Sen. Jeff Flake filed two significant amendments to the 2019 NDAA Tuesday afternoon, attempting to strip one Littoral Combat Ship from the budget previously approved by the Senate, and restrict how much the Pentagon can spend on any military parade ordered by President Donald Trump.
By Paul McLearyFuture inevitability of quantum computers is a security problem today
‘Store Now, Decrypt Later’ attacks must be thwarted now with Zero Trust cybersecurity.
A slew of new civilian officials are settling in at the Pentagon, adding muscle to promises of change in how the military develops and buys technology, and how fast it can put that gear in the field.
By Paul McLeary
The White House only has a few objections to this year’s NDAA, and lets Congress know what they are as the Senate gears up for debate.
By Paul McLeary
With the two-year budget relief ending in 2020, and a new Space Force to fund, the good times might not last long.
By Paul McLeary
“I’ve never seen a Congress more on our side than it is today,” Griffin said. “In every meeting on the Hill, I am asked, ‘what relief do you need? What legal remedies do you require? What can we do to help you move faster?’ So if you are bound by legal impediments…I need bring those forward, because I am perfectly willing to go to Congress.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Of DoD’s proposed reforms, the biggest thing not included in the NDAA is the Space Development Agency, which would appear to strike a blow at the heart of DoD space acquisition: the Air Force-run Space and Missile Systems Center. SMC has long been criticized for its slow pace, bureaucratic stovepipes, and opacity, but praised for its technical brilliance.
By Colin Clark
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B: The right UAV for persistence, power, and performance
When assessing the state of the art of unmanned aerial systems, it’s critical to be very clear about what various aircraft can and can’t do – and could never do.
These single points of failure already limit military modernization and potentially could disrupt operations in a crisis. That’s especially true if production needed to ramp up urgently for a major war, a subject the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, has publicly angsted about.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
As big defense firms line up to pitch their fighter planes to India, the government of Narendra Modi is demanding they build in India, something that might be at odds with the Trumpian America First philosophy.
By Paul McLeary
CAPITOL HILL: Defense Secretary James Mattis fired off a new letter to House Armed Services leadership on Tuesday, asking lawmakers again to vote in favor of waivers for certain countries Washington is trying to sway into its orbit, but who continue to do business with Russian defense firms. The letter was delivered to HASC chairman Rep.…
By Paul McLeary
WASHINGTON The Navy says it is running short of critical submarine-detecting sonobuoys, thanks to stepped-up submarine activity by Russia in the Mediterranean and around Europe. As a result, the service has asked Congress to reprogram $20 million to buy more of the detection devices in an Omnibus funding package the Pentagon sent to Congress earlier…
By Paul McLeary
The two houses of Congress are yet to haggle over the final draft of the 2019 defense spending bill, but Turkey’s role is looking more precarious by the day.
By Paul McLeary
The two houses of Congress say they can get their differences squared away by the end of July, but there are some real differences to overcome, and a serious objection from the White House yet to come.
By Paul McLeary
As some Gulf and Asian allies consider big purchases of Russia arms, the Senate is set to uphold a law signed by Trump that would slap sanctions on them for cozying up with Moscow.
By Paul McLeary
Most coverage of the annual defense policy bill has focused on program changes: more ships (including six icebreakers!), no change to F-35’s, more RDT&E, no JSTARS recap, a growl (but no more) on ZTE, and many more (the bill and report run 2,500 pages). Less discussed, but of more import in the long run, are the…
By Mark Cancian