The New U.S. Nuclear Triad Will Be A Bargain

The New U.S. Nuclear Triad Will Be A Bargain
The New U.S. Nuclear Triad Will Be A Bargain

Is America’s nuclear arsenal too expensive? The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report that concludes the Trump Administration’s plans to operate, sustain and recapitalize the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal over 30 years would cost the American people $1.2 trillion in constant dollars. The report explains ways in which delaying or cancelling the recapitalization of parts of…

Feinstein Presses Mattis On LRSO; Mattis Still Thinking

Feinstein Presses Mattis On LRSO; Mattis Still Thinking
Feinstein Presses Mattis On LRSO; Mattis Still Thinking

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…

How Trump Should Handle Russian Nuclear Talks

How Trump Should Handle Russian Nuclear Talks
How Trump Should Handle Russian Nuclear Talks

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…

Aegis Ashore: Navy Needs Relief From Land

Aegis Ashore: Navy Needs Relief From Land
Aegis Ashore: Navy Needs Relief From Land

CAPITOL HILL: Take my mission — please. The armed services are notorious for overselling their capabilities and grabbing turf to justify budgets. But when it comes to ballistic missile defense, the Navy feels so overburdened that it is talking up land-based alternatives as superior to its vaunted Aegis ships. [Click here for Part I of this…

Corker-Menendez Iran Bill Better Be Just A First Step

Corker-Menendez Iran Bill Better Be Just A First Step
Corker-Menendez Iran Bill Better Be Just A First Step

Supporters of the Obama administration Iran deal have had a rough couple weeks. The bipartisan passage of the Corker-Mendez bill (the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015) out of the Foreign Relations Committee, conveyed in no uncertain terms that Congress is concerned enough about this deal to insist it have a voice. It also raises the question: how…

Fund East Coast Missile Defense Now, Says Former Missile Defense Director

Fund East Coast Missile Defense Now, Says Former Missile Defense Director
Fund East Coast Missile Defense Now, Says Former Missile Defense Director

By Trey Obering and Rebeccah Heinrichs Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced in March that the administration would deploy more Ground-based Interceptors or “GBIs” to better defend American cities from North Korean ballistic missiles. He also said it would begin studying sites on the East Coast in the event the administration decided to build a third…

Why We Still Need To Stop Sequestration

The President, congressional leaders of both parties and senior military leaders all agreed: Sequestration should never happen. Yet here we are, one month in. Two critical questions arise: Is sequestration really that bad for national security? And what, if anything, should the government do about it? To answer the first question: yes. As then-Defense Secretary…