Carlo Munoz
Stories by Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: Russia is pressing ahead with a new nuclear missile which Moscow claims is a part of a renewed effort to bolster the country’s missile defense systems. This new intercontinental ballistic missile, nicknamed “Satan” by Western analysts, will sport a 100-ton warhead and replace the Voevoda-class missile in the Russian nuclear arsenal, according to recent…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: Speculation on how Iran was able to capture the Pentagon’s stealthy RQ-170 unmanned aircraft has consumed defense and intelligence insiders for weeks. But recent reports based on sources in Tehran claim the highly-classified drone was brought down by an Iranian cyberattack. Iranian engineers were allegedly able to hack into the unmanned aircraft’s control systems…
By Carlo Munoz
CAPITOL HILL: House and Senate Republicans will team up on pending legislation to spare the Defense Department from a potential $1 trillion budget cut, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon said today. McKeon has been in contact with Senate counterparts who are pitching similar plan to clear the looming $600 billion budget cut off…
By Carlo Munoz
UPDATED WASHINGTON: The United States must not hand over sensitive missile defense technology to Russia even if it means abandoning White House plans for a European missile shield, a key GOP lawmaker says. There already have been numerous instances by Russia to obtain American military secrets even after the collapse of the Iron Curtain the…
By Carlo Munoz
CAPITOL HILL: A day after Senate Republicans announced their own plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the national deficit, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon unveiled a plan of his own. The “Down Payment To Protect National Security Act” calls for a ten percent total cut to the federal workforce spread over 10 years,…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: A Republican plan to spare the Pentagon roughly $500 billion in spending cuts faces rough passage with no guarantee the department could avoid the spending reduction, two defense analysts say. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman and John Kyl will roll out a “substitute” sequestration plan this week. Formal legislation will…
By Carlo Munoz
UPDATED CAPITOL HILL: The $669 billion set aside by defense lawmakers for fiscal 2012 is $24 billion short of the White House’s initial request but will be enough to finance several of the Pentagon’s high-profile programs. The Pentagon will get $554 billion in its baseline budget and $115.5 billion to continue fighting the wars in…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: The job of detecting deadly roadside bombs for the Marine Corps is going to the dogs. And that is just the way the Marines want it. The Office of Naval Research wants all Marines — active duty, reserve or retired — who served alongside the Corps’ real-life devil dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan to…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is “committed” to resolving the stalemate with Russia on the White House’s European missile defense plan despite claims by Moscow the plan is dead on arrival, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said. “I personally believe we will find common ground with the Russian military on [EPAA] because…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: The unfolding economic crisis threatening the European Union could ripple through the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s crucial international program, the Pentagon’s top military officer said today. Partner nation participation in the JSF program “will clearly [be] put at risk if all the predictions about an [European] economic collapse would occur,” Chairman of the Joint…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: For the second time in as many years, the White House is asking the Pentagon to put a price tag on the Obama administration’s European missile shield program. The Office of Management and Budget first asked the Pentagon wrap up a comprehensive cost estimate for the missile shield program back in December 2009. The…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: Despite reports of its possible demise, the Navy’s new aircraft carrier has been spared the budget ax. Now Pentagon and service officials have to figure out how they will pay for it. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget approved the Navy’s request to include the carrier program in its six-year spending plan,…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: The Navy’s decision to cut its future amphibious fleet from 38 ships to 33 has left the Marines clamoring for any and all options on how to close that gap, Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said today. The typically stoic and reserved Dunford got a little gung-ho when I asked him what…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: In the military, you can’t always get what you want but you can usually get what you need. And looming budget cuts are forcing the Marine Corps to do just that with its future amphibious fleet, according to a top service general. Neither the Marines nor the Navy have backed off the Corps’ requirement…
By Carlo Munoz
WASHINGTON: Russia is pressing ahead with a new nuclear missile which Moscow claims is a part of a renewed effort to bolster the country’s missile defense systems. This new intercontinental ballistic missile, nicknamed “Satan” by Western analysts, will sport a 100-ton warhead and replace the Voevoda-class missile in the Russian nuclear arsenal, according to recent…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: Speculation on how Iran was able to capture the Pentagon’s stealthy RQ-170 unmanned aircraft has consumed defense and intelligence insiders for weeks. But recent reports based on sources in Tehran claim the highly-classified drone was brought down by an Iranian cyberattack. Iranian engineers were allegedly able to hack into the unmanned aircraft’s control systems…
By Carlo MunozCAPITOL HILL: House and Senate Republicans will team up on pending legislation to spare the Defense Department from a potential $1 trillion budget cut, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon said today. McKeon has been in contact with Senate counterparts who are pitching similar plan to clear the looming $600 billion budget cut off…
By Carlo MunozUPDATED WASHINGTON: The United States must not hand over sensitive missile defense technology to Russia even if it means abandoning White House plans for a European missile shield, a key GOP lawmaker says. There already have been numerous instances by Russia to obtain American military secrets even after the collapse of the Iron Curtain the…
By Carlo MunozCAPITOL HILL: A day after Senate Republicans announced their own plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the national deficit, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon unveiled a plan of his own. The “Down Payment To Protect National Security Act” calls for a ten percent total cut to the federal workforce spread over 10 years,…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: A Republican plan to spare the Pentagon roughly $500 billion in spending cuts faces rough passage with no guarantee the department could avoid the spending reduction, two defense analysts say. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman and John Kyl will roll out a “substitute” sequestration plan this week. Formal legislation will…
By Carlo MunozUPDATED CAPITOL HILL: The $669 billion set aside by defense lawmakers for fiscal 2012 is $24 billion short of the White House’s initial request but will be enough to finance several of the Pentagon’s high-profile programs. The Pentagon will get $554 billion in its baseline budget and $115.5 billion to continue fighting the wars in…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: The job of detecting deadly roadside bombs for the Marine Corps is going to the dogs. And that is just the way the Marines want it. The Office of Naval Research wants all Marines — active duty, reserve or retired — who served alongside the Corps’ real-life devil dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan to…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: The Pentagon is “committed” to resolving the stalemate with Russia on the White House’s European missile defense plan despite claims by Moscow the plan is dead on arrival, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said. “I personally believe we will find common ground with the Russian military on [EPAA] because…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: The unfolding economic crisis threatening the European Union could ripple through the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s crucial international program, the Pentagon’s top military officer said today. Partner nation participation in the JSF program “will clearly [be] put at risk if all the predictions about an [European] economic collapse would occur,” Chairman of the Joint…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: For the second time in as many years, the White House is asking the Pentagon to put a price tag on the Obama administration’s European missile shield program. The Office of Management and Budget first asked the Pentagon wrap up a comprehensive cost estimate for the missile shield program back in December 2009. The…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: Despite reports of its possible demise, the Navy’s new aircraft carrier has been spared the budget ax. Now Pentagon and service officials have to figure out how they will pay for it. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget approved the Navy’s request to include the carrier program in its six-year spending plan,…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: The Navy’s decision to cut its future amphibious fleet from 38 ships to 33 has left the Marines clamoring for any and all options on how to close that gap, Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said today. The typically stoic and reserved Dunford got a little gung-ho when I asked him what…
By Carlo MunozWASHINGTON: In the military, you can’t always get what you want but you can usually get what you need. And looming budget cuts are forcing the Marine Corps to do just that with its future amphibious fleet, according to a top service general. Neither the Marines nor the Navy have backed off the Corps’ requirement…
By Carlo Munoz
