Jonathan Lehrfeld
Early Bird Brief Editor, Military Times
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
All Stories By Jonathan
US Air Force plans to bed down 25 F-35s in FY26, report says
The report also outlines the service’s procurement schedule to reach a fleet of nearly 1,800 of the aircraft by 2049.
Trump fires Joint Chiefs chairman, Navy head in DOD leadership purge
Trump plans to nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine as the nation’s next chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
Space Force bumps Astrion from Resilient GPS program
After initial design reviews with the firms competing for R-GPS, the service opted to “discontinue” the company's contract, an official told Defense News.
DARPA touts ‘formal methods’ for nipping cyber disasters in the bud
The agency is pushing for greater military adoption of a slew of resilient software tools it has developed in recent years.
DOD advisory committees must prove ‘warrior ethos’ in new directive
All active Defense Department advisory committees were given until Feb. 21 to send back a response justifying their existence.
South Korea, US conduct exercise with B-1B bomber, fighter jets
The exercise marks the countries' first joint air force drill since President Donald Trump began his second term.
NGAD engines pass key design reviews, prototype work underway
Work continues on the engines that might one day power the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, though the fate of NGAD itself is still undetermined.
L3Harris breaks ground on solid rocket motor production expansion
L3Harris' Aerojet Rocketdyne broke ground on a major expansion of solid rocket motor production facilities as the U.S. seeks to rebuild its stockpile.
Iron Dome unsuitable as missile shield for US or Europe, officials say
The name Iron Dome, and President Trump's use of it, has led to confusion, according to developer Rafael.
Australia, New Zealand monitoring 3 Chinese warships off Australia
Australian officials said the ships were “off the east coast of Australia” and their presence there was unusual.
