Aaron Mehta is editor in chief of Breaking Defense. He previously served as deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, as well as a staff writer for the non-profit Center for Public Integrity. Over his career, Mehta has interviewed dozens of defense leaders from around the globe, covering the intersection of policy, industry and technology at the highest national security levels.
Mehta has a particular interest in nuclear issues, foreign weapon sales and NATO issues. Originally from outside Boston, Mass., he now lives in the Washington, D.C. area.
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The topline is higher than either the HASC ($839 billion) or SASC ($847 billion) had sought in their initial versions of the language, and includes $816.7 billion for the Pentagon and $30.3 billion for nuclear activities in the Department of Energy.
The US should take the “next Virginia class that’s built, designate that to the Australian AOR, and [say] we’re going to dual-crew it with Australian sailors and US sailors,” Rep. Rob Wittman tells Breaking Defense.
Rob Wittman, who is currently the top Republican on the HASC’s seapower and projection forces subcommittee, is seeking the chair of HASC’s tactical air and land forces subcommittee next year.
Eighty-two percent view Russia as an enemy, up from 65 percent just last year. That increase came from double-digit jumps across Democrats, Republicans and independents, highlighting that anti-Russian sentiment crosses the partisan divide.
Speaking in the Gulf, Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said that Russia’s decision to buy military drones from Iran for the ongoing war in Ukraine will have blowback in the region.
After Poland said a Russian-made missile fell on a small town, President Joe Biden suggests it didn’t come from Russian territory. Either way, analysts cautiously downplayed the potential for escalation.
“There is a constant threat, and even when the conventional threat at the moment is quite low, that doesn’t mean that in a couple of weeks or months, it cannot be higher and raised,” Estonian defense minister Hanno Pevkur told Breaking Defense.
Overall, Lynn said, the company is “trying to spread our wings a bit” in terms of what DRS can offer the US military, with a focus on four key business areas: advanced sensing, network computing, force protection and electric power and propulsion.
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