NDAA passes Senate at $740 billion; heads to Biden’s desk
The legislation includes funding increases for deterrence initiatives in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, and approves Air Force efforts to divest of some legacy aircraft.
Trump’s German Withdrawal Plans ‘Extremely Expensive’
President Trump proposed re-stationing 11,900 US troops from Germany back in July. The redeployment of some to other European countries, with others coming home produced an avalanche of criticism. Although Defense Secretary Mark Esper tried to put a strategic spin on the moves, the president promptly undermined him. Then, representatives of the administration went before Congress […]
Breaking Defense announces Breaking Defense Europe, a new, distinct, European edition
Breaking Defense Europe will launch May 4 with Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo as co-editors.
Air Force Expands AI-Based Predictive Maintenance
WASHINGTON: The Air Force plans to expand its “predictive maintenance” using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to another 12 weapon systems, says Lt. Gen. Warren Berry, deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection. “I continue to believe that predictive maintenance is a real game changer for us as an Air Force,” […]
Thornberry Urges Boost To Indo-Pacific Spending; A Pacific EDI
Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the largest committee in Congress, has long pressed for changes his colleagues didn’t yet see as necessary. I’ve covered him for a long, long time and remember when he pressed hard with then-Sen. Dan Coats to make the services fight and train much more closely together. Their vision resulted […]
Sen. Warren Medicare Plan = No OCO, Lower Readiness
Sen. Warren: "And as everything from more F-35s to massive bombs never used in combat have migrated into the OCO account, the Department of Defense has been spared from having to prioritize or live within its means. It’s not just bad budgetary practice – it’s wasteful spending."
Budget 2020: A CR, Sequestration And Some Compromises?
The White House defense budget for 2020 falls short of commitments made and actual requirements to meet the military’s strategy, but it begins to shift priorities and start the long process of investing in long-term competition with China and Russia. Washington still lacks the budget details for another week, but here are some initial reflections […]
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America must adopt a Sixth Domain of warfare doctrine
The Sixth Domain is not defined by geography. It’s a new kind of conflict in which autonomy and networked systems allow thousand-dollar consumer electronics to destroy multi-million-dollar conventional weapons systems.
Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks
Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, spoke last week with a small group of traveling reporters after attending a conference of NATO Military Chiefs in Warsaw, including Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield. Dunford described Russia’s strategy for pulling NATO apart and reiterated that Moscow poses the single greatest global threat to the UnIted […]
Army AMPV On Track To Enter Production, Early!
AMPV is a well-armored, all-terrain workhorse that will replace geriatric M113s in a host of roles from battlefield transport to armored ambulance to mobile command post.
NATO Ops Center Goes 24/7 To Counter Russians: Gen. Scaparrotti
NATO is dusting off Cold War concepts such as deterrence, rapid reinforcement and battle readiness as it faces a Russian destabilization campaign. Our contributor James Kitfield is traveling with Gen. James Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as the Marine general attends the NATO summit in Warsaw. Kitfield spoke with Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, about the Russian threat […]
House, Senate Only 0.6% Apart On Defense Budget: $704B vs. $708B
WASHINGTON: Despite reported differences, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees propose almost identical toplines for national security spending. In an apples to apples comparison, after correcting for discrepancies in what the two committees count, HASC’s total is $704 billion, SASC’s is $708. That’s a difference of just 0.6 percent, presenting a strong united front […]
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Answering the demand signal to move faster, field sooner, iterate continuously
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.