WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two phone calls then President-elect Donald J. Trump made to the military head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program officeled to a Pentagon review to compare capabilities of the JSF to an advanced variants of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the head of the JSF Joint Program Office told a House panel on Thursday. Read More
Pro-Russian separatists at a check point in Kharkiv in Eastern Ukraine in 2014.
A former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is a major global security challenge facing the administration of President Donald Trump. Read More
A member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committee is calling for a $26 billion addition to this year’s emergency defense spending bill to rebuild readiness — starting with increased flying and training times and increasing the end-strength of the Army and Marine Corps. Read More
The following is the Jan. 30, 2017 Congressional Research Service memo Trump Administration Changes to the National Security Council: Frequently Asked Questions. Read More
The following is a Feb. 1, 2017 memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work that includes a list of Defense Department jobs that are exempt from President Donald Trump’s Jan. 23 federal government hiring freeze. Read More
Image from a propaganda video released on March 17, 2014 by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) via AFP.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the creation of a strategy to defeat the Islamic State, bringing in multiple federal departments and agencies with requirements that closely mirror how the Obama Administration had approached the problem. Read More
ISIS forces in Iraq
CORRECTION: The following piece was mislabeled as an analysis piece rather than opinion.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Syria from entering the United States for 90 days, suspends refugee admission programs for 120 days and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees. Many questions have been raised about this controversial executive action. Since this action is characterized as a national security measure, this analysis will examine two questions: first, will such a policy measurably contribute to U.S. national security interests at home and abroad? And second, why the sudden change in strategy? Read More
Four F-35B Lightning II aircraft perform a flyover above the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) on Nov. 20, 2016. US Navy Photo
The Trump administration’s focus on “America first” throws into question whether it would launch any new large-scale international joint development programs such as the F-35, a former under secretary of defense for policy said Monday. Read More
Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Helena (SSN-725) arrives at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a high-priority docking continuous maintenance availability on Aug. 20, 2015. US Navy Photo
The federal government hiring freeze signed last week by President Donald Trump applies to all Navy shipyards and repair facilities despite an exemption for “national security or public safety responsibilities,” but the Defense Department may make some exemptions before the 90-day hiring freeze expires. Read More
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
