America's space operators need to "get to the point of how do we responsibly... deter conflict that nobody wants to see, but if we do see it, demonstrate our ability to win?" said Maj. Gen. David Miller.
"I think the future of homeland defense looks vastly different than it does today," NORTHCOM/NORAD Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck said Thursday.
Do more with less: streamline workflows, reduce duplication, invest upfront to save long-term.
A new report by the Mitchell Institute argues that the Air Force should procure 225 or more of the next-gen stealth bombers to effectively deter adversaries and shore up more cost-effective long-range strike capabilities.
NATO likely will maintain a "semi-permanent" presence in Eastern Europe for many years to come, said retired Gen. Tod Wolters, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
"Shortchanging what you can deliver today for a dream sheet regarding the future is a dangerous course given the current fragility of the existing force and scope of demand," writes Doug Birkey.
"How does it make sense that American troops would die on the behalf of NATO nations, but Washington doesn’t trust the countries with unmanned systems?" asks Heather Penney of the Mitchell Institute.
Breaking Defense Europe will launch May 4 with Tim Martin and Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo as co-editors.
In mid-August, Breaking Defense revealed a push inside the Pentagon to take a black anti-satellite system, declassify it and make a public demonstration of its capabilities. Surrounding that issue is a long-running debate about how much of its space capabilities the US should keep secret. In this op-ed, Christopher Stone of the Mitchell Institute argues […]
"Believe it or not, we found that the primary barriers to being able to field the software tools are bureaucratic, said Heather Penney of the Mitchell Institute.
The F-35 aside, the report recommends that the Air Force "resist future participation in any joint aircraft procurement or development programs."
"It’s ultimately a political decision, and ... this demands a strong and fully staffed OSD," said Mackenzie Eaglen, of the American Enterprise Institute. "That doesn’t seem likely until much later this year."
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
"We have hardpoints on the C-17; We have hardpoints on the KC-46. It's not a hard stretch to think that we could put one or two missiles on there for self defense," says AMC head Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost.
"This is a new effort, as the expanded mission now goes beyond a strict MQ-9 replacement," an AFLCMC spokesperson said. "This endeavor serves to explore concepts that address capability gaps of legacy platforms against increasingly sophisticated threats in denied, contested, and highly contested environments."
The new simulation environment will use 'digital twins' to rapidly test and iterate "collaborative autonomous networked technologies," AFRL explains.
CSIS's Todd Harrison said he believes that the "many challenges" to the SHiELD concept can be overcome "with time and money" -- and could well be worth expending because of the potential benefits.