Competing in Time: How DoD Is Losing The Innovation Race To China
Despite reforms, the Pentagon and Congress have failed to break out of a Cold War, central-planning model that’s stifled innovation.
CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders
In other words, the fault is not with the OCO mechanism, but in many cases, with members of Congress who are critiquing its use.
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Navigation warfare is about the battle to assure positioning, navigation, and timing
The U.S. Army’s MAPS Gen II program of record for assured PNT provides an authoritative and reliable source of truth for combat vehicles in a highly contested battlespace.
Thornberry Won’t Run; A ‘Great Loss At A Critical Time’
The Texas Republican, who supported Pentagon reform, bigger budgets, and Trump's border wall, is joining several other conservatives is walking away from Capitol Hill.
Kyl Named To SASC; Missile Defense, Nuke Battles Likely On Capitol Hill
As Jon Kyl, the new senator who brings a long track record of spending on missile defense and nukes returns to the Hill, Democrats in the House might have other ideas.
‘A Little Bit Disruptive’: Murray & McCarthy On Army Futures Command
"It’s establishing buy-in over the next three, four, five years from the institution (of the Army)," Gen. Murray said. "It's about establishing buy-in on Capitol Hill, because if I don’t have buy-in there, this won’t survive.”
How McCain & Milley Created Army Futures Command: It Almost Didn’t Happen
"None of this would be happening without someone who’s not here today, and that’s Senator John McCain, an American hero," General Milley said to some of the loudest applause of the day.
Modern Tech in Indo-Pacific Operations
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
Up the Buy ASAP: Fixing American Airpower
Double the buy rate on F-35A starting in 2020 and plan on a minimum of 200 B-21 bombers built in rapid fashion. That will begin to get to the Air Force that America needs to meets the challenges of the future.
After Chaotic NATO Summit, Trump and Mattis Praise Alliance
ZAGREB, CROATIA: Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO on Thursday, just hours after President Donald Trump upended the annual NATO summit by again demanding allies increase their defense budgets. After a tense morning in Brussels which saw the 29 member nations call an emergency session and cancel planned meetings on Ukraine […]
NATO Must Revamp Wartime Command Structure
Our Paul McLeary is traveling with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to the NATO Summit in Brussels this week so we’ll be providing in-depth alliance coverage leading up to RIAT and Farnborough and during President Trump’s European visit. Tomorrow, we’re publishing another NATO piece by Michael Matlaga of CSIS. In keeping with all that, we offer this […]
GAO Says Oracle Protest Did Not Make Policy; Criticizes Greenwalt Op-ed
I’ve been covering Pentagon acquisition policy for more than 15 years and this is a first for me. The Government Accountability Office offers below a critique of Bill Greenwalt’s sharp criticism of a recent GAO protest decision. For those of us who watch Pentagon procurement, most protests are obscure and boring. Then come ones […]
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AI is transforming pilot training and the aircraft they fly
Modeling and simulation get an AI upgrade for more realistic training and improved autonomous platforms.
GAO Decision Threatens US Military Dominance; Reject It
Bill Greenwalt is sort of the Pied Piper of military acquisition policy. Where he leads, others often follow. After he wrote a series of op-eds for Breaking Defense recommending major changes to the Pentagon's acquisition system, Sen. John McCain lured Bill back to his old job at the Senate Armed Services Committee. Greenwalt rewrote the laws, shaking up Defense Department acquisition. Bill is back, pointing to new acquisition problems, this latest one with his former employer -- the Government Accountability Office. It's a doozy, as you'll see.
SASC Seeks Sweeping ‘Roles & Missions’ Report: Wither The Marines?
WASHINGTON: The Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed the most sweeping reevaluation of the military in 30 years, with tough questions for all four armed services but especially the Marine Corps. While its provisions cover topics ranging from swarming robots to “construction and maintenance of public works in Cis-Lunar Space,” its overwhelming focus is reorienting […]
Why Chairman Thornberry Failed To Tame DoD’s Fourth Estate
When House Armed Services Chairman Thornberry proposed eliminating seven agencies and reducing personnel by 25 percent, he faced strong opposition. In the HASC's draft bill, he scaled the proposal back to eliminating just three agencies. But that didn't work either. During the committee's markup of the House defense policy bill, members still pushed back.
Package Deal: Navy Could Save 5-10% Buying Two Carriers
The Navy hasn’t done a two-carrier deal since the Reagan buildup of the 1980s, when the Nimitz-class carriers being built, the state of the industrial base, the size of the budget, and the statutes governing shipbuilding were all very different. So how would it work today?