“One of the things that we did early in my tenure was we changed (it to) Polar Security Cutter as we were trying to get the funds from the Congress, from our own department, the administration,” Coast Guard Commandant Karl Schultz told Breaking Defense.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Trump campaigned on more money for the Pentagon, but his budget director appears to have won the fight for sweeping, across the board cuts to all federal agencies, including the Pentagon.
By Paul McLearyThe shipyard building the Coast Guard’s biggest program, the $10 billion Offshore Patrol Cutter program, has been leveled by Hurricane Michael.
By Paul McLearyCongress and China have emerged as the primary culprits for the weakening the US defense industrial base. Those are the most striking findings of a new White House report that takes a deep-dive into the state of defense manufacturing in the United States, sounding alarm bells over the decline in capability and the rise of China’s industrial might.
By Paul McLeary and Colin Clark“We’re not going to pretend it’s easy,” Rear Adm. Keith Blount, assistant chief of the Naval Staff told reporters. “But this isn’t unfathomably difficult for us. We are enjoying going back into the big time, and this is one of those big steps on that ladder. It’s hugely exciting and should be reassuring to those back home and to those on this side of the Atlantic.”
By Paul McLearyThe big news about the $674.4 billion defense appropriation that conferees agreed to yesterday is that, for the first time in nine years, it’s on time. But in a budget this big, even the “small” items are billions of dollars, and there are plenty of devils in them thar details.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The White House only has a few objections to this year’s NDAA, and lets Congress know what they are as the Senate gears up for debate.
By Paul McLearyWASHINGTON: 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 McLearyARLINGTON: The Navy has crammed as much electronics as it can into its new DDG-51 Flight III destroyers now beginning construction, Rear Adm. William Galinis said this morning. That drives the service towards a new Large Surface Combatant that can comfortably accommodate the same high-powered radars, as well as future weapons such as lasers, on…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.So are Chinese ambitions racing ahead of Arctic realities? “It seems the chickens are being counted before the eggs are hatched,” Sun admitted, “but the Chinese position is, ‘if the eggs are going to hatch, we want to make sure we’re there to collect the chickens.'”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“What’s missing at this point is what the Navy’s modernization strategy is,” the staffer said. The ships in question have enough margin for growth that they could accommodate upgrades, but how much does it cost to keep upgrading old ships? How does the cost:benefit ratio of such upgrades compare to spending the same amount on new vessels? The Navy’s plan is appealing “philosophically,” the staffer said, “but the devil’s in the details.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Trump’s plan would undercut the more expansive National Defense Strategy for “great power competition” that embattled Defense Secretary Jim Mattis rolled out just nine months ago.
By Mark Cancian