2021 Budget Spells The End of US Force Expansion

2021 Budget Spells The End of US Force Expansion
2021 Budget Spells The End of US Force Expansion

A smaller 2021 budget and greater funding demands for nuclear weapons development mean the end of plans by the four services to expand their numbers. Rising budgets have allowed the Pentagon to maintain old planes, ships, armored vehicles and other weapons, grow the force and invest in new weapons. The reduced topline in fiscal 2021…

Trump Strips $3.8B For Border Wall From F-35s, Navy Ships, National Guard

Trump Strips $3.8B For Border Wall From F-35s, Navy Ships, National Guard
Trump Strips $3.8B For Border Wall From F-35s, Navy Ships, National Guard

Rep. Thornberry, the senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said the White House move to repurpose military procurement money “is in violation of the separation of powers within the Constitution… and I believe that it requires Congress to take action.”

F-35 Readiness Rates Soar, From 55% To 73%; Price Drops 12.8%

F-35 Readiness Rates Soar, From 55% To 73%; Price Drops 12.8%
F-35 Readiness Rates Soar, From 55% To 73%; Price Drops 12.8%

The readiness rates were revealed this morning during a press briefing at the Pentagon to announce final agreement on the largest procurement in American history: the $34 billion purchase of 478 F-35s in Lots 12-14.

UK, US Enter New Era: ‘Unprecedented’ Carrier-Sharing Plan

UK, US Enter New Era: ‘Unprecedented’ Carrier-Sharing Plan
UK, US Enter New Era: ‘Unprecedented’ Carrier-Sharing Plan

“We’re not talking about interoperability anymore, we’re talking about proper integration to a level we’ve never seen,” Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Jerry Kyd told me on the deck of the UK’s new carrier. 

Marines Eye Unmanned Systems To Keep F-35s Flying From Remote Bases

Marines Eye Unmanned Systems To Keep F-35s Flying From Remote Bases
Marines Eye Unmanned Systems To Keep F-35s Flying From Remote Bases

The Navy and Marine Corps are trying to buy new autonomous and unmanned systems more quickly for expeditionary ops, but as one general warned, “if I can’t sustain it, I’m hosed.”

Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly

Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly
Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly

As a boy growing up in the 1950s, I looked forward every year to the new cars and how different they would be from last year’s models. Obviously, I am not doing that in 2019, because the combination of what the frame of the car can deliver aerodynamically interacts with software and advanced materials to…

Lockheed Says It Can Fit 2 More Missiles In F-35 Bay

Lockheed Says It Can Fit 2 More Missiles In F-35 Bay
Lockheed Says It Can Fit 2 More Missiles In F-35 Bay

Adding extra firepower to the F-35 shows how loudly Lockheed hears the footsteps of Boeing’s F-15X approaching.

F-35 Parts Problems At Heart Of Low Readiness Rates: GAO

F-35 Parts Problems At Heart Of Low Readiness Rates: GAO
F-35 Parts Problems At Heart Of Low Readiness Rates: GAO

“F-35 aircraft performance is falling short of warfighter requirements—that is, aircraft cannot perform as many missions or fly as often as required. This lower-than-desired aircraft performance is due largely to F-35 spare parts shortages and difficulty in managing and moving parts around the world”

Navy Unveils Record Budget, Pushing Above 300 Ships

Navy Unveils Record Budget, Pushing Above 300 Ships
Navy Unveils Record Budget, Pushing Above 300 Ships

The US Navy now says it’ll reach 355 ships by 2034, while whacking F-35Bs and a carrier from its five-year plan. What’s the strategy?

Navy Inks Huge Ford Carrier Deal; Pentagon Flags Problems

Navy Inks Huge Ford Carrier Deal; Pentagon Flags Problems
Navy Inks Huge Ford Carrier Deal; Pentagon Flags Problems

WASHINGTON: The Navy signed a massive, $15.2 billion contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding this evening for two more Ford-class aircraft carriers, hours after a Pentagon report listed a litany of problems with the ambitious program. The contract pays for completion of in 2028 of the USS Enterprise, which began in 2017. It also…

UK F-35s Clear IOC For Land-Based Ops; UK Spending Big on Defense

UK F-35s Clear IOC For Land-Based Ops; UK Spending Big on Defense
UK F-35s Clear IOC For Land-Based Ops; UK Spending Big on Defense

WASHINGTON: The UK is ready to start deploying the first batch of its new F-35 fighter overseas, the country’s top defense official said Thursday, while introducing a slew of new cruise and attack missiles for its Typhoon jets.   The announcement of Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for nine F-35Bs comes weeks after the Royal Navy…

16 Months Late, F-35 Starts Key Tests: IOT&E

16 Months Late, F-35 Starts Key Tests: IOT&E
16 Months Late, F-35 Starts Key Tests: IOT&E

WASHINGTON The F-35 program office announced today the aircraft had finally reached its initial operational test & evaluation phase, which is expected to wrap up next September. That’s three months behind previous projections for mid-summer — the result of the program’s first crash (fortunately non-fatal) and a subsequent grounding — and 16 months behind the…

UK’s Big Defense Spending Push — and Brexit — Under Fire

UK’s Big Defense Spending Push — and Brexit — Under Fire
UK’s Big Defense Spending Push — and Brexit — Under Fire

A British defense official talked up the good news about British defense spending in DC this week — including on many US-built weapons — but some dark clouds hang over the ambitious plan.

Marines Furiously Cutting Programs As Tighter Budgets Loom

Marines Furiously Cutting Programs As Tighter Budgets Loom
Marines Furiously Cutting Programs As Tighter Budgets Loom

As old programs go, the Corps is looking at new cyber capabilities and getting back into the air defense game.