OMB director launches broadside at shipbuilders to close Sea Air Space 2026
Aaron Mehta and Diana Stancy wrap up this year's conference.
US cuts to commercial space imagery could endanger ‘long-term health’ of industry, say insiders
Beyond the potential consequences for the US industry, a reduction in NRO acquisition of commercial imagery also could directly impact US and allied military commanders in the field and US agencies charged with disaster relief, industry and government officials warned.
presented by
Winning the cognitive domain — A methodology built for democratic constraints
The challenge for Western democratic institutions is not a lack of capability — it is a structural one.
Space Force zeroed out funding for in-space mobility in FY26 budget request: Sources
On the eve of the third annual Space Mobility Conference here, supporters of Defense Department investment in technologies to enable what SPACECOM calls "dynamic space operations" are facing a recent cooling of near-term interest from senior Space Force officials.
Space Force, IC’s battle over commercial ISR reignites as appropriators add fuel
More than a dozen sources tell Breaking Defense that tensions between the NGA and Space Force are rising on commercial ISR, with White House officials watching closely.
National Guard leaders petition Biden, Harris for dedicated Space Force branch
"OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished 'Space Component' will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today," the 51 Guard adjutant generals argue in a letter to President Joe Biden.
Pentagon asks Congress for right to launch new tech programs before it has a budget
"One of the reasons it hasn't happened in the past is because Congress is reluctant to give up even this much authority," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said today. "I think it's a minimal amount of authority to give up for a very high return."
presented by
Voyager is fortifying the U.S. Defense supply chain
Answering the Pentagon’s call to bolster defense industrial base.
Not to be left ‘behind’: Advocates hopeful NDAA will mandate a Space Guard
The Biden administration so far has pushed back on the idea, citing cost, but some powerful senators are on board and an NDAA fight is brewing on the Hill.
NGAD Strategy Faces Hill Headwinds
"The business case is a naïve bet on out-year operating cost savings – that’s an act the Hill has seen before, and it never pays off," independent analyst Rebecca Grant says of the Digital Century Series concept.
CSIS Bad Idea: Blaming OCO for Defense Budget Blunders
In other words, the fault is not with the OCO mechanism, but in many cases, with members of Congress who are critiquing its use.
Navy To Slash 24 Ships in 2021 Plan, Bolster Unmanned Effort
The OMB, clearly taken by surprise by the Navy plan, told the Pentagon to “submit a resource-informed plan to achieve a 355-ship combined fleet, including manned and unmanned ships, by 2030.”
Shutdown Snarls DoD’s 2020 Budget; When Will Congress See It?
UPDATED: Trump Announces Government Reopens For 3 Weeks WASHINGTON: The Pentagon won’t be able to release its fiscal year 2020 budget on Feb. 4 as previously planned because it has been caught up in the melee caused down by the 35-day government shutdown. The budget release could be delayed at least one month. The missed […]
Congress Traded Operations & Maintenance For Modernization In 19 Appropriations
Now that President Trump has signed the fiscal 2019 defense appropriations bill — marking the first time in nine years that defense is not bound by a Continuing Resolution — the broad trend was cuts to Operational and Maintenance (O&M) to fund Research, Development, Testing, & Engineering (RDT&E). The top line was consistent with the […]
Why Chairman Thornberry Failed To Tame DoD’s Fourth Estate
When House Armed Services Chairman Thornberry proposed eliminating seven agencies and reducing personnel by 25 percent, he faced strong opposition. In the HASC's draft bill, he scaled the proposal back to eliminating just three agencies. But that didn't work either. During the committee's markup of the House defense policy bill, members still pushed back.
US Forces Won’t Grow Much Despite Hill & Trump Rhetoric
The defense community is abuzz with talk of strategy and force expansion as the Pentagon develops the Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy. Talk is nice but, as budgeteers like to say, “If it ain’t funded, it ain’t”. Building the forces the services say they need—with the readiness and modernization to support them— requires large budgets, […]