A US Air Force B-1B supersonic bomber test-fired two sensorized missiles developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to provide enhanced surface attack options. Lockheed Martin announced May 23 that the B-1B Lancer's employment of two Long-Range Anti-Ship (LRASM) missiles struck targets successfully....
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The US Navy's F-35C has been scheduled to reach initial operational capability (IOC) in 2018 since at least 2013. The odds of that happening appear increasingly low. In order for the Navy to officially say that the F-35C is ready for combat missions, it must...
Read all of "US Navy's F-35C 'at risk' of missing 2018 IOC declaration" »
The competition to produce the US Navy's carrier-based aerial tanker drone, the MQ-25 Stingray, has been whittled down to four companies: General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing. On Tuesday, the United States Naval Institute News service learned that Naval Air Systems Command had...
South Korea's Defense Ministry is taking steps to reduce its reliance on the power of the US military by constructing a more robust national security apparatus allowing Seoul to "quickly switch to an offensive posture in case North Korea stages a provocation that crosses the...
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The US Navy has turned to the defense industry in a request for information (RFI) that could signal the death knell for the LCS (littoral combat ship) program that never quite got legs. The service can't seem to make up its mind on whether to...
Read all of "US Navy Looks For Options To Support Carrier Strike Groups With Small Surface Warships" »
There are no rays of light for Mitt Romney in the secret video. Everything said at the private Florida toff's club is a liability. On security, Romney also had much to say. Most notably, the following on alleged weakness in the US military:...
How is the rise of China affecting maritime strategies around the world? Reuter's Peter Apps notes: As the PLAN acquires more sophisticated equipment, including a carrier initially acquired from Ukraine in the late 1990s ostensibly to be used as a floating casino, as well as...
Few strategic issues engender more debate than the future of the US presence in the Far East. Topping the list is what to do about the American bases on Okinawa. The US and Japan had ironed out an agreement on how to realign the bases...
A number of long-term defense spending proposals have been circulating in Washington, such as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. None, however, are based on proven methods of defense planning. In realistic defense planning, national security challenges drive force structure requirements: how many...
One of the biggest jokes on my blog is the US media's fascination with the Chinese military. The US spends more than the top ten or thirteen countries in the world -- combined -- on its military. And it has been in active combat for...
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Admiral Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations, opened the 2010 Current Strategy Forumat the Naval War College. Right now, some have called into question the relevance of the U.S. Navy given the types of operations the United States is involved in; Admiral Roughead noted...
Richard B. Andres Paul McNiel On February 2nd, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair made cyber security the first item in his Annual Threat Assessment report to the US Senate. Coming on the heels of Chinese cyber attacks on Google, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's...
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The Pentagon's long-awaited Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) is out. By law, the major defense strategy must look forward 20 years and delineate how the U.S. will structure its armed forces. The QDR is supposed to outline the Pentagon's threat assessments, military strategy, force structure, and...
Read all of "Planning for the Future? Examining the Pentagon's 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review" »
Many senior members of the U.S. military, defense officials, members of Congress, and analysts have long-warned of the growing fighter gap facing the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps and its implications for U.S. national security. A fighter gap is essentially a deficit between...
Congress is back in session and completing work on the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization and appropriations bills. The Senate defense appropriations bill will be marked up this week. While few expect any tough votes if the defense appropriations bill arrives on the Senate floor...
Recently the Secretaries of the United States Air Force and Army introduced polices aimed at turning their services green. As these policies are implemented, not only will US military operations and bases develop smaller energy footprints and make better use of renewable energy, the military...
It's the stuff of Tom Clancy novels, except it is probably really happening. A US submarine is probably searching the Pacific ocean floor for pieces of an ill-fated North Korean missile. The American people will probably never learn about it in our life time. And...
The recent French and American rescues of hostages held by pirates off the coast of Somalia were necessary and proper. No one believes these actions will end piracy. But unless we impose risks on the pirates--which means taking some risks ourselves--piracy will certainly flourish....
Read all of "Who Has the Will to Fight Piracy? By Brian Michael Jenkins" »
After the rescue of the Captain of the Maersk Alabama, the ship's officer told reporters "We would like to implore President Obama to use all of his resources and increase the commitment to ending this Somali pirate scourge," the first officer said Monday at a...
On April 6, 2009 Secretary Robert Gates announced a swath of cuts to defense procurement programs. According to an article in the Financial Times titled Gates takes axe to top weapons projects in US, "Robert Gates, US defence secretary, yesterday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of...
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