Trump Reverses The Defense Buildup: 2020 Cuts Analysis

Trump Reverses The Defense Buildup: 2020 Cuts Analysis
Trump Reverses The Defense Buildup: 2020 Cuts Analysis

Trump’s plan would undercut the more expansive National Defense Strategy for “great power competition” that embattled Defense Secretary Jim Mattis rolled out just nine months ago.

Israeli Worries About Chinese Investment Spark Calls For Closer Scrutiny

Israeli Worries About Chinese Investment Spark Calls For Closer Scrutiny
Israeli Worries About Chinese Investment Spark Calls For Closer Scrutiny

TEL AVIV: Israel needs something like America’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to monitor and, when needed, curtail Chinese investment that may pose a national security threat. “Surprisingly, we don’t have a body that supervises operations of Chinese companies in Israel and that is very worrying. I hope that this will…

Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation

Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation
Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation

PENTAGON: It’s official — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will begin operational test and evaluation next month, marking one of the most significant transitions for the closely watched program. Next summer, presuming no show stoppers appear during OTE, the program will move to full production. “On October 2, 2018, Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord convened…

F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow

F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow
F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow

102 F-35As (Air Force) for $89.2 million apiece, down 5.4 percent from LRIP 10;
25 F-35Bs (Marines & Royal Navy) for $115.5 million each, down 5.7 percent; and 14 F-35Cs (US Navy) for $107.7 million each, down 11.1 percent.

Boeing Wins $9.2B T-X Trainer Contract: Low Price, High Risk

Boeing Wins $9.2B T-X Trainer Contract: Low Price, High Risk
Boeing Wins $9.2B T-X Trainer Contract: Low Price, High Risk

WASHINGTON: Aerospace behemoth Boeing will build the new T-X jet trainer, the Air Force announced this afternoon, beating out the Lockheed/KAI T-50 and the Leonardo DRS/CAE T-100 after years of maneuvering and uncertainty that saw multiple companies drop out of the competition. The first planes will enter service at Randolph Air Force base in 2023, with…

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…

CSIS Expert Calls Out USAF: 386 Squadrons & $13B Space Force Are Guesswork

CSIS Expert Calls Out USAF: 386 Squadrons & $13B Space Force Are Guesswork
CSIS Expert Calls Out USAF: 386 Squadrons & $13B Space Force Are Guesswork

CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The Air Force threw out two big numbers this week, but one of Washington’s leading budget analysts doesn’t think either of them is credible. One is the service’s unsolicited estimate that President Trump’s plan to create an independent Space Force – largely carved out of the Air Force –…

SecAF Wilson Takes Charge, Calls For 24% Boost In Squadrons

SecAF Wilson Takes Charge, Calls For 24% Boost In Squadrons
SecAF Wilson Takes Charge, Calls For 24% Boost In Squadrons

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson laid down what will probably be the signature marker of her term as head of the Air Force, calling today at the Air Force Association conference for 74 new operational squadrons, including five more bomber squadrons, seven more special operations squadrons, 14 more tanker squadrons, seven more fighter squadrons, and 22 more Command and Control Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance squadrons. But, she noted of the larger Air Force she says the nation needs: “It’s not just larger; the way we fight will be different.” Dave Deptula, head of AFA’s Mitchell Institute, analyzes Wilson’s commitment. Read on! The Editor.

Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered
Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

The big news about the $674.4 billion defense appropriation that conferees agreed to yesterday is that, for the first time in nine years, it’s on time. But in a budget this big, even the “small” items are billions of dollars, and there are plenty of devils in them thar details.

Israel Keeps Eyes On F-35Bs; Lockheed-Boeing Battle It Out For Fighters, Choppers

Israel Keeps Eyes On F-35Bs; Lockheed-Boeing Battle It Out For Fighters, Choppers
Israel Keeps Eyes On F-35Bs; Lockheed-Boeing Battle It Out For Fighters, Choppers

TEL AVIV: Until last week there was a shadow war, fought behind closed doors, mainly in the highly guarded complex of the Israeli Defense Ministry and the Israeli Air Force headquarters in Tel Aviv. And in some newspapers. But now the war has gone public and the big guns could be heard all over Israel’s…

Up the Buy ASAP: Fixing American Airpower

Up the Buy ASAP: Fixing American Airpower
Up the Buy ASAP: Fixing American Airpower

Double the buy rate on F-35A starting in 2020 and plan on a minimum of 200 B-21 bombers built in rapid fashion. That will begin to get to the Air Force that America needs to meets the challenges of the future.

Will UK’s ‘Tempest’ Fighter End In A Teapot?

Will UK’s ‘Tempest’ Fighter End In A Teapot?
Will UK’s ‘Tempest’ Fighter End In A Teapot?

There’s been a great deal of dismissive skepticism among the cognoscenti gathered here.

Raytheon Touts Aircraft Cyber Protection; Jordan Signs Deal

Raytheon Touts Aircraft Cyber Protection; Jordan Signs Deal
Raytheon Touts Aircraft Cyber Protection; Jordan Signs Deal

Raytheon has developed cyber tools to warn pilots and maintainers if their systems have been compromised and to find vulnerabilities. The company announced a contract today here to provide Jordan with cybersecurity for the planes that fly the royal family,

Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More

Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More
Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More

The future of the RAF is on display at the Farnborough Air Show. With the F-35, the RAF is part of the multi-domain airpower transformation and will work closely with European allies, notably in reshaping Northern Tier Defense. With the Typhoon, the RAF is seeking a modernized aircraft reworked to compliment the F-35 but with a yet undetermined relationship with its European partners. And the A330MRTT and A400M aircraft, as well as MBDA missiles, are part of a broader context of resolving Brexit.