BAE Systems’ LR-PGK: The Superior Anti-Jam Solution
Going the distance to defeat emerging jam threats.
“DIU is punching above its weight and having an impact beyond its size,” acquisition guru Bill Greenwalt says. “Still, that will not be enough…. Unless the rest of the Department and Congress learns these lessons, we will continue to fall behind China.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Navy is “in a good place,” CNO Adm. Mike Gilday says, “as we present that analysis to senior decision makers, and we really re-litigate, if you will, the ‘22 budget submit — which was very heavily in the Navy’s favor with respect to shipbuilding.”
By Paul McLeary
Hell hath no fury like a lawmaker betrayed. This week, the House will take up the crucial National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress’ primary instrument to oversee the U.S. military. Though the NDAA has passed for 58 straight years, partisan political choices threaten to end that streak. The Democratic House passed out of…
By Rick Berger
Contrary to the president’s rhetoric, there is no forthcoming Trump buildup, and the new strategy emphasizing China and Russia is becoming ever more elusive and out of touch with fiscal reality. It is simply unaffordable at this point in time.
By Mackenzie Eaglen
The defense budget may be caught between doves on the left and budget hawks on the right, but so far Army Secretary Mark Esper isn’t ceding any ground.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: After Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took the extraordinary step today of appearing at the White House to praise the just-announced Senate budget deal, the first thought that came to mind was — can this pass the House? Mattis was asked if he knew whether the House Republican leadership was enthusiastic about Senate deal. He…
By Colin Clark
Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
WASHINGTON: “When does that moment come when their program matures and goes across those redlines? At the pace we’re on, it’s just a matter of time. If something doesn’t change, it will be inevitable these redlines are met — if there’s another test of a warhead.” Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared to document one of the redlines he…
By Colin Clark
UPDATED: Harrison says Senate Dems are key CAPITOL HILL: The House Armed Services Committee will propose $631.5 billion in funding for defense, HASC staff told reporters this afternoon. That is about 1.4 percent less than the $640 billion HASC chairman Mac Thornberry and his Senate counterpart John McCain campaigned for, but it’s also 4.7 percent above…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: “Trump is going to explode the debt,” GOP pundit Mackenzie Eaglen said. “What you’re going to see is a debt bomb.” While the new president wants to grow the military, rebuild infrastructure, and cut taxes, Eaglen said, his plan to fund all that that through steep domestic spending cuts “is complete fantasy” that will…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: A key part of Sen. John McCain’s alternative defense budget proposal is the rapid purchase of 300 “low-cost, light-attack fighters that would require minimal work to develop.” I asked Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein today what he thought of McCain’s proposal, contained in Restoring American Power. “Great idea,” he said, pointing…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: If you were hoping, after a bitterly contentious presidential campaign, that at least we’d have consensus on national defense spending…tough luck. Instead, teams from five leading thinktanks — spanning the political spectrum but all using the same budget simulator — came up with a more than $2 trillion spread of options. They debated their plans…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Marine Corps aviation is on a “glide slope” to reaching acceptable readiness levels by 2020, the deputy commandant for aviation said Friday. But today the only units fully ready — with enough spare parts, trained maintainers and air crews, and adequate monthly flight hours for pilots — are two squadrons flying brand new Lockheed Martin F-35B…
By Richard Whittle
UPDATED to clarify WASHINGTON: Senate authorizers will probably go along with the House in adding $18 billion to the base defense budget, setting up a veto fight with the White House. After all, it was Senate Armed Services chairman John McCain himself who sponsored the $18 billion plus-up in the Senate, where it was narrowly defeated. Today,…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Despite reforms, the Pentagon and Congress have failed to break out of a Cold War, central-planning model that’s stifled innovation.
By Bill Greenwalt