The two reviews were largely welcomed by more hawkish commentators and criticized by supporters of more robust approaches to nuclear arms control — with the latter lamenting that Biden has walked away from campaign promises to reduce US reliance on nuclear weapons.
By Theresa HitchensB-21, hypersonics and more: How digital development is driving industry innovation
Technological advancements are key to keeping pace with customer demands and evolving threat landscapes.
The HAC report rebukes the Air Force for a lack of transparency in shifting spending on prototyping of hypersonic missiles.
By Theresa Hitchens
“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.”
By Paul McLeary
Raytheon has won the LRSO design competition, but it remains uncertain whether it will nab the prime contract to actually build the next-generation cruise missile or be forced to share that with Lockheed Martin.
By Theresa Hitchens
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…
By Mark Cancian
AFA: In what may be a hint of things to come, the head of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office says his office is keeping a close eye on the B-21 bomber’s stealth costs. While he didn’t indicate there were any cost overruns or scheduler problems, the fact that RCO Director Randall Walden mentioned this…
By Colin Clark
Modernizing military simulation with open systems architecture
Best-of-breed common models and architecture enable virtual training and testing with the same data in a cyber-resilient posture.
WASHINGTON: Admitting there’s a “raucous debate” in the US military about whether humans should allow robots to decide when to pull the trigger, the nation’s Nr. 2 uniformed officer told the Senate today that he doesn’t “think it’s reasonable to put robots in charge of whether we take a human life.” Gen. Paul Selva, the…
By Colin Clark
CAPITOL HILL: President Trump’s pick for the No. 2 policy job in the Pentagon, David Trachtenberg, endorsed new nuclear delivery systems, praised NATO and allies in general and took a hard line towards the Kremlin in his confirmation hearing today. Responding to senators’ questions, Trachtenberg said Russia should pay “a cost” for meddling in the 2016…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: One of the most controversial new weapons in the US arsenal, the Long Range Standoff cruise missile (LRSO), meant to replace the Air Launched Cruise Missile, came under direct fire by a top Senate defense and intelligence lawmaker, Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The senior California senator holds seats both on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee…
By Colin Clark CORRECTED: What Gen. Harris Meant To Say Was A Total Bomber Fleet of 165; Still “At Least” 100 B-21s WASHINGTON: How many B-21 bombers will the US need? 80? 100? 165? Bound by the president’s budget on one side and congressional appropriations on the other, the head of Air Force acquisition was very careful in…
By Colin Clark
CAPITOL HILL: The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee thinks President Trump’s 2018 spending plan is dead on arrival and has already gone to the Budget Committee to get a much bigger defense budget. Mac Thornberry also doesn’t want defense increases offset by steep cuts to the Coast Guard or State Department, as Trump proposed. Thornberry…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
CLARIFICATION: Lombardi Was Not Responsible For B-21 Contract Decision Richard Lombardi, who was “removed” from his job as the top civilian at Air Force acquisition, was cleared of two of the more serious charges against him, according to a Defense Department Inspector General’s report. The IG substantiated the allegations that Mr. Lombardi didn’t report his wife’s retirement…
By Colin Clark
If the Trump administration wants to negotiate an arms control treaty with Russia, it must meet several preconditions. The Times of London reports that then President-elect Donald Trump signaled he would consider a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Russians. He was quoted as saying, “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and…
By Rebeccah Heinrichs
If an aircraft like the B-1 was taxed so hard due to high demand, the appropriate lesson is that the nation needs more bombers, not less.
By David Deptula and Doug Birkey