WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS RUSSIAN SPACE THREAT IS EMERGING SATELLITE WEAPON

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House publicly confirmed on Thursday that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. U.S. officials are analyzing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the matter.

“First this is not an active capability that’s been deployed and though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety,” Kirby said. “We’re not talking about a weapon that can be used to used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth.’’

The White House confirmed its intelligence after a vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat.


“It’s obvious that Washington is trying to force Congress to vote on the aid bill by hook or by crook,” Peskov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. “Let’s see what ruse the White House will use.”

The capability is space based and would violate an international space treaty, to which more than 130 countries have signed onto, including Russia.

The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly on the concerns. Even as the White House sought to assure Americans, Kirby acknowledged it was a serious matter.

“I don’t want to minimize the potential here for disruption,” Kirby said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was scheduled to brief lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill on the Russian threat.

Rep Turner leaks information on "serious national security threats." UPDATE: POSSIBLE SPACE BASED NUKES?

Washington
CNN —

House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner has made information concerning a “serious national security threat” available to all members of Congress to review, the committee said on Wednesday.

While Turner and the White House remained vague on what the threat entailed, two sources and a US official tell CNN the threat is related to Russia. Multiple sources familiar with the intelligence characterized it as “very sensitive.”

One of the sources who has seen the intelligence confirmed that “it is, in fact, a highly concerning and destabilizing” Russian capability “that we were recently made aware of.” But House Speaker Mike Johnson later sought to soothe concerns about the unspecified threat, saying there is “no cause for alarm.”

“We just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel,” Johnson said. “We’re working on it and there’s no need for alarm.”

While the Wednesday warning was vague, the United States has long been concerned about Russian military capabilities and the country’s destabilizing influence in Europe and around the world as the war in Ukraine continues, with the prospects of additional US aid being sent to Kyiv shaky.

Earlier Wednesday, Turner sent his Congressional colleagues a letter saying the urgent matter is “with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability.”

Turner said in the letter to his congressional colleagues that the House Intelligence Committee voted on February 13 to make certain information available for lawmakers to review and says members have time to view this between Wednesday and Friday.

Turner is also calling on President Joe Biden to declassify “all information relating to this threat.”

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said he had personally reached out to set a meeting with top lawmakers on national security committees before Turner warned publicly of what he termed the “serious national security threat.”

Sullivan signaled some frustration with Turner for preempting that meeting, scheduled for Thursday with his public statement, saying he was “a bit surprised Turner came out publicly today”

“I reached out to see Turner,” Sullivan said. “Turner has gone out publicly. I’m going to go see Turner tomorrow. That’s where I want to leave things for today.”

He declined to elaborate on the nature of the threat.

“I’m not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time,” he said.

He emphasized the Biden administration has “gone further and in more creative, more strategic ways, dealt with the declassification of intelligence in the national interest of the United States than any administration in history.”

“So you definitely are not going to find an unwillingness to do that when it’s in our national security interest to do so,” he said

This story has been updated with additional information.

UPDATE: ABC NEWS 

The White House's national security adviser said Wednesday that he had already scheduled a classified meeting with congressional leadership before a top House Republican requested that President Joe Biden "declassify all information" that relates to "serious national security threat."

Two sources familiar with deliberations on Capitol Hill said the intelligence has to do with the Russians wanting to put a nuclear weapon into space.

This is not to drop a nuclear weapon onto Earth but rather to possibly use against satellites.

"It is very concerning and very sensitive," said one source, who called it "a big deal."

While not addressing the subject matter directly, multiple members of Congress have described the issue as serious -- but nothing that should cause public alarm.

Ultimate "Hush Kit" NASA, Lockheed Martin Reveal X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft

NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound.

“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

Melroy and other senior officials revealed the aircraft during a ceremony hosted by prime contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works at its Palmdale, California facility.

The X-59 is at the center of NASA’s Quesst mission, which focuses on providing data to help regulators reconsider rules that prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land. For 50 years, the U.S. and other nations have prohibited such flights because of the disturbance caused by loud, startling sonic booms on the communities below. The X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925 mph. Its design, shaping and technologies will allow the aircraft to achieve these speeds while generating a quieter sonic thump.

“It’s thrilling to consider the level of ambition behind Quesst and its potential benefits,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for aeronautics research at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this one-of-a-kind mission with regulators and with industry. By demonstrating the possibility of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we seek to open new commercial markets for U.S. companies and benefit travelers around the world.”

With rollout complete, the Quesst team will shift to its next steps in preparation for first flight: integrated systems testing, engine runs, and taxi testing for the X-59.

The aircraft is set to take off for the first time later this year, followed by its first quiet supersonic flight. The Quesst team will conduct several of the aircraft’s flight tests at Skunk Works before transferring it to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, which will serve as its base of operations.

“Across both teams, talented, dedicated, and passionate scientists, engineers, and production artisans have collaborated to develop and produce this aircraft,” said John Clark, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “We’re honored to be a part of this journey to shape the future of supersonic travel over land alongside NASA and our suppliers.”

Once NASA completes flight tests, the agency will fly the aircraft over several to-be-selected cities across the U.S., collecting input about the sound the X-59 generates and how people perceive it. NASA will provide that data to the Federal Aviation Administration and international regulators.

The X-59 is a unique experimental airplane, not a prototype – its technologies are meant to inform future generations of quiet supersonic aircraft.

At 99.7 feet long and 29.5 feet wide, the aircraft’s shape and the technological advancements it houses will make quiet supersonic flight possible. The X-59’s thin, tapered nose accounts for almost a third of its length and will break up the shock waves that would ordinarily result in a supersonic aircraft causing a sonic boom.

Due to this configuration, the cockpit is located almost halfway down the length of the aircraft – and does not have a forward-facing window. Instead, the Quesst team developed the eXternal Vision System, a series of high-resolution cameras feeding a 4K monitor in the cockpit.

The Quesst team also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside to help keep shockwaves from merging behind the aircraft and causing a sonic boom.

F-35 loses "stealth panel" over the Pacific

Interesting news, an F-35 losing a very expensive stealth panel over the Pacific. I couldn't help but notice the pilots of the F-35Cs (that landed at our local airport in November) were futzing with the panels. My video:

VIDEO (C) STEVE DOUGLASS 

On the morning of December 18, an F-35A Lightning II belonging to the US Air Force’s 356th Fighter Squadron touched down at the Japanese Kadena Air Base. In an unusual incident, it was discovered that a vital component of the stealth aircraft was missing when it landed.

After the incident came to light, a spokesperson of the Air Force said that the advanced stealth fighter that returned to its Okinawa base without a panel might have lost the part over the Pacific Ocean.

The spokesperson for the 18th Wing, which is the USAF’s hosting Wing at the Kadena air base, 1st Lt. Robert Dabbs, stated that the aircraft was missing a hexagonal side panel that measured 18 by 12 inches and weighed roughly two pounds. The panel is generally located on the aircraft’s right side, beneath the cockpit.

“Expectations are the panel departed the aircraft over water,” Dabbs was quoted saying. “We have not received reports of damage or injuries.”

The missing panel covers the external ports for electronic devices. Without the piece, the aircraft may no longer be able to disguise itself, thus eroding the aircraft’s stealth capabilities and making it an easy target for the enemy and its air defense systems.

READ MORE HERE 

Section 702 Bill battle brewing

TWO SURVEILLANCE BILLS are barreling their way through the US House of Representatives this week. Both claim to achieve roughly the same goal: Enact sweeping reforms and save a dying surveillance program beleaguered by “persistent and widespread” abuse.

Under this program, Section 702, the US government collects hundreds of millions of phone calls, emails, and text messages each year. An inestimable chunk belongs to American citizens, permanent residents, and others in the United States neither suspected nor accused of any crime.

While both bills would extend the program’s life, only one of them can credibly lay claim to the title of reform. Legislation introduced last week by Representative Andy Biggs in the House Judiciary Committee would require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain warrants before accessing the communications of Americans collected under Section 702. The second bill, introduced by the House Intelligence Committee, contains no equivalent protection.


The House Judiciary Committee’s Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act (PLEWSA, unfortunately) secures a glaring loophole in US law that helps police and intelligence agencies buy their way around the Fourth Amendment by paying US companies for information that they’d otherwise demand a warrant to disclose. The House Intelligence Committee’s bill—the FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act, or FRRA—does nothing to address this privacy threat.

What the FRRA does appear to do, despite its name, is explode the number of companies the US government may compel to cooperate with wiretaps under Section 702. That was the assessment on Friday of Marc Zwillinger, amicus curiae to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR). “These changes would vastly widen the scope of businesses, entities, and their affiliates who are eligible to be compelled to assist 702 surveillance,” Zwillinger wrote in an article with Steve Lane, a former Justice Department (DOJ) attorney.


Plus, it's been blatantly abused by the FBI to spy on American protesters and an unnamed US senator, among other elected officials.

Section 702 will expire at the end of the year unless it's renewed by US lawmakers.

A day after the Judiciary Committee advanced its proposal, on Thursday the House Intelligence Committee unanimously passed the FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2023 (HR 6611).

This proposal also renews Section 702 — but notably without a strict warrant requirement, similar to another bill to reauthorize Section 702 in the US Senate.

Instead, it seeks to end the FBI's abuse of the controversial snooping tool by limiting its powers to conduct Section 702 queries on people in the US. Specifically, it prohibits the FBI from conducting "evidence of a crime only" queries of information, and greatly reduces the number of agents authorized to approve legal queries.

It also requires the FBI to notify "appropriate congressional leadership" anytime it conducts some of these queries, including those that involve US elected officials and political candidates.

US Representative Mike Turner (R-OH), who chairs the House Intel Committee, blasted the rival Judiciary Committee bill in his opening remarks.

"Our bill is targeted to FBI abuses and I would have thought their bill would have also," Turner said. "However, their bill spends more time expanding the constitutional rights of foreigners who travel in and out of the US, it creates civil liability for telecommunications companies that work with our intelligence community voluntarily, and curiously it provides immunity from prosecution, for some horrific crimes if they are discovered under 702 foreign intelligence collection."

These crimes, according to Turner, include "child pornography, human trafficking, murder and even money laundering."

Both bills are expected to be voted on by the full House of Representatives as early as next week.
Guess which bill privacy advocates like best?

While we'd assume that the FBI prefers the House Intelligence Committee's plan to reform Section 702 of the two options approaching a House floor vote, civil liberties, and digital privacy advocates aren't fans.

Greg Nojeim, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) Security and Surveillance Project, called HR 6611 a "Trojan Horse" and warned it would actually expand surveillance powers.

"This Trojan Horse would take FISA 702 orders beyond the realm of communication services (like email and messaging providers) and pull in anyone who could access equipment on which communications might be sent or stored," Nojeim said on Friday.

"This could include data centers that merely rent out computer space, hotels and Airbnb owners, and even the local library or coffee shop. Including this provision would seriously impact American businesses far outside the communications and tech sector."




Two days before, CDT applauded the House Judiciary Committee vote to advance HR 6570.

The ACLU also supports the Judiciary Committee's proposal.

"With so much of our lives taking place online, it's more important than ever that we have the freedom to communicate without fear of government surveillance," said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU, in a statement.

"This bipartisan bill is Congress's best chance to ensure that Americans' Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizures are actually protected and to finally hold the government accountable for its constant abuse of Section 702," Hamadanchy continued.

And for those keeping a running tally: There's also the much broader Government Surveillance Reform Act that seeks to reform Section 702 introduced in both the House and the Senate last month, although that proposal — which also includes a warrant requirement for US persons queries — is still awaiting committee votes in both chambers. ®