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Policy Blog
- The U.S. Army Is In Great Shape. Let’s Not Screw It Up (From Forbes)
Although the Trump administration isn’t likely to be remembered fondly by most historians, some U.S. institutions actually benefited from the 45th president’s tenure. A case in point is the Army, which ended the Obama years with declining readiness and a faltering modernization program. Today, the Army is aiming to achieve the highest rate of readiness in two-thirds of its brigade [ Read More…]
- Paul Steidler
- Fix Mail Delivery Through Transparency
The abysmal decline in mail service at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has created significant hardships for millions of Americans. And the situation could get even worse: as of January 15, USPS is no longer under court order to report its weekly mail performance, that is the percent of mail delivered on time. USPS should announce a plan no later [ Read More…]
- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
- Four Reasons The Navy’s Bold Plans For Its Surface Fleet Are Doomed In The Biden Era (From Forbes)
The U.S. Navy has emerged from the Trump era with a complex plan for retooling its fleet of warships. The undersea pieces of the plan are necessary and widely supported. The surface pieces have encountered resistance on Capitol Hill. Legislators are particularly skeptical about plans for a successor to DDG-51 destroyers and unmanned warships. The unmanned vessels don’t cost much [ Read More…]
- Despite Hard Times, The F-35 Program Demonstrated Stellar Performance In 2020 (From RealClearDefense)
In a year where the Department of Defense struggled to address a global pandemic, uncertainty at home, and multiple security challenges abroad, the F-35 program stands out as a success story. The aircraft continues to provide exceptional capability for three U.S. Armed Services and more than a dozen foreign operators. In the face of COVID-19 slamming their supply chains on the home front, the F-35 industrial team still managed to produce a near-record 123 fighters. 2020 also saw the roll-out [ Read More…]
- Pentagon Report Paints Grim Picture Of America’s Industrial Decline (From Forbes)
On January 12 the Department of Defense released its 2020 assessment of U.S. industrial capabilities. It is alarming compendium of decay that signals FDR’s arsenal of democracy is on its last legs. From shipbuilding to machine tools to semiconductors, the sinews of American economic and military strength are gradually draining away to other nations, particularly those in East Asia. The notion that America could surge military production in response to an emergency today the way it did in World War [ Read More…]
- The Four Biggest Hurdles To Rebuilding The Nuclear Bomber Force (From Forbes)
The average age of heavy bombers in the Air Force fleet is now 45 years. The force has grown so decrepit that its ability to provide a credible deterrent as part of the nation’s nuclear triad is becoming doubtful. For instance, the B-52s that comprise most of the strategic bomber force not only are too vulnerable to penetrate contested airspace, but the cruise missiles they carry are also losing their ability to penetrate. Rebuilding the nuclear bomber force thus will [ Read More…]
- New U.S. Maritime Strategy Makes Case for More Coast Guard Cutters (From The National Interest)
The three sea services—the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard—just released their new, joint maritime strategy titled Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power. The document reflects the realities of an international environment dominated by great-power competition, most of which is conducted below the threshold of overt conflict. The strategy stresses the importance of peacetime operations and crisis responses to U.S. economic, political, and national security interests. Today’s new challenges demand an expanded role for the Coast Guard. [ Read More…]
- The Standard Missile: America’s First Family Among Defense Programs (From RealClearDefense)
Most major U.S. defense programs have been based on both revolution and evolution. Historically, the Pentagon has invested in an initial leap-ahead capability, one designed to provide the military with a qualitative edge. But from their early years, virtually all major acquisition programs include plans to add newer capabilities as they become available. Perhaps the best example of this combination of revolution and evolution is the Standard Missile family. Since its deployment in the late 1960s, the Standard Missile has [ Read More…]
- Why Getting Rid Of U.S. ICBMs Could Make Nuclear War More Likely (From Forbes)
Plans to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with a new “ground-based strategic deterrent” are likely to be carefully scrutinized by the Biden Pentagon. If the scrutiny is objective, here is what it will find: maintaining a resilient, reliable ICBM force is an essential hedge against unexpected weaknesses in the other two legs of the nuclear triad. For instance, if ICBMs were eliminated and China then figured out how to track ballistic missile submarines, the U.S. could be [ Read More…]
- Greece Could Usurp Turkey’s Role As Leading NATO Air Power In Eastern Mediterranean (From RealClearDefense)
The most recent dispute between Turkey and Greece has created a disturbance within the alliance that was supposed to deter such conflicts. In September of 2020, Turkey began to actively search for oil and natural gas deposits close to Cyprus, quickly escalating into a quarrel over boundaries similar to those in the past. The boundary dispute could be the last straw for NATO given Turkey’s inconsistent record as an ally. Turkey, which has the second-largest military in NATO, had already [ Read More…]
- Postal Service Gets Favorable Borrowing Terms In Stimulus Bill (From FreightWaves)
Lexington’s Paul Steidler was quoted in a December 23rd FreightWaves article about the forgiveness of a $10 billion loan to the Postal Service as part of the COVID-19 stimulus and government funding bill passed by Congress that month. Once the Postal Service borrows the $10 billion, it will not have to repay it. The article quoted from a December 4 op-ed by Steidler which said that USPS had so much cash on hand that it should not need to borrow [ Read More…]
- Biden Defense Team Inherits Navy Robotic Warship Research Aimed At Deterring/Defeating China (From Forbes)
Joe Biden is about to inherit a diverse portfolio of defense innovations funded by his predecessor. One of the most ambitious initiatives is the Navy’s effort to develop unmanned surface warships and submersibles capable of supporting the manned fleet in wartime. For instance, Boeing has a contract to deliver five robotic submarines capable of executive diverse missions with its modular payloads, from mine countermeasures to anti-submarine warfare to tactical reconnaissance. Sea Hunter, an unmanned surface vessel, is a testbed for [ Read More…]
- Lockheed Martin’s Purchase Of Aerojet Is A Modest Transaction With Major Benefits (From Forbes)
Lockheed Martin disclosed on Sunday that it plans to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Unlike some other mergers in the aerospace sector, this deal is likely to bolster competition. There are only two domestic producers of the large solid rocket motors used on long-range missiles and launch vehicles. Northrop Grumman’s acquisition of Orbital ATK two years ago raised questions about whether Aerojet might be squeezed out of the market for large solids. What Aerojet needed was a [ Read More…]