The Defense Department has released its annual Department of Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) on Jan. 29. The report catalogues major U.S. weapons systems and presents an assessment of the all the service’s acquisitions that can tend to be highly critical.
The service’s often contest the findings of DOT&E as dated criticisms or a reiteration of known ongoing problems with weapon’s programs. Read More
A Feb. 01, 2007 test of the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) in Alaska. The program was cancelled in 2011. US Marine Corps Photo
The following is from the Jan. 15, 2014 report: Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress.
On January 6, 2011, after spending approximately $3 billion in developmental funding, the Marine Corps cancelled the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program due to poor reliability demonstrated during operational testing and excessive cost growth. Read More
Launch of Atlas V MUOS-2, July 19, 2013 from Cape Canaveral AFS. US Navy Photo
Challenges the United States faces in space “are on a par with cyber,” the chairman of a key U.S. House panel said as witnesses described China’s advances in an area where “some vulnerabilities we just can’t escape”—acknowledging the two nations are now engaged in a “long-time competition” that cannot be firewalled from other domains. Read More
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) are in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. in 2012.
Navy F-35C test plane CF-3 successfully catches a wire during testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Lockheed Martin Photo
The U.S. Navy’s carrier-based version of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is nearing October sea trials after completing shore-based testing at Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, New Jersey, to ensure compatibility with shipboard arresting gear. Read More
Popular support of the U.S. military over the last few decades has helped lead to an increase in personnel-related costs across the force. If left unchecked, these increasing costs will overwhelm the Defense Department budget. Yet, there is no political will in Congress to implement change. Read More
The Pentagon is set to rollout its fiscal year 2015 budget submission on March 4.
“The President’s 2015 Budget will be released on March 4,” wrote Steve Posner, a spokesman for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, in an email statement. Read More
U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Samuel Locklear. US Navy Photo
American allies and potential adversaries in the Pacific are busily amassing formidable stockpiles of advanced military hardware, just as American commanders are doubling down on U.S. presence in the region. Read More
EA-18G Growler assigned to the Zappers of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Aug. 15, 2013. US Navy Photo
The Navy has already made some powerful assumptions about its next fight in the air.
It’ll be away from home. It will be against a sophisticated and well-armed enemy. It’ll depend as much on information technology as it will on bombs or missiles. And it’s a fight for which the service isn’t ready. Read More
An undated photograph onboard the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning during a take-off and landing test. Xinhua News Agency Photo
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has designs on a force of four aircraft carriers, according to statements from Chinese officials in Chinese state media that were later deleted. Read More
