The US should take the “next Virginia class that’s built, designate that to the Australian AOR, and [say] we’re going to dual-crew it with Australian sailors and US sailors,” Rep. Rob Wittman tells Breaking Defense.
By Colin Clark and Aaron Mehta“The President’s Defense Budget Request is an outline and a starting point,” emphasizes Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Rep. Joe Courtney’s comments on on the heels of other lawmakers and military officials pushing for the Navy to get a larger slice of the 2022 defense budget
By Paul McLearyThe Pentagon is at an “inflection point” in terms of how to split the military budget between the services, Rep. Joe Courtney said, a growing recognition that the budget calculus is about to change.
By Paul McLearyThe SecDef wants more money for the Navy’s shipbuilding account, and one way to get it is to dip into an existing account, a powerful Congressman says.
By Paul McLearyHouse committee wants to hold money back from DoD until it delivers shipbuilding plans, while putting the breaks on armed unmanned surface ships.
By Paul McLeary“You can have the greatest brigade combat team in the world,” Rep. Wittman said, “but if they can’t get to the fight because we don’t have a robust ready reserve fleet, that’s pretty shortsighted.”
By Paul McLearyThe Pentagon and Navy leadership say the USS Harry S. Truman must retire so modernization might live. The White House wants to blow that plan up.
By Paul McLearyThe revelation, made by the Air Force Secretary during Congressional testimony, is the latest black eye for the tanker program.
By Colin ClarkThe Air Force is once again accepting deliveries of the troubled tankers — but the service’s acquisition chief warned Boeing must get its act in order ASAP.
By Colin ClarkDemocrats challenged President Trump over his freeze on US military exercises with South Korea, while Trump lashed out on social media against intelligence officials who questioned his achievements.
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: The Navy has discovered problems with the welds on 12 nuclear missile launch tubes, some for America’s $122.3 billion Columbia-class submarine program and others for the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought submarines. The issue is serious enough that Rep. Joe Courtney, top Democrat on the House seapower subcommittee, told me “the warning flags are up.” There is…
By Colin ClarkCAPITOL HILL: In the drama-free weeks leading up to Thursday’s overwhelming passage of the compromise $716 billion defense policy bill by the House of Representatives, lawmakers sent a pretty clear signal to the White House: we want more submarines. With concerns rising over the growing prowess of Russian and Chinese undersea capabilities, and standoff air…
By Paul McLeary
What does one of the most influential defense lawmakers on the Hill, Rob Wittman, think about the Trump Administration plan to cut the number of aircraft carriers from 11 to 10?
By Rep. Rob Wittman