Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, Brian covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times. Over a decade as a defense journalist, he has reported from dozens of bases at home and abroad, including austere airstrips in Afghanistan, the cockpit of a B-52 over the South Pacific and the boom operator station of a KC-46. Before the military beat, Brian covered the Washington state legislature for the Associated Press.
The Air Force Research Laboratory recently awarded its largest-ever contract for space-related technology development, providing up to $1 billion to Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.
While defense spending in recent years has been increasing, the share of it going to research and development is not nearly enough to keep the defense industrial base healthy and, most importantly, allow companies to innovate, the head of Northrop Grumman says.
An Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Aviation SH-3 Sea King flew within 25 yards of the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship LHD 2 USS Essex as it transited the Gulf of Oman, a move the Pentagon criticized as dangerous and unprofessional.
