Wilsbach declines to commit to congressional ‘intent’ for reconciliation money
Air Force Chief of Staff nominee Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach also left the fate of the Air Force's wide-ranging "reoptimization" overhaul in the air.
Can Congress pass a FY26 defense budget this year? Here are 12 key issues for lawmakers.
As Congress returns from August recess, Breaking Defense examined how each defense committee is looking at a dozen major programs, from Golden Dome to F/A-XX to the cancellation of the E-7 Wedgetail.
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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.
Selfridge is getting new fighter jets. Will the base be ready?
A lawmaker has asked the Air Force about its plans to fund necessary upgrades to the Michigan base, and urged the service to act "swiftly."
Could DoD buck ‘congressional intent’ on billions in reconciliation?
Unlike a traditional budget, military funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill come with fewer legal strings attached for how the money is spent, prompting lawmakers to collect public pledges.
How SASC, HASC want to spend reconciliation on Golden Dome, munitions
The Pentagon has until Aug. 22 to provide its own implementation plan laying out whether it will follow the committees’ recommendations, according to a Congressional notice.
What’s really in reconciliation, and how the pentagon can make it work
Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari of AEI run through some of the most important parts of the reconciliation bill, and what the Pentagon should do now.
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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.
Congress passes Trump’s reconciliation megabill with $150B for defense
For a period of time on Wednesday night, it appeared House Speaker Mike Johnson didn't have the GOP votes needed to move the bill forward.
Senate advances Trump megabill with $150B in defense funds
The bill moved forward in a 51-50 vote that required Vice President JD Vance to make the tiebreaking vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina opposing the measure.
DoD S-band needed for Golden Dome, border defense threatened by spectrum auction plans: CSIS
Selling off the low S-band "is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea," Tom Karako, director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project, told Breaking Defense today.
Less ships, more bombs: Senate unveils its version of $150B defense reconciliation package
"The House and Senate are very, very close in the provisions,” SASC Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters. But there are differences.
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.
House narrowly passes reconciliation bill with $150B for defense
Funding contained in the bill is required for the Trump administration to hit $1 trillion in defense spending in fiscal 2026.
Trump administration to request $1T defense budget using reconciliation funds
Some Republican defense hawks in Congress are already expressing disappointment for the plan, with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker outright stating that the administration “is not requesting a trillion dollar budget."
L3Harris hopes reconciliation dollars for commercial tech will fund subscription-based models
The war in Ukraine, especially the lightning-fast EW struggle, has shown the value of subscription-style services for communications, L3Harris’s president of communication systems told reporters.
Video: The Weekly Break Out Ep. 15: Pentagon reconciles itself to spending $150B extra
Aaron Mehta and Lee Ferran walk through the reconciliation process, and then discuss global international defense spending.