Colin Clark

Colin Clark

Contributing Editor (At Large)

Colin Clark, the founding editor of Breaking Defense, is now our Indo-Pacific Bureau Chief, based in Sydney, Australia. In addition to his foundational efforts at Breaking Defense, Colin also started DoDBuzz.com, the world’s first all-online defense news website. He’s covered Congress, intelligence and regulatory affairs for Space News; founded and edited the Washington Aerospace Briefing, a newsletter for the space industry; covered national security issues for Congressional Quarterly; and was editor of Defense News. Colin is an avid fisherman, grill genius and wine drinker, all of which are only part of the reason he relishes the opportunity to live in Australia. cclark@breakingmedia.com

Stories by Colin Clark

‘Everything We Can Do For Our French Counterparts We Are Doing:’ NGA Head

‘Everything We Can Do For Our French Counterparts We Are Doing:’ NGA Head
‘Everything We Can Do For Our French Counterparts We Are Doing:’ NGA Head

NGA HEADQUARTERS: If you want further proof of the damage that Edward Snowden has wrought on American intelligence capabilities, look at the relative ease with which the Paris terrorists planned, traveled and killed in Europe. “The adversary has gone and is going to school against our capabilities,” NGA Director Robert Cardillo told reporters here today.…

‘Vive La France,’ Says SecDef Carter; Hollande Pledges ‘Pitiless War’ On Terrorists

‘Vive La France,’ Says SecDef Carter; Hollande Pledges ‘Pitiless War’ On Terrorists
‘Vive La France,’ Says SecDef Carter; Hollande Pledges ‘Pitiless War’ On Terrorists

WASHINGTON: The cowards who killed at least 129 unarmed innocents in Paris this evening have provoked the French nation, perhaps beyond endurance. America’s Defense Secretary Ash Carter called the killings “an assault on our common human dignity.” French President Francois Hollande, who appeared grave and saddened as he first spoke of the attacks, later went to…

Sell US Weapons Faster Or Allies Will Buy Chinese: LaPlante

Sell US Weapons Faster Or Allies Will Buy Chinese: LaPlante
Sell US Weapons Faster Or Allies Will Buy Chinese: LaPlante

CAPITOL HILL: The head of Air Force acquisition, just back from the Dubai Air Show, said the United States must act fast to make it easier and quicker for allies to buy US weapons through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. If we don’t, Bill LaPLante said at an event put by on the Lexington Institute,…

Veterans Day. Thank You All.

Veterans Day. Thank You All.
Veterans Day. Thank You All.

https://youtu.be/yDr–EvY90Q We’ll leave the speeches and ceremonies to others. As someone who works with people in the military every day, unlike the great majority of Americans, I have some idea of the decency, commitment and, yes, passion, with which those who wear the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard pursue…

Gen. Carlisle Says A-10 Retirement May Slide 2 To 3 Years

Gen. Carlisle Says A-10 Retirement May Slide 2 To 3 Years
Gen. Carlisle Says A-10 Retirement May Slide 2 To 3 Years

WASHINGTON: Sen. Kelly Ayotte, take note. The head of Air Combat Command told reporters this morning that the A-10 Warthog’s retirement will probably slide two to three years thanks to the increased threats faced by the Air Force. Gen. Hawk Carlisle, speaking at a Defense Writers Group breakfast, made it clear the decision hasn’t been…

‘First, Do No Harm:’ SASC Begins Goldwater-Nichols Review

‘First, Do No Harm:’ SASC Begins Goldwater-Nichols Review
‘First, Do No Harm:’ SASC Begins Goldwater-Nichols Review

WASHINGTON: If there’s one congressional topic that makes the senior leaders of the US military really nervous, it’s when lawmakers start talking about reapportioning power and authorities among those same top leaders. Both Armed Services committee chairmen, Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mac Thornberry, have voiced concerns about how well the last major reforms, known as…

Tanker Fiasco Again? Boeing-Lockheed Protest Northrop’s LRSB Win

Tanker Fiasco Again? Boeing-Lockheed Protest Northrop’s LRSB Win
Tanker Fiasco Again? Boeing-Lockheed Protest Northrop’s LRSB Win

UPDATED: Adds Air Force, Aboulafia, Callan, And Northrop Grumman Comments WASHINGTON: To no one’s surprise, the Boeing-Lockheed team has filed a formal protest against the award to Northrop Grumman of the $80 billion Long Range Strike Bomber contract. Industry sources had been talking of strategies to prosecute or defend against a protest for at least…

Eye Candy: First F-35A Gun Test In Flight

Eye Candy: First F-35A Gun Test In Flight
Eye Candy: First F-35A Gun Test In Flight

Here’s the press release from the F-35 Joint Program Office about the first firing of the F-35A gun in flight. I’m recovering from eye surgery and can’t handle looking at my computer for very long. Apologies. “The F-35A Lightning II completed the first three airborne gunfire bursts from its internal Gun Airborne Unit (GAU)-22/A 25mm…

Northrop Garners Huge Win With New Bomber; LRSB $564M Per Plane

Northrop Garners Huge Win With New Bomber; LRSB $564M Per Plane
Northrop Garners Huge Win With New Bomber; LRSB $564M Per Plane

UPDATED with details from Pentagon press conference; corrected EMD contract value PENTAGON: Affirming its status as the nation’s builder of stealthy bombers, Northrop Grumman today won what will probably be the biggest defense contract of the decade, the $80 billion, $564 million-per-plane Long-Range Strike Bomber program, which will enter service circa 2025. “The LRSB will allow the…

Obama NDAA Veto Strengthens White House In Budget Talks

Obama NDAA Veto Strengthens White House In Budget Talks
Obama NDAA Veto Strengthens White House In Budget Talks

WASHINGTON: The most intriguing assessment of President Obama’s veto yesterday of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act comes from a Republican. While Mackenzie Eaglen, defense expert at the American Enterprise Institute, clearly doesn’t think much of Obama’s move — citing “his intransigence at anything less than is being demanded of him” — she also concludes that he’s…

DepSecDef Work On The Future Of DoD-IC Space Cooperation

DepSecDef Work On The Future Of DoD-IC Space Cooperation
DepSecDef Work On The Future Of DoD-IC Space Cooperation

PENTAGON: It poses one of the thorniest problems for the United States national security establishment: how to get the nation’s spy agencies, especially the secretive National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the military to work together when someone attacks US spy and military satellites. To offer some clarity on the way ahead for this relationship, Deputy Defense Secretary…

LRSB Contract Coming ‘Very, Very Soon’:  LaPlante

LRSB Contract Coming ‘Very, Very Soon’:  LaPlante
LRSB Contract Coming ‘Very, Very Soon’: LaPlante

PENTAGON: The head of Air Force acquisition, Cubs fan Bill Laplante, told reporters today that the very, very eagerly awaited contract for the initial 21 of 100 Long Range Strike Bombers (LRSB) would be issued “very, very soon.” “We are really, really close to the award of the bomber,” he said. How close, thousands of…

As NDAA Poised For Veto, Ryan Challenges Intransigents

As NDAA Poised For Veto, Ryan Challenges Intransigents
As NDAA Poised For Veto, Ryan Challenges Intransigents

WASHINGTON: What will happen if President Obama vetoes the National Defense Authorization Act? No one really knows. We’ve pinged a number of experienced staff and other experts and no one really knows the likely consequences of a veto. It looks likely that troops will get paid, weapons bought, and operations paid for, albeit at lower…

LRSB: When Will The Bomber Drop?

LRSB: When Will The Bomber Drop?
LRSB: When Will The Bomber Drop?

WASHINGTON: Where, oh, where has the Long Range Strike Bomber gone? Where, oh, where can it be? The Pentagon has scheduled a briefing with Air Force acquisition head Bill LaPlante for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean the bomber contract is going to be announced any time soon. Soon is the operative word. Air Force Secretary Deborah…

Page 63 of 1211...596061626364656667...121