“We are transforming our force structure, we are transforming our weapons systems through our modernization programs and what we've done, through the force structure changes, is make room for some new formations,” said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.
The Trump defense budget takes significant steps to move from a focus on regional conflicts and counter-insurgency to a focus on great power conflicts. But the Army, Navy Air Force and Marines clearly are struggling with this balance.
The Network Tactical Common Data Link system enables secure comms and ISR for carrier strike groups and their air and naval assets.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson laid down what will probably be the signature marker of her term as head of the Air Force, calling today at the Air Force Association conference for 74 new operational squadrons, including five more bomber squadrons, seven more special operations squadrons, 14 more tanker squadrons, seven more fighter squadrons, and 22 more Command and Control Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance squadrons. But, she noted of the larger Air Force she says the nation needs: "It's not just larger; the way we fight will be different." Dave Deptula, head of AFA's Mitchell Institute, analyzes Wilson's commitment. Read on! The Editor.
Campaign promises of a larger, more ready and fully modernized military have slammed into budget realities as the Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget for the Pentagon shows only modest growth above what the Obama administration had projected. Funding at those levels will support a 305-ship Navy, not the 350 ships that candidate Trump proposed back in […]
When Donald Trump discussed his defense program in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the bluster and lunacy of the primary season were gone and he offered a scripted position paper that reflected (mostly) mainstream Republican ideas. There is still lots one might disagree with, but the discipline of the teleprompter meant that he read a staff-prepared paper that put […]
WASHINGTON: After 15 years of ad hoc solutions, the Army may build specialized battalions and brigades to train and advise foreign forces, the service’s chief of staff says. Gen. Mark Milley made clear that advisor units are just a proposal under study, a study that only started “a couple of months ago.” But even studying the […]
Discover how unmanned systems and emerging technologies are shaping the future of U.S. naval power in Breaking Defense’s new eBook.
WASHINGTON: Turmoil, fear and a certain resolute grimness marked this week at the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. The military scrambled to cope with a range of new threats as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the Pentagon leadership begin to grapple with the grim future posed by the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. Put it all […]
PENTAGON: The Army’s widely publicized decision to cut 10 brigade combat teams from bases in eight states is just part of the story of the incredible shrinking armed services. To start with, it’s not actually 10 brigades: It’s 11, the 10 announced this afternoon and a player to be named later. Or, if you count […]
In a town full of hot air, speeches are a dime a dozen. But money still talks. So let’s compare the new Secretary of Defense’s policy agenda to his first proposed budget. While Leon Panetta, his predecessor, mostly built this budget, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel owns it now and has already spent a considerable amount […]
FORT LAUDERDALE: As automatic cuts to the 2013 budget look increasingly unavoidable, with the deadline for a Congressional deal only a week away, Army leaders are preparing fallback positions to defend the service from a full decade of sequester cuts. That includes new guidance on cutting modernization and planning for potential cuts to personnel and […]
On today’s battlefield, mobility isn’t optional - it’s mission-critical.
A year has passed since Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act-the legislation mandating sequestration. Funding cuts that once seemed politically remote now loom large for leaders increasingly anxious about the impact $1.2 trillion in automatic budget reductions will have upon their respective districts and states. An estimated two million […]
CAPITOL HILL: “Trust us.” That’s the last thing an irate Congress is ready to hear from the Air Force right now, but it’s the essence of what a three-star general told legislators today in a hearing on the administration’s hugely unpopular proposal to cut the Air National Guard. A Senate-proposed commission on the size and […]
The Army’s senior leadership is determined to spend money on a new Ground Combat Vehicle (CV) to replace the aging Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle. On the one hand, the admission that tracked mobile armored firepower is critical to survival and success in future combat is gratifying. On the other hand, the determination to focus on […]
WASHINGTON: As the Army has been handed its largest manpower cuts since the end of the first Persian Gulf War and its acquisition accounts are being squeezed dry trying to find room for programs like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles in its base budget, the atmosphere among the active, Guard and Reserve components is – surprisingly […]