Brought to You by the Members of the U.S. Naval Institute
The Budget Control Act of 2011 is probably the largest challenge the next administration faces and not just in defense but spending across all the federal agencies,” one of the nation’s leading experts on defense budgets told reporters Tuesday. Read More
F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender on July 13, 2016, during a flight from England to the U.S. after participating in the world’s largest air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo. US Air Force photo.
The U.S. Air Force declared initial operational capability (IOC) on its F-35A Joint Strike Fighter today. Read More
A F-35B, assigned to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, flies level as a F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 177th Fighter Squadron from the New Jersey Air National Guard, banks hard during approach July 15, 2016 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. US Air Force Photo
The Marine Corps’ next-generation fighter took to the skies last week with its military contemporaries during Red Flag, the military’s premier advanced aerial combat training exercise. Read More
The following is the July 13, 2016 letter from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. Read More
US Marines with the Black Sea Rotational Force, fires TOW anti-tank missile on July 8 in Bulgaria. US Marine Corps Photo
By quadrupling spending to counter a mounting threat from Moscow, the United States’ military emphasis in Europe has shifted from reassuring allies and partners to deterring Russia from “exercising malign influence [and using] coercion” to bully countries on its western and southern borders, witnesses told a key House panel Wednesday. Read More
Although the threat of a veto hangs over the defense policy bill if it includes a provision to take $18 billion from a wartime spending account to pay for modernization and readiness, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said the same thing was done when the Obama administration took office. Read More
The Afloat Forward Staging Base (Interim) USS Ponce (ASB(I) 15) conducts an operational demonstration of the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored Laser Weapon System (LaWS) while deployed to the Arabian Gulf on November 17, 2014. US Navy photo.
The Navy is “fully committed” to developing and fielding advanced directed energy weapons to deal with emerging threats and to reduce the cost per shot, the Navy’s number two officer said today. Read More
The fifth satellite of the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-5) at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California satellite manufacturing facility in January 2016. Lockheed Martin photo.
The Navy is preparing to launch the last satellite in its new constellation that will provide a massive increase in secure, high-quality and high-volume voice and data communications with nearly worldwide coverage, designed for mobile users with hand-held devices but available to joint forces on ships and in aircraft and ground vehicles. Read More
A U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon leads a formation of F-15 Eagles and F-22 Raptors as they fly in formation over aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) sailing through the Sea of Japan in July 2010. US Navy photo.
WASHINGTON – The Air Force’s top officer said today he welcomes input from the Navy and the other services in determining how to provide future U.S. air power – which may not include a sixth-generation manned fighter. Read More
Retired NATO commander Gen. Philip Breedlove on June 8, 2016. Atlantic Council Image
The U.S. needs to “establish quality communications with the Russians” to back Moscow away from implementing tactical nuclear weapons in times of crisis, the recently retired NATO commander said. Read More
