Direct talks between the U.S. Air Force and China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force have “dried up” over recent years and need to be restarted on Beijing’s end to avoid unsafe and unprofessional interactions in flight, a senior USAF leader said.

Additional centralized authority over the Pentagon’s broad Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept could slow development and make the process more risk averse, the Pentagon’s lead for the effort said in response to a new think-tank report that argued a central authority is needed.

A Pentagon investigation into the Aug. 29 drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 Afghan civilians calls for changes to how future airstrikes are handled but says those involved in conducting the strike did not violate any laws of war and simply made a mistake.

The U.S. Navy needs to increase the number of fighters it buys to maintain its current inventory size, as F-35s are coming online too slowly while F/A-18E/F production sunsets and the service has not backed up its talk on the prioritization of unmanned aerial vehicles, a new think tank report argues.

The White House has nominated Adm. Christopher Grady, the current commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, to serve as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after a delay that raised concerns about a gap in the position.

As the Pentagon’s No. 2 military officer prepares to retire next month following decades of service, including leading key strategic and space commands, Gen. John Hyten’s biggest regret is how vulnerable the nation’s defense satellite system is to attack.

The Pentagon is hoping there are no schedule delays or overruns if defense industry employees do not get COVID-19 vaccines and leave their jobs as the deadline under President Joe Biden’s executive order approaches.

U.S. officials are in advanced discussions with Pakistan for a permanent agreement to use that country’s air space for counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, and are still talking with other nearby nations such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for potential basing, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers.