But while the skies are quiet today, US Pacific Air Forces are preparing for possible conflict: fielding new weapons like the F-35 stealth fighter and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), adding more space-operations planners to theater staffs, and reemphasizing that old-fashioned initiative so junior commanders can act when an enemy cuts off their communications with higher headquarters.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.A major overhaul is coming in software for missile warning
Space Systems Command’s FORGE program is the first, major missile-warning software modernization effort in 20 years.
While standing up a new Space Force would likely run between $11 billion and $21 billion per year, the vast majority of that money — 96 percent — is already being spent by the Pentagon to run space operations, according to an analysis released Monday by budget expert Todd Harrison at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
By Paul McLeary
From militarized atolls in the South China Sea to a growing Chinese navy looking increasingly aggressive, the head of the Indo-Pacom command lays out his needs and concerns.
By Paul McLeary
After waiting almost three decades to audit itself, the Pentagon still failed miserably in its first attempt. Despite top officials brushing the failure off an an expected learning experience, real questions remain over whether it can fix itself.
By Paul McLeary
“We failed the audit. We never expected to pass it,” Pat Shanahan said. But at least the Space Force will cost less than half of the Air Force’s estimate.
By Colin Clark
Two years have passed since Le Bourget hosted the last Euronaval show, two years during which the maritime world has become increasingly multipolar. For example, just in the submarine business, more than 40 countries are nowadays involved. In the meantime, Russia added 28 new ships to its fleet in 2018 alone, while China, with a…
By Murielle Delaporte
Rep. Adam Smith called into question the decades-old backbone of US nuclear policy, while calling for a “total redo” of the Nuclear Posture Review the Pentagon released earlier this year.
By Paul McLeary
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.
Despite increasing uncertainty over President Trump’s surprise proposal to cut $33 billion from defense, the Pentagon’s R&D chief says he’s confident more cash will be pumped into laser weapons and new space capabilities.
By Paul McLeary
“Long-range precision fires… would provide us the capability (to) either, for example, support the Air Force by suppressing enemy air defenses at hundreds upon hundreds of miles or support the Navy by engaging enemy surface ships at great distances as well,” said Army Secretary Mark Esper. But those examples are two distinctly different missions, each most relevant to a different theater of war.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The United States signed off on arms exports worth $192.3 billion over the past year, a full 13 percent increase from the previous year — even as the Trump administration keeps pushing hard to sell more weapons, more quickly, to more allies overseas.
By Paul McLeary
The 12-hull, $128 billion Columbia class program is the Navy’s cornerstone project not only for a new class of submarines, but also for the United States’ nuclear triad, which relies on a mix of air, land, and sea-launched nuclear missiles.
By Paul McLeary
INF proponents emphasize the risk of nuclear weapons. But, despite its name, the treaty bans a wide range of conventional weapons as well — and it’s non-nuclear, precision-guided missiles that have changed how war is actually waged.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
A Russian fighter plane gave a US surveillance plane an unexpectedly rough ride on Monday, part of an increase in tensions in the Black Sea.
By Paul McLeary
WASHINGTON: President Trump has just issued orders to cut the defense budget, and hasn’t tweeted for a while about his campaign pledge to build a bigger Navy, but the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee wants to get a 355-ship fleet back on the agenda. Jim Inhofe — who’s likely to retain the SASC chairmanship…
By Paul McLeary
