Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command on Aug. 27, 2015. US Navy Photo
The deputy commandant for combat development and integration described the Marine Corps’ “campaign of learning” as the way forward in assessing what the service will need in the future. Read More
Virginia-class attack submarine Minnesota (SSN-783) under construction in 2012. US Navy Photo
The Program Executive Office for Submarines would like to see the Virginia Payload Module built into all its Block V subs from a warfighting perspective but will have to verify that doing so will not hurt ongoing Virginia sub construction or upcoming Ohio Replacement Program construction.. Read More
The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN-705) transits into formation during a photo exercise as a part of Exercise Malabar 2015 on Oct. 16, 2015. US Navy Photo
While the Navy “had been dominant—and benefited immensely” from its strength in undersea capability, the Russians and Chinese are posing new challenges to its retaining that edge, the chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee said Tuesday in opening a series of hearings on “game-changing” concepts and capabilities. Read More
Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk over Iraq. US Air Force Photo
Airpower advocates exited the Gulf War trumpeting an unambiguous victory for airpower—and they were right. The air campaign against Iraq was well planned, brilliantly tailored to the adversary, and superbly executed. But it was also a clear example where the enemy was outclassed from the very beginning. Coalition forces were allowed an unfettered buildup, and had clear advantages in numbers, training, equipment and a doctrine designed to defeat massed Soviet and Soviet-client forces under adverse conditions. They faced a surrounded enemy who allowed the Coalition force to seize the initiative (despite ample warning) and keep it throughout the conflict. The Iraqi military at the time was postured to lose, and lose big. Read More
Sailors man the rails as they bring the ship to life during the commissioning ceremony for the Virginia-class attack submarine USS John Warner (SSN-785) at Naval Station Norfolk on Aug. 1, 2015. US Navy photo.
Though the Virginia-class attack submarine program (SSN-774) is still going strong, delivering boats ahead of schedule and below original cost estimates, the Navy needs to start planning the next generation of attack submarines soon, according to the program executive office for submarines. Read More
Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG-82) conduct a man-overboard drill on Sept. 28, 2015 in the South China Sea. US Navy Photo
A recent U.S. Navy freedom of navigation mission in South China Sea was not limited to China’s artificial islands. Read More
A still from a Northrop Grumman advertisement. Northrop Grumman Image
PENTAGON — The U.S. Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman to build the service’s planned Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) beating a combined Boeing and Lockheed Martin team, officials said in a long awaited announcement. Read More
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter testifes before the Senate Armed Services Committee on U.S. military strategy in the Middle East Oct. 27, 2015. DoD Photo
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee the United States has shifted its emphasis from training forces outside of Syria to return to fight Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) to one of identifying “capable and motivated” leaders inside the country who put defeating the extremists ahead of removing Bashar al-Assad from power in Damascus. Read More
Then Brig. Gen. Frank Kelley, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command on Feb. 14, 2014. Kelley was named on Tuesday as the first deputy assistant secretary of the navy for unmanned systems. US Marine Corps Photo
ARLINGTON, VA. — Retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Frank Kelley, who commanded Marine Corps Systems Command from 2010 to 2014, will serve as the first-ever deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for unmanned systems. Read More
USS Lassen (DDG-82) underway in the Philippine Sea in 2015. US Navy Photo
After months of deliberation, the U.S. has sent a guided missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese artificial island in the South China Sea in a move that practically rejects Chinese claims to the reclaimed reefs and has inflamed Beijing. Read More
