Paul McLeary

Stories by Paul McLeary

Navy Plans To Cut Ships, But Fleet Plan Remains MIA

Navy Plans To Cut Ships, But Fleet Plan Remains MIA
Navy Plans To Cut Ships, But Fleet Plan Remains MIA

Requesting “eight ships a year is not going to get to 355,” the Navy’s top budget official, Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, said. “All things being equal, if you have a 300-ship Navy and a 30-year lifespan you have to recapitalize it…so eight is not going to do it.”

Biden’s Budget Cuts Ships, Planes, But Huge Boost in R&D

Biden’s Budget Cuts Ships, Planes, But Huge Boost in R&D
Biden’s Budget Cuts Ships, Planes, But Huge Boost in R&D

“Critically, we reallocate resources to fund research and development in advanced technologies such as micro-electronics. This will provide the foundation for fielding a full range of capabilities, such as hypersonic missiles, artificial intelligence, and 5G,” Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said.

SecDef: ‘Largest-Ever’ R&D Spending In ’22 Budget

SecDef: ‘Largest-Ever’ R&D Spending In ’22 Budget
SecDef: ‘Largest-Ever’ R&D Spending In ’22 Budget

President Biden’s first defense budget “biases the future, slightly,” over the present, but Gen. Mark Milley says he doesn’t see any one service taking precedence over another in the divvying up of money.

Buy Big F-35 Fleet To Lower Program Costs: SecAF Nominee Kendall

Buy Big F-35 Fleet To Lower Program Costs: SecAF Nominee Kendall
Buy Big F-35 Fleet To Lower Program Costs: SecAF Nominee Kendall

“I know there’s an issue with the total number that’s been on the table for some years,” Frank Kendall said. “What we should really be working on most is getting the cost down and keeping the procurement at a rate that makes sense.”

SOCOM Leaders Say ‘Digital Spectrum’ Key To Next Fight

SOCOM Leaders Say ‘Digital Spectrum’ Key To Next Fight
SOCOM Leaders Say ‘Digital Spectrum’ Key To Next Fight

“The future will be won by those who dominate the full digital spectrum,”  Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander of Army Special Operations Command, says. “It will be as important as seizing and holding terrain.”

Can Special Ops Build A C-130 Seaplane? They’re Trying

Can Special Ops Build A C-130 Seaplane? They’re Trying
Can Special Ops Build A C-130 Seaplane? They’re Trying

“Is it going to be cost effective? That’s why we have several lines of effort early on and there will be plenty of off-ramp [opportunities] along the way to determine if we move forward” said Col. Ken Kuebler, SOCOMs Fixed Wing chief.

Special Ops Undergoing Historic Transformation, AFSOC Says

Special Ops Undergoing Historic Transformation, AFSOC Says
Special Ops Undergoing Historic Transformation, AFSOC Says

“The SOF that we have is not the SOF we will need” for the future, head of Air Force Special Ops Command, Lt. Gen. James Slife, warned today.

SOCOM Likely To Boost Cyber, EW

SOCOM Likely To Boost Cyber, EW
SOCOM Likely To Boost Cyber, EW

“Everything we’re doing now is going to be hard,” SOCOM commander  Gen. Richard Clarke said. “It’s going to be multi-domain, it’s going to be partnered and it’s going to be contested in every step…and there are countries that are close on our heels.”

SOFWERX Boosts Small Biz At SOCOM; Faster Turnaround

SOFWERX Boosts Small Biz At SOCOM; Faster Turnaround
SOFWERX Boosts Small Biz At SOCOM; Faster Turnaround

“If you can give me a white paper in three weeks, I’ll pay for your white paper in three weeks, if you can give me a prototype in three months, I’ll [pay for] your prototype in three months,” said James Smith, SOCOM’s acquisition chief.

SOCOM’s Armed Overwatch To Fly Grueling New Test

SOCOM’s Armed Overwatch To Fly Grueling New Test
SOCOM’s Armed Overwatch To Fly Grueling New Test

Each airplane will have five flights to prove its mettle, with an AFSOC pilot in the back seat for the final mission to observe the plane’s flight and handling characteristics.

Marine Commandant Finding A Way To Modernize With Flat Budgets

Marine Commandant Finding A Way To Modernize With Flat Budgets
Marine Commandant Finding A Way To Modernize With Flat Budgets

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s announcement comes amid the radical changes he is making in how the Corps equips itself, and deploys.

Presumptive Comptroller Gets Easy Go At SASC

Presumptive Comptroller Gets Easy Go At SASC
Presumptive Comptroller Gets Easy Go At SASC

The only real pushback either nominee faced was McCord’s previous call for the defense budget to grow by 3-5% annually, a number the 2022 Biden defense budget won’t reach. 

Jamming Strikes OSCE Drones Tracking Russian Forces

Jamming Strikes OSCE Drones Tracking Russian Forces
Jamming Strikes OSCE Drones Tracking Russian Forces

Since March, the OSCE’s “long-range UAVs have been experiencing increased levels of GPS signal interference on take-off and landing, affecting both of their GPS receivers,” the group said in a statement.

Huntington’s Big Unmanned Plans Start To Gel

Huntington’s Big Unmanned Plans Start To Gel
Huntington’s Big Unmanned Plans Start To Gel

“Of all the budget items that I see out there, the unmanned budget item is probably going to have the largest percentage growth over the next five years, in my view,” HII Chief Financial Officer Tom Stiehle said today.

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