WASHINGTON: There’s been a sea change in the Navy. Training and organizations are changing as admirals raised on missiles and torpedoes come to terms with cyber warfare — both as a potential weak point and as a weapon. “I don’t think we could have said it two years ago,” Vice Adm. Jan Tighe told me.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Concerned over increasingly reckless Chinese and Russian intercepts of US aircraft, Pacific Command says it urgently needs cameras on its planes to provide irrefutable proof of their misbehavior. The problem: reconnaissance planes like the propeller-driven P-3 Orion and the new jet-powered P-8 Poseidon are designed to take photos of the land and sea far below, not of…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.UPDATED with SecDef, HASC, & SASC comments WASHINGTON: Last night, the White House issued a veto threat against the draft defense bill that just went to the House floor, which takes an $18 billion bite out of the Overseas Contingency Operations fund. This afternoon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter blasted both the House draft of the National Defense Authorization Act…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.UPDATED with Hill action NATIONAL HARBOR, MD: The Marine Corps wants to stop shrinking and start growing. Legislation being considered on Capitol Hill would reverse ongoing cuts to the smallest service’s ranks. What’s more, the No. 2 officer in the entire Corps, Assistant Commandant Gen. John Paxton, made clear this afternoon that he hoped the force…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.UPDATED with Adm. Richardson & Branch comments ARLINGTON: The Navy and Marines have agreed to follow the Army and Air Force into the Joint Information Environment — but the sea services have security and other concerns. Will networks connected to JIE really be more secure? Can JIE really serve frontline warfighters as well as rear-area administrators? The…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The decline in V-22 Osprey orders from the U.S. military in coming years means the tiltrotor transport’s manufacturers are likely to spend a lot of time wooing foreign military officers at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition May 16-18 at National Harbor, Md. – especially Britain’s new First Sea Lord, Adm. Sir Philip Jones. Representatives from Bell Helicopter…
By Richard Whittle