UP FRONT.

China Took Its Hypersonic Cues from U.S.

* China is showing that it's in hypersonic weapons development for the "long haul," according to Mark Lewis, the director of IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute.

"If you see someone investing in universities, you know they're serious," he said at NDIA's Hypersonics Capabilities Conference. "It's not just the thing that they're investing in today. They're investing in it for decades to come."

Lewis said China has expanded its work in this field by mirroring research from the United States. "We did their homework for them, right? They built on our efforts, they built on our advancements," he said. "They read all of our papers. They took some of our concepts and carried them even further."

Army to Soldier On With Reforms

* Newly sworn in Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville indicated in his first message to the troops that he will continue the work of his predecessor, Gen. Mark Milley. "We are at a critical inflection point and we must aggressively pursue the Army's modernization efforts in order to maintain our competitive edge. Modernization must include developing the multi-domain operations concept at echelon, delivering the six modernization priorities, and implementing a 21st century talent management system," he said.

As for reform: "We cannot be an Industrial Age Army in the Information Age. We must transform all linear Industrial Age processes to be more effective, protect our resources and make better decisions. We must be the Army of tomorrow, today."

U.S. Military Losing Focus on IED Scourge

* Improvised explosive devices were the scourge of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, maiming and killing thousands of troops and civilians.

But years later, they're not receiving enough attention, said Army Col. Stephen Kavanaugh, deputy director of the NATO Counter-IED Centre of Excellence.

"The United States remains the leader and the litmus test amongst a lot of capabilities within NATO," he said at NDIA's Global EOD Symposium and Exhibition. "If the United States... [says] that it's a priority, it's going to maintain and be a priority within NATO."

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