An F-35C Lightning II carrier variant, into a 45-degree dive during an external GBU-12 weapons separation test February 18, 2016. US Navy Photo
Defense Secretary James Mattis is ordering a Pentagon review to compare the capabilities and cost between the emerging carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter and an upgraded version of the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, according to a memo obtained by USNI News. Read More
The following is a Jan. 19, 2017 memo obtained by USNI News outlining the acting leadership of the Department of Defense and the individual armed services following President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. Read More
Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work speaks during the Future Strategy Forum 2016 at the Arleigh Burke Theater in Washington, D.C., Dec. 5, 2016. DoD Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The deputy secretary of defense told the incoming Trump administration that repealing the 2011 Budget Control Act spending caps would be a good start for helping the military but that additional money would likely only fill in budget holes rather than buy more ships and planes. Read More
Aircraft CF-02, an F-35 Lightning II Carrier Variant attached to the F-35 Pax River Integrated Test Force (ITF) assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 completes a flyover of the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). US Navy Photo
The driving concept behind the Pentagon’s Third Offset Strategy comes down to : If we’re not changing, we’re losing to “pacing competitors” like Russia and China in conventional warfare. Read More
Janine Davidson, when she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Policy, U.S. Department of State. The American Assembly Photo
Janine Davidson was sworn in as Under Secretary of the Navy last week, making her the first person to hold that job since early 2013. Read More
An artist’s conception of Boeing’s UCLASS offering taken as part of the company’s display at the U.S. Navy League 2015 Sea Air Space Exposition. US Naval Institute Photo
This post has been updated to include additional comments from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Naval Air Systems Command is set to release a new draft request for proposal for its unmanned aerial refueling tanker to industry later this year, USNI News has learned. Read More
Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers at a Sept. 29, 2015 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on cyber warfare. CSPAN Image
The United States’ adversaries see cyber warfare as a potential American vulnerability in a military engagement, the Pentagon’s number two civilian told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday. Read More
An undated artist’s rendering of the Ohio Replacement. Naval Sea Systems Command Image
A House Armed Services Committee member said lawmakers are already working to properly fund the upcoming Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) ballistic missile submarine but have not received sufficient feedback from the Pentagon. Read More
Northrop Grumman X-47B Salty Dog 502 during carrier tests in 2014. US Naval Institute Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee — concerned with the Navy’s direction for its planned unmanned carrier aircraft program — wants the Pentagon to oversee development of two new carrier capable prototype unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and restart testing of the service’s two Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) in a combined $725 million effort, according to a summary of the SASC’s markup of the Fiscal Year 2016 defense authorization bill released Thursday evening. Read More
The following is the April 14, 2015 memo announcing new policy on disinterring and identifying missing service members. Read More
