasion live updates: March 2 https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/02/live-updates-from-ukraine-one-week-into-the-invasion/ https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/02/live-updates-from-ukraine-one-week-into-the-invasion/#respond Wed, 02 Mar 2022 17:36:23 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2022/03/02/live-updates-from-ukraine-one-week-into-the-invasion/ https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/02/live-updates-from-ukraine-one-week-into-the-invasion/feed/ 0 47390 0 On Feb. 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into neighboring Ukraine under the guise of a “special military operation.” Sources on the ground in Ukraine are reporting live on Twitter, and Military Times is chronicling these accounts and will continue to provide live updates from trusted sources as the situation progresses. You can find previous updates since the start of the invasion here.

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Five countries voted against the resolution: Russia, Eritrea, North Korea, Syria and Belarus.

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]]> Live updates on the fifth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/02/28/live-updates-on-the-fifth-day-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/02/28/live-updates-on-the-fifth-day-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/#respond Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:07:44 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2022/02/28/live-updates-on-the-fifth-day-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://development.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/02/28/live-updates-on-the-fifth-day-of-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/feed/ 0 47551 0 On Feb. 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into neighboring Ukraine under the guise of a “special military operation.” Despite condemnation from the international community, Putin pushed forward vowing “consequences you have never seen” for nations that choose to interfere.

Events of the invasion have played out in real time on social media platforms. Sources on the ground in Ukraine are reporting live on Twitter. Military Times is chronicling these accounts and will continue to provide live updates throughout the weekend from trusted sources. You can find previous updates since the start of the invasion here.

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All men ages 18 to 60 have been ordered to remain in Ukraine to fight Russian troops.

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The Ukraine delegation calls for an inquiry into possible Russian war crimes.

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Casualties continue to rise as the fighting in Ukraine continues.

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Ukraine announced yesterday the establishment of the “International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine,” a fighting force open to foreign fighters looking to aid Ukraine in its battle against Russia. While multiple countries have voiced their support not just for the country but for its latest call to arms, some nations are now voicing their trepidation over the idea.

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At a Pentagon background briefing Monday, a senior U.S. official provided media with more information regarding the invasion in Ukraine.

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Wagner Group, an organization of Russian paramilitary mercenaries, were most recently noted in the AFRICOM AO.

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The U.S. and Albania requested a Sunday Security Council meeting to vote to convene the emergency General Assembly session, the first of its kind in 40 years and only the 11th such session in U.N. history, CBS News reported.

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With continued reports of Russian usage of cluster munitions, organizations like Amnesty International — who reported “a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast” on Friday — are speculating Russia could later be charged with committing war crimes.

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As Ukrainian and Russian delegates meet in Belarus, a White House official said Monday morning that they’re “watching the situation very carefully,” when asked about reports that Belarusian troops will join Russian forces. “To the extent Belarus continues to aid and abet Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, they will also face consequences.”

Reports on the attack of Kharkiv detail a brutal scene, with many civilian casualties and neighborhoods leveled by shelling.

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While this would be a more official entry of Belarus into the conflict, reports since the beginning of the invasion Wednesday night noted Russian missiles being launched from the Belarusian border and Belarusian forces mobilizing and assisting Russian troops in Ukraine, notably the Chernobyl area.

]]> US Marine Corps rebuffs report that Royal Marines ‘dominated’ in training exercise https://development.defensenews.com/training-sim/2021/11/04/us-marine-corps-rebuffs-report-that-royal-marines-dominated-in-training-exercise/ https://development.defensenews.com/training-sim/2021/11/04/us-marine-corps-rebuffs-report-that-royal-marines-dominated-in-training-exercise/#respond Thu, 04 Nov 2021 19:06:51 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2021/11/04/us-marine-corps-rebuffs-report-that-royal-marines-dominated-in-training-exercise/ https://development.defensenews.com/training-sim/2021/11/04/us-marine-corps-rebuffs-report-that-royal-marines-dominated-in-training-exercise/feed/ 0 28850 0 During a Marine Corps exercise at Twentynine Palms, the Daily Telegraph reported that the U.S. Marine Corps asked for a “reset” after Brits defeated them halfway through a five-day simulated battle at Twentynine Palms.

The publication wrote that the Royal Marines’ 40 Commando “dominated” American troops and forced them into a humiliating surrender halfway through the exercise.

According to a U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson, however, this is inaccurate.

“ ‘Winners’ are never determined,” Capt. Zachary Colvin, the communications and strategy director with the Marine Air Ground Combat Center, told Military Times in a statement. “This exercise does not provide an opportunity to ‘surrender,’ ‘keep score,’ or ‘reset.’ The objective of the exercise is to heighten unit performance and increase readiness.”

During the training, Marines from the 2nd battalion 5th and 7th Marines participated along with British, Canadian, Dutch and United Arab Emirates forces, according to Colvin.

“During this exercise, a U.S. Marine Regiment augmented with subordinate units formed an adversary force to actively challenge and test a peer regiment of U.S. Marines,” Colvin added. “This training opportunity increased warfighting readiness and interoperability of the U.S. Marine Corps with multinational forces. Exercise scenarios are adjusted as needed to assist commanders in meeting training objectives.”

For the Royal Marines the five-day exercise that took place from Oct. 25 to 30 marked a success for its newly established Littoral Response Group, which U.K. defence officials hope will prove to be an agile and adaptive force around which its future commando force will be built.

“Our success has proved the new commando force concept is more lethal and sophisticated than ever before and I am immensely proud of every member of the LRG and their vital contributions,” Lt. Col. Andy Dow, commanding officer of 40 Commando, told the Daily Telegraph.

Rob Lee, a PhD candidate at the Department of War Studies at Kings College, tweeted that U.K. publications that propagated the story undermine the value of these types of training events.

“These kind of garbage tabloid articles (no one surrendered and 40 Commando was teamed with US Marine units) are the kind of thing that threaten future US-UK exercises, which are beneficial for both sides,” he wrote. “They also mistake the purpose of these exercises.”

Colvin noted that the exercise was one of many allied simulations that U.S. Marines run.

“The exercise was conducted in a free-play environment designed to stress commanders, derive learning points and allow participants to improve their ability to conduct offensive and defensive operations, and adapt to changes on the battlefield,” he added.

]]> Jet packs are on their way to a battlefield near you https://development.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2021/03/16/jet-packs-are-on-their-way-to-a-battlefield-near-you/ https://development.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2021/03/16/jet-packs-are-on-their-way-to-a-battlefield-near-you/#respond Tue, 16 Mar 2021 13:21:50 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2021/03/16/jet-packs-are-on-their-way-to-a-battlefield-near-you/ https://development.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2021/03/16/jet-packs-are-on-their-way-to-a-battlefield-near-you/feed/ 0 28243 0 It’s 2021, and although I thought by now there would be flying cars, cities on the moon and the ability to teleport from my bed to my couch instead of walking, I guess I’ll settle for a jet pack, or as DARPA is calling it, a “Portable Personal Air Mobility System.”

According to a solicitation first reported by Task & Purpose, “These platforms could serve a variety of military missions, enabling cost effective mission utility and agility in areas such as personnel logistics [and] urban augmented combat.”

This isn’t the first time in recent memory that the U.S. military has considered affixing a rocket or wings to the backs of service members and shooting them into the atmosphere. In 2019, Special Operations Command sought to develop “individual lift devices” and found a partner to make it happen.

California-based JetPack Aviation is working on an ILD turbine engine system that is expected to carry special operators 200 miles an hour, for up to 10 minutes, so they can fly from base to battle, hair whipping and lips flapping in the wind. Exhilarating.

Luckily, the DARPA request also gives me some hope that a system for civilians could one day follow, particularly this line: “When deployed, the platform will be designed with simplified operations in mind, so that someone unfamiliar with the platform could be educated in its safe and effective use with relatively little training.”

Is there anything more American than a bunch of untrained hooligans attempting to commute via sky to their offices post-COVID?

]]> Army leaders to headline 18th annual C4ISRNET Conference https://development.defensenews.com/newsletters/daily-news-roundup/2019/05/14/army-leaders-to-headline-18th-annual-c4isrnet-conference-2/ https://development.defensenews.com/newsletters/daily-news-roundup/2019/05/14/army-leaders-to-headline-18th-annual-c4isrnet-conference-2/#respond Tue, 14 May 2019 18:03:52 +0000 https://dev.sightlinemg.com/defensenews/uncategorized/2019/05/14/army-leaders-to-headline-18th-annual-c4isrnet-conference-2/ https://development.defensenews.com/newsletters/daily-news-roundup/2019/05/14/army-leaders-to-headline-18th-annual-c4isrnet-conference-2/feed/ 0 25842 0 William Conley, director of electronic warfare with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, will headline the 2019 C4ISRNET Conference as a keynote speaker.

The event will be held June 6 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View in Arlington, Virginia.

In addition, a keynote panel, one of six sessions throughout the day, will touch on best practices in the areas of integrated communications and information exchange in hostile environments. This panel will include Army brass such as Joseph Welch, who serves as the deputy at Program Executive Officer for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical Command, Control, Communications Tactical (PEO C3T) and Col. Rob Ryan, deputy director of the Army’s network cross functional team.

The panel will lead into a full day of discussion on the latest tactics and technology in mobility, command and control, communications, cyber, unmanned systems and sensors, networks and geospatial intelligence.

Another focus area of interest for military and industry leadership will be battlefield denial of service—namely, what happens if an adversary cuts off spectrum for effective communications. This panel will be led by Army Col. Nicholas Kioutas, who is responsible for managing positioning, navigation and timing with PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensor (IEW&S). Michael Zatman, assistant director for fully networked command, control and communications in the Pentagon’s Office of Research and Engineering, will join him.

Army Col. Troy Crosby, a project manager at PEO C3T, and will also appear on a panel, speaking on the integrated battlefield. Centered on future wars, this panel will delve into how military leaders can seamlessly communicate across air, land and sea through management of space and cyber capabilities.

An additional panel will focus on data or information-processing, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. Helmed by Rob Monto, lead of the emerging technologies office, which is part of the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, this discussion seeks to answer questions about how military and industry leaders can parse data to make rapid decisions, while mitigating the ethical and strategic implications that come with any new technology.

The conference, which extends through the late afternoon, will also feature panels on rapid innovation and the space renaissance. To register, visit c4isrconf.com.

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