In a unanimous bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security has passed H.R. 2899 -- which is called the “Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Act of 2015” -- a bill that was introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul, who said he believes the U.S. faces mounting threats of violent extremism and that the government is doing too little to counter. Read More »

Citizens in the United States are sharply divided on foreign policy issues among Republicans, Democrats and independent voters, according to new survey data from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which has released data that shows a historic level of disagreement over foreign policy, even on issues that held bipartisan support just a decade ago. Read More »

The U.N.'s Conference on Disarmament is the only multilateral disarmament negotiating forum for the international community, while the General Assembly's First Committee is focused on seeking solutions to issues of disarmament and global threats to peace. The Chairman-designate of the First Committee wants to reinforce the connection between the U.N.'s disarmament goals. Read More »

The system developed by Northrop Grumman has produced five generations of directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) products, which have protected more than 1,200 U.S. and allied aircraft against sophisticated infrared guided missile threats. The system has amassed more than a million combat hours without allowing a single strike on a DIRCM-protected aircraft. Read More »

The 81st Civil Support Team of the North Dakota National Guard’s got together with local emergency response agencies last week to conduct a short-notice emergency response exercise. Read More »

Defense contractor Cubic Global Defense participated in the Talisman Sabre exercise, a biennial military exercise that trains Australian and U.S. forces. The exercise is intended to improve combat readiness and interoperability between the two nations, offering the opportunity to rehearse a variety of mission profiles from conventional conflict to humanitarian assistance. Read More »

The U.K.-based threat detection and screening technology manufacturer Smiths Detection has been contracted by the Spanish Airport Operator -- also known as Aena -- to equip 24 airports with the new IONSCAN 600 passenger screening explosives detector; the company will be providing three hundred of the recently launched screening systems, manufactured in Watford, U.K. Read More »

An Army veteran -- and the father of a current U.S. military member -- urged natural gas industry leaders recently to continue their efforts to free the nation from the entanglements of imported energy, not only for commercial gain, but also to save American lives. Read More »

U.S. soldiers soon may have a new tool to direct close air support, as DARPA recently completed successful tests on its Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) prototype system on an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. Read More »

Wisconsin is set to host cyber security experts at its third annual Cyber Security Summit at Marquette University in Milwaukee on Oct. 28; last year, more than three thousand citizens of Wisconsin were the victims of cyber crime, and law enforcement officials say that number continues to grow, including businesses and government agencies that have fallen prey to cyber theft. Read More »

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is moving toward full operational capability (FOC) and improving the quality of care for U.S. soldiers; James Rodriguez, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Warrior Care Policy (WCP), said that this is more than just plans and policy changes, having provided better non-medical care and better access to medical programs during the transition. Read More »

Global engineering company Alion Science and Technology recently was awarded a $49 million contract by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division to provide  engineering, fabrication and testing of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) components and systems that have met Technology Readiness Level 6 maturity. Read More »

Coalition military forces continue to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq, with combined military efforts that have conducted 20 airstrikes over the past week, using fighter, bomber and remotely piloted aircraft as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a mission to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria and the wider international community. Read More »

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has added his name to a growing list of senators seeking to preserve the special consumer protections afforded to U.S. military families. Durbin joins Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in calling on U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to intensify efforts on behalf of U.S. service members. Read More »

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s embassy recently released a statement on the nation’s fight against terrorism as part of an effort to deflect accusations that the kingdom is one of the main funding sources for violent Islamist terrorism activities. Read More »

The Pew Charitable Trusts (PCT) will host top officials from the Department of Defense (DOD) on Monday for a discussion on energy concerns relating to national security. Read More »

Cubic Transportation Systems officials on Thursday announced that Bruce Were has been hired as general manager of the company’s operations in Victoria, Australia. “Were brings to the job more than 20 years of international experience in the delivery of automated fare collection systems for transport,” Tom Walker, Cubic’s managing director in Australia, said. Read More »

International defense contractor BAE Systems has been awarded a $45 million contract modification from the U.S. Army to make body armor for soldiers.The contract is for a low-rate, initial production of 90,000 plates of lightweight torso and side body armor. The contract modification was awarded under the Soldier Protection System Vital Torso Protection program. Read More »

Northrop Grumman Corp. said late last week that it has been chosen by the U.S. Army to develop an Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) Long-Range Radar system. The company will develop a synthetic aperture radar (SAR)/ground moving target indicator (GMTI) system for the ARL-E DHC-8. Read More »

Northrop Grumman said late last week that it has been awarded a contract from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate to develop advanced biometric technology to enhance security on mobile devices while nearly eliminating the need for passwords. Read More »