Industry chaos, congressional clampdowns and secret CCA contracts: 2025 review
I didn't include Taylor Swift song recommendations this time, but if you're asking me my favorite tune off "The Life of A Showgirl," it's "Ruin the Friendship."
China military buildup leaves US ‘increasingly vulnerable’: Pentagon report
The assessment also says that in 2024 China "tested essential components" of Taiwan invasion options, "including through exercises to strike sea and land targets, strike U.S. forces in the Pacific, and block access to key ports."
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Next-generation C2 won’t be next-gen without the network transport
The network transport architecture for NGC2 could be a hybrid approach that combines high assurance communications with 5G, WiFi, and multi-orbit satellites.
Next-gen air dominance and surprise new Air Force leadership: 2025 review
A look at some of the top stories that defined the air warfare beat this year.
From Army contracting pause to Pentagon acquisition overhaul: 2025 review
In 2025, the Pentagon issued a series of directives giving the Army top cover to move out on a larger acquisition restructuring and host of program terminations.
Trump nominates Marine general for top SOUTHCOM job
If confirmed, Lt. Gen. Frank Donovan will replace Adm. Alvin Holsey, who announced in October that he would step down as SOUTHCOM's commander by the end of the year.
10 Breaking Defense op-eds that defined 2025
It's been a whirlwind of a year — and the defense establishment has plenty of thoughts on how it's unfolded and what might come next.
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Turning R&D into reality to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Pentagon fails (another) audit, restates 2028 goal to finally pass
Auditors identified a financial misstatement concerning the F-35 program as part of this past year's audit.
Senate confirms Coast Guard’s new top admiral, other key DoD officials
Senators confirmed a new Pentagon comptroller and director of operational test and evaluation, among others.
Breaking Defense’s 5 most-clicked stories of 2025
From an Army leader's harsh warning to AFRICOM's worries, here are a few stories that broke out of containment this year.
GOP Rep. Don Bacon criticizes Hegseth, new National Security Strategy
The strategy runs counter to voters' support of NATO and Europe, the retired Air Force brigadier general argues on this episode of The Congressional Roundup.
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GPS: Still the gold standard in global navigation
The GPS network continues to prove its unmatched reliability, and it’s only getting stronger.
DoD to industry: Start planning now for 2027 deadline banning Chinese parts
“If you start to ask for a waiver starting ‘27 that's going to be a painful process for everyone. We'd rather you go ahead and start early,” said Michael Cadenazzi, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
Senate passes $901B defense authorization bill with major acquisition reform push
The bill forces the Pentagon to adopt a "portfolio acquisition executive model" for managing programs and makes it easier for commercial firms to do business with the department.
Space Force acquisition reform: ‘Cleanup’ rather than remodel
Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said that if he had "a Christmas wish list" for acquisition reform, "funding flexibility" would be at the top of it.
Emerging tech, allies and the NPOR flexibility we need
In this op-ed, former Navy and DoD official Jamie Morgan argues the current Foreign Military Sales system must evolve to meet non-program of record (NPOR) demands.