Tag Archives: Trump Administration

Members of Congress Urge Biden Administration To Proceed with Caution On North Korea Sanctions

Members of Congress Urge Biden Administration To Proceed with Caution On North Korea Sanctions

Photo of an Oct. 2, 2019 North Korean Pukguksong-3 test. Rodong åSinmun Photo

Two members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week urged the Biden administration to proceed with caution in potentially easing sanctions against North Korea as a way to re-open denuclearization negotiations, particularly as South Korea gears up for presidential elections. Read More

Philippine SECDEF: Mutual Defense Treaty Review Must Assess U.S. Commitment to Philippines

Philippine SECDEF: Mutual Defense Treaty Review Must Assess U.S. Commitment to Philippines

Marine Lance Cpl. David Lancheros shares his knowledge about the engagement process of a FIM-92 stinger missile with Philippine Airman 2nd class Sherwin Faoeranga during a subject matter expert exchange as part of exercise KAMANDAG 3 at Colonel Ernesto P. Ravina Air Base, Philippines on Oct. 9, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo

Topping the list in any review of the 70-year-old Mutual Defense Treaty between Manila and Washington is the need for a precise definition of what the United States’ commitment is to the republic in a crisis, the Philippines’ secretary of defense said today. Read More

House Bill Cuts Money for Navy Nuke Cruise Missile, Saves 3 LCS from Decommissioning  

House Bill Cuts Money for Navy Nuke Cruise Missile, Saves 3 LCS from Decommissioning  

Three littoral combat ships in various stages of construction at Marinette, Wisconsin during July 2015. The Navy is seeking to decommission USS Detroit (LCS-7), at right, and USS Little Rock (LCS-9), in the background. The ships were commissioned only in 2016 and 2017, respectively. USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), commissioned in 2015, is to remain in service. Christopher P. Cavas Photo used with permission

House appropriators are cutting development money for the Navy’s ship-launched nuclear cruise missile, preventing the service from decommissioning three Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships and adding funds for a second destroyer, according to the House Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee’s draft of the Fiscal Year 2022 defense spending bill issued today. Read More

Analyst Says Pentagon 'Walked Away From the 500-ship Navy'

Analyst Says Pentagon ‘Walked Away From the 500-ship Navy’

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104) transits alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Jan. 19, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s modest shipbuilding request as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget shows the Pentagon has “walked away from the 500-ship Navy,” a senior defense analyst said Tuesday. Read More

UPDATED: Fleet Growth Stymied by Navy Budget Request

UPDATED: Fleet Growth Stymied by Navy Budget Request

Submarine construction continues apace in the latest US Navy budget request, which asks for two more Virginia-class submarines and another installment for the missile sub Columbia. Here, the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Montana (SSN-794) is seen just after launch in March 2021 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding. HII Photo

This post has been updated with additional details from the Department of the Navy’s FY 2022 budget presentation. 

The long-delayed Navy fiscal 2022 budget request submitted to Congress May 28 reflects modest increases in several areas but overall shows no significant changes over the previous year, either in weapons procurement or readiness accounts. Read More

Milley: China Striving 'To Be Our Equal' In Coming Decades

Milley: China Striving ‘To Be Our Equal’ In Coming Decades

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley testify before the House Appropriations Committee-Defense on the Fiscal 2022 Department of Defense Budget in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., May 27, 2021. DoD Photo

While the Chinese are investing heavily in advanced technology, “they are not our peer or near-peer competitor just” militarily, but their goal is “to be our equal” across all domains in the coming decades, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today. Read More

SASC Chairman: 355-Ship Fleet is ‘Arbitrary’ Goal, Navy Needs To Pursue Autonomous Vehicles

SASC Chairman: 355-Ship Fleet is ‘Arbitrary’ Goal, Navy Needs To Pursue Autonomous Vehicles

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) steam in formation during a Strait of Hormuz transit, Sept. 18 on Sept. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo

Rather than focusing on the “arbitrary” 355-ship fleet total, the service should concentrate more effort on developing autonomous vehicles, the top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee said today. Read More

Biden Administration Seeks $715B Pentagon Budget; Calls for Investment in SSN(X), Shedding Legacy Platforms

Biden Administration Seeks $715B Pentagon Budget; Calls for Investment in SSN(X), Shedding Legacy Platforms

This post has been updated to include a statement from Republican senators about the Biden administration’s request and comments from Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

The Biden administration is requesting a $715 billion budget for the Pentagon, keeping defense spending largely flat when adjusting for inflation, the White House announced today.
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