“The Guard and Reserves have existing space capabilities and talents that fit within the mission of the Space Force,” says Rep. Ken Calvert, ranking member on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
By Theresa HitchensAutonomy changes everything about combat engineering
Sending robotic vehicles into the breach saves lives by removing humans from one of the most dangerous places on the battlefield.
The Navy faces huge hurdles in trying to get to 355 ships – but a new shipbuilding plan due in coming weeks could change the whole calculus.
By Paul McLeary
In any post-New START nuclear buildup, Russia will “at least initially” have an edge over the US, says retired Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former head of Air Force Global Strike Command.
By Theresa HitchensThe HASC ‘Space Corps’ will be much cheaper than the Trump Administration’s plan for a Space Force, says CBO.
By Theresa Hitchens
Two top Democrats blasted the proposal, calling it a “blatant attempt to make a mockery of the federal budget process.”
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
Display screens are the eyes for maneuver forces needing to command and control
The Army is upfitting vehicles with big 24 or 32-inch displays that present multiple sources of data for a full operational picture.
Todd Harrison is one of the best defense budget folks around. Like many budget weenies (that’s the technical term) he really cares about how people come up with cost estimates because the underlying assumptions for them can lead in radically different directions. One example is the recent estimate on how much the next generation of…
By Todd Harrison
ANNAPOLIS: The President, Congress and the Navy now all want the fleet to grow from the current 278 ships to 355, but that will probably take until the 2050s, the Navy’s No. 2 civilian said Wednesday. “To quote the Rolling Stones, you can’t always get what you want,” said Thomas Dee, who has served for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: That the Navy should get more money to build up its surface and submarine fleets may be the message Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson sends in an upcoming article which he promises would be a “strong Navy voice” on budget issues. Richardson told an audience at the Brookings Institution Thursday that he would be…
By Colin Clark
President Trump and the US Navy want a 355-ship fleet, but even if you double shipbuilding budgets compared to historic levels, it can’t be done until 2032, at least 12 years after the end of Trump’s current term of office. That’s the estimate offered today by the Congressional Budget Office. At a more sustainable but…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
UPDATED with Marine Corps data CAPITOL HILL: More than 60 percent of Navy and Marine Corps strike fighters are out of service, the Navy confirmed today. While 62 percent of fighters are effectively grounded, the overall figure for all naval aircraft is 53 percent. [UPDATE: With some of the oldest fighter jets in service, Marine Corps…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The authoritative Congressional Research Service has just published a report asking the questions in the headline. It;’s a basic problem we’ve written about before. The Air Force faces a funding crunch in the next six years as the F-35 and the tanker programs ramp up. the B-3 (Long Range Strike Bomber) program gets rolling and the service…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Paying for the Navy’s new nuclear missile subs through a special fund with special authorities “could potentially save several hundred million dollars per submarine,” according to a recent Congressional Budget Office study. House Armed Services seapower subcommittee chairman Randy Forbes, father of the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund, is unsurprisingly touting this little noticed conclusion…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Unclassified information about DoD’s current plans will help the country weigh options such as sustaining the current defense budget, shifting priorities within it or significantly shrinking it by rethinking the U.S. approach to the world.
By Miranda Priebe