“Enlarging NATO is exactly the opposite of what Putin envisioned when he ordered his tanks to invade Ukraine,” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said ahead of the vote.
By Aaron Mehta and Andrew EversdenA major overhaul is coming in software for missile warning
Space Systems Command’s FORGE program is the first, major missile-warning software modernization effort in 20 years.
Lawmakers’ concerns echoed similar worries brought up earlier this month during a hearing with the heads of US Central Command and US Africa Command.
By Justin Katz
The nominee for Army Secretary also aims to end “friction” between civilian acquisition officials and Army Futures Command, she told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The nuke issue has been bubbling since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was vague during his own confirmation hearing, telling senators he has to “look under the hood and see exactly what we’re doing with our nuclear forces.”
By Paul McLeary
“Seems Washington wants to stick around” in Afghanistan, said AEI’s MacKenzie Eaglen, “even if veterans themselves are increasingly the ones calling for the full end of troop presence in-country.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith issued a statement this morning saying, “while we hoped to hold an open hearing with the Secretary-designate and he had agreed to do so, procedural issues have prevented a hearing,” since the HASC has yet to finalize its member roster.
By Paul McLeary
“Arlington is full of our comrades, and we understand absolutely full well the hazards of our chosen profession … and we are not going to be intimidated into making stupid decisions. We will give our best military advice, regardless of the consequences to ourselves.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Why cloud modernization is critical to multi-domain operations
JADC2 is a forcing function, driving digital transformation of network infrastructure.
The Pentagon and Navy leadership say the USS Harry S. Truman must retire so modernization might live. The White House wants to blow that plan up.
By Paul McLeary
WASHINGTON: It was fitting that North Korea launched another missile over northern Japan just hours after Sen. John McCain appears to have won a substantial victory with today’s cloture vote apparently clearing the way for passage of the Senate version of the defense policy bill. Among the most interesting changes, one that was not unexpected,…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: The US Army has blown billions on weapons that never got built, so Congress is understandably wary of funding Army modernization. A senior Hill aide told us today that if the service wants money to modernize, it must convince Congress that its requests are in response to a specific threat the legislators care about, namely…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
CAPITOL HILL: Amidst a bipartisan lovefest of a confirmation hearing, Navy Secretary nominee Richard Spencer quietly and consistently downplayed the idea of a 355-ship fleet. The Navy now has 276 ships from supercarriers to minesweepers, President Trump promised 350 on the campaign trail, and the Chief of Naval Operations has officially assessed that he needs 355.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives is urging Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to budget $1.5 billion a year to reinforce US forces in the Pacific to better support Asian allies, stiffening their spines against Chinese intimidation. Known as the Asia-Pacific Stability Initiative and endorsed by the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, it’s a proposal…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
- Air Warfare, Allies, budget, Congress, Global, Land Warfare, Naval Warfare, Networks / Cyber, Space, Threats
Mattis Signals Strong Commitment To Allies, Especially NATO; Announces Weapons Review
Presumptive Defense Secretary James Mattis sent a clear signal to America’s allies — and to his presumptive boss, President-Elect Trump — that the NATO alliance is “enormously” important and that America “must also take no ally for granted.” If approved by the Senate, Mattis said, in written answers to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee,…
By Colin Clark
Congress is setting the defense budget on autopilot and high-tailing it out of town, leaving a lot of unfinished business behind. While President Obama is set to sign the defense policy bill for 2017 into law, this Congress left the funding bills in shambles for the next session to fix. As a stopgap, an extended…
By Mackenzie Eaglen