House Passes NDAA, With $24B In Extra Pentagon Funding and Strings Attached

House Passes NDAA, With $24B In Extra Pentagon Funding and Strings Attached
House Passes NDAA, With $24B In Extra Pentagon Funding and Strings Attached

The NDAA easily passed and now heads to the Senate.

GOP Press Pentagon Nominee On Nukes, Mean Tweets

GOP Press Pentagon Nominee On Nukes, Mean Tweets
GOP Press Pentagon Nominee On Nukes, Mean Tweets

The nuke issue has been bubbling since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was vague during his own confirmation hearing, telling senators he has to “look under the hood and see exactly what we’re doing with our nuclear forces.”

DepSecDef Will Run Most Missile Defense, Nuke Modernization; SecDef Recused

DepSecDef Will Run Most Missile Defense, Nuke Modernization; SecDef Recused
DepSecDef Will Run Most Missile Defense, Nuke Modernization; SecDef Recused

“I am worried about the state of the readiness of the nuclear triad,” Deputy SecDef nominee Kath Hicks tells the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning, “and, if confirmed, that is an area I would want to get my team in place and start to look at right away.” 

2021: Air Force’s Nuke Mod Efforts Service’s Biggest Challenge

2021: Air Force’s Nuke Mod Efforts Service’s Biggest Challenge
2021: Air Force’s Nuke Mod Efforts Service’s Biggest Challenge

“Not sure if this is a black swan, but I would not be surprised if the next administration kicks off an internal review of the services’ roles and responsibilities, with an eye toward reducing excessive redundancy in force structure and capabilities,” Mark Gunzinger says
.

IT ‘Backbone’ Top Priority For AFMC’s Digitization Drive: Bunch

IT ‘Backbone’ Top Priority For AFMC’s Digitization Drive: Bunch
IT ‘Backbone’ Top Priority For AFMC’s Digitization Drive: Bunch

“I really want industry feedback” about how to improve AFMC’s plans for incorporating digital engineering into its operations across the board, said Bunch.

HASC Passes NDAA 56-0: ‘Yet Hope Remains, While The Company Is True’

HASC Passes NDAA 56-0: ‘Yet Hope Remains, While The Company Is True’
HASC Passes NDAA 56-0: ‘Yet Hope Remains, While The Company Is True’

Despite COVID-19 and a veto threat from President Trump, the HASC approved the $732 billion defense bill by a unanimous vote.

Air Force Cuts Aircraft To Fund Space, Multi-Domain

Air Force Cuts Aircraft To Fund Space, Multi-Domain
Air Force Cuts Aircraft To Fund Space, Multi-Domain

“Winning the future fight will require us to dominate space,” said Maj. Gen. John Pletcher, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget.

FTC Investigates Northrop: GBSD?

FTC Investigates Northrop: GBSD?
FTC Investigates Northrop: GBSD?

WASHINGTON: The Federal Trade Commission appears to be investigating whether Northrop Grumman acted in restraint of trade and violated an order requiring the company to sell its solid motor rocket engines on “a non-discriminatory basis to all competitors for missile contracts.” Northrop disclosed the investigation today in its quarterly report: “In October 2019, the company received…

2020 Budget: One Half Step Towards A Great Power Strategy

2020 Budget: One Half Step Towards A Great Power Strategy
2020 Budget: One Half Step Towards A Great Power Strategy

The Trump defense budget takes significant steps to move from a focus on regional conflicts and counter-insurgency to a focus on great power conflicts. But the Army, Navy Air Force and Marines clearly are struggling with this balance.

Next HASC Chair Targets Nuke Funding

Next HASC Chair Targets Nuke Funding
Next HASC Chair Targets Nuke Funding

Rep. Adam Smith called into question the decades-old backbone of US nuclear policy, while calling for a “total redo” of the Nuclear Posture Review the Pentagon released earlier this year.

Democratic House Hurts Space Corps, Nuke Modernization, & Pentagon Topline

Democratic House Hurts Space Corps, Nuke Modernization, & Pentagon Topline
Democratic House Hurts Space Corps, Nuke Modernization, & Pentagon Topline

WASHINGTON: The Democrats’ recapturing the House means three major impacts on the Defense Department: The odds are that controversial Trump priorities like new nuclear weapons and a Space Force will go nowhere, defense budgets will go down, and oversight will go up, up, up. Program winners and losers The most likely losers are nuclear modernization…

Podcasts, People. Breaking D Launches Inside The Loop

Podcasts, People. Breaking D Launches Inside The Loop
Podcasts, People. Breaking D Launches Inside The Loop

Here we go. TA DA! Our first podcasts, exclusive interviews with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein and Strategic Command’s Gen. John Hyten.

US Strategy Must Change Coz ‘We Can’t Afford It:’ Rep. Smith

US Strategy Must Change Coz ‘We Can’t Afford It:’ Rep. Smith
US Strategy Must Change Coz ‘We Can’t Afford It:’ Rep. Smith

WASHINGTON: When the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee went to talk with the almost mystical Pentagon gang known as the Office of Net Assessment, they told him America can’t afford to execute the strategy we’re pursuing. “I asked them what they were lacking. They didn’t have an answer,” Rep. Adam Smith told…

CBO’s Nuclear Weapons Cost Estimate Is Way Too High ; Hint — Bombers

CBO’s Nuclear Weapons Cost Estimate Is Way Too High ; Hint — Bombers
CBO’s Nuclear Weapons Cost Estimate Is Way Too High ; Hint — Bombers

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…