Army Buys 9,000 Mini-Drones, Rethinks Ground Robots

Army Buys 9,000 Mini-Drones, Rethinks Ground Robots
Army Buys 9,000 Mini-Drones, Rethinks Ground Robots

Ground robots still lag drones, but the Army thinks both technologies are ready to field to frontline units, just at different levels.

SOCOM Pivots Toward Great Power Competition

SOCOM Pivots Toward Great Power Competition
SOCOM Pivots Toward Great Power Competition

The Pentagon’s new Special Ops leader is looking to the defense industry for help in meeting peer adversaries, but he also has a bone to pick.

Army Can Manage Both Mideast & Great Powers: Sec. Esper

Army Can Manage Both Mideast & Great Powers: Sec. Esper
Army Can Manage Both Mideast & Great Powers: Sec. Esper

The Army can cope with regional dangers like Iran even as it refocuses on Russia and China, the secretary said. In fact, he said, the Army’s controversial modernization program will help with both sets of threats.

Will Army Uncancel CH-47F Chinook Upgrade? Sec. Esper & Gen. McConville

Will Army Uncancel CH-47F Chinook Upgrade? Sec. Esper & Gen. McConville
Will Army Uncancel CH-47F Chinook Upgrade? Sec. Esper & Gen. McConville

The Army wants to keep its options open on upgrading its heaviest cargo helicopter. Boeing is worried the window of opportunity — and its factory — will close before the Army makes up its mind.

Esper: Chinook & JLTV ‘Designed For a Different Conflict’

Esper: Chinook & JLTV ‘Designed For a Different Conflict’
Esper: Chinook & JLTV ‘Designed For a Different Conflict’

The Army’s rebuilding to face China and Russia. That may leave programs designed over the past decade for COIN operations in the dust.

Army Vice-Chief Tapped For CSA,  First Time Since 1999

Army Vice-Chief Tapped For CSA,  First Time Since 1999
Army Vice-Chief Tapped For CSA, First Time Since 1999

No Army vice-chief has won the top job since Eric Shinseki. But Gen. McConville brings some unique credentials.

‘Thousands’ More Troops To US Border, But Colombia Deployment Unclear: Shanahan

‘Thousands’ More Troops To US Border, But Colombia Deployment Unclear: Shanahan
‘Thousands’ More Troops To US Border, But Colombia Deployment Unclear: Shanahan

Shanahan spent much of his first formal (albeit off-camera) Pentagon pressroom briefing as SecDef emphasizing continuity with his ousted predecessor, Gen. Jim Mattis. He made a point of praising Mattis’s National Defense Strategy, America’s allies, and even the press – not exactly favorites of President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump: Breaking With The Past (The Beltway Ain’t Happy)

Donald Trump: Breaking With The Past (The Beltway Ain’t Happy)
Donald Trump: Breaking With The Past (The Beltway Ain’t Happy)

President Trump is breaking with the past. He’s arguing that Washington must cut its losses, withdraw its forces, climb out of the Middle Eastern and Afghan money pits, and acknowledge that Seoul (with U.S. backing) won the war on the Korean Peninsula. Washington hates him for doing these things, but most Americans and future generations of Americans will love him for it.

‘Hold Fast, Alongside Our Allies’: Mattis Farewell Invokes Civil War

‘Hold Fast, Alongside Our Allies’: Mattis Farewell Invokes Civil War
‘Hold Fast, Alongside Our Allies’: Mattis Farewell Invokes Civil War

Mattis’s last message to the troops is three brief, carefully crafted paragraphs packed with historical references and political messages — which are implicitly critical of President Trump.

After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump

After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump
After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump

Whatever you think of Jim Mattis, his resignation and the outflow of officials that will follow create a major foreign policy problem for the United States. There is not one ally who is applauding Mattis’s departure — but depart he will, all the same. So what must President Trump and his next defense secretary do,…

Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars

Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars
Army Issues Lighter Armor For Bigger Wars

After a generation of guerrilla warfare, the Army is issuing new, lighter body armor that can be tailored for a wider range of missions, from plainclothes advisor roles to high-intensity combat. It’s part of a new push to improve infantry equipment, from rifle calibers to targeting optics to augmented reality training, coming from the Secretary…

F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate

F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate
F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate

WASHINGTON: The first-ever real-world strike by an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a big symbolic moment, as the Pentagon is well aware. It’s also a milestone towards making the F-35 a close-support aircraft to bomb targets threatening US ground troops, replacing the beloved A-10 Warthog. That’s why the military not only had a press release…

Mattis Supports Saudi War in Yemen, Rejects Privatizing Afghan Fight

Mattis Supports Saudi War in Yemen, Rejects Privatizing Afghan Fight
Mattis Supports Saudi War in Yemen, Rejects Privatizing Afghan Fight

“The training we have given them we know has paid off,” Mattis said of the Saudis. “We have had pilots in the air who recognize the danger of a specific mission and declined to drop even when they get the authority. We have seen staff procedures that put no-fire areas around areas where there’s hospitals or schools.”

Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor

Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor
Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor

This week the White House will issue its second Medal of Honor in recent months for extreme valor in the Battle for Robert’s Ridge, recognizing one of the most intense and influential firefights of the post-9/11 era. It will be awarded posthumously to Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman. Sometimes at night they huddled over a…