U.S. military spending is not excessive relative to the size of the federal budget or the national economy. The Biden administration has requested $886 billion in national defense spending for the fiscal year beginning October 1, which represents about 13% of the budget and 3% of the economy. Within the defense budget, even the biggest weapons programs typically claim only a few hours of federal spending per year. In fact, Americans spent more on the holidays last year than they [ Read More…]

Army Chief of Staff General James McConville told an audience in April that the Army will need to continue upgrading its existing combat helicopters for decades to come, because they are likely to remain in service through mid-century. In the case of two of them–the Apache attack helicopter and the Chinook cargo helicopter–there is no formal plan for a replacement. In the case of the ubiquitous Black Hawk utility helicopter, there is a planned successor, but it will take decades [ Read More…]

The 2022 Postal Service Reform Act provided $107 billion in financial assistance to the chronically troubled U.S. Postal Service (USPS) although by law USPS has long been required to be self-supporting. Signed by President Biden on April 6, 2022, the act cleared the House by 342-92 and the Senate by 79-19 amid euphoric hype and promises. On April 20, 2023, however, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that USPS should stay on its biannual High Risk List, a compilation [ Read More…]

The Air Force has drastically revised its plan for modernizing the aged aerial refueling fleet. By the mid-2030s, it wants to begin moving away from derivatives of commercial airframes and instead develop a stealthy, purpose-built military refueler than can survive in contested airspace. The shift is being driven by China’s growing ability to strike aircraft far beyond its borders. U.S. tactical aircraft have relatively short ranges, which could necessitate operating tankers that support them within range of Chinese defenses. That [ Read More…]

Four decades after its founding, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has not achieved much. It can defend the nation against a modest nuclear attack from North Korea, but not a larger attack from Russia or China. Many of its efforts against lesser threats would have been undertaken by their home services without any involvement by MDA. Missile defense need a more powerful proponent to get its due in Pentagon deliberations, because MDA is a bureaucratic orphan. The obvious solution is [ Read More…]

With over one million individuals currently holding a top secret security clearance and an even larger number authorized to view secret and confidential information, the risk of a leak is very high. In addition to the millions of clearance holders, there are many more millions of computers, devices, and sensors that are part of government networks. All together, they make securing information a daunting challenge. For these reasons, the State Department has begun to invest serious resources in enhanced cybersecurity. [ Read More…]

The Navy this week delivered the latest version of its 30-year shipbuilding plan to Congress, and it is not being well received. The plan does not anticipate the size of the fleet growing in this decade, and foresees only modest growth in the 2030s. Although the warfighting capability of warships is gradually improving, the number of vessels is a more common metric for assessing naval power, and by that measure the plan is a disappointment. It contrasts markedly with the [ Read More…]

The Biden Administration has test-driven a novel tactic to expand the size and reach of government without paying for it: high-level, unpaid consultants at an influential government agency that is trying to dramatically change how business is done in the United States. At issue is the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) use of such consultants for self-described important and potentially widely influential projects. The FTC wants all hands on deck as it continues to initiate litigation against America’s leading tech companies, [ Read More…]

The U.S.-flag merchant marine is a miniscule player in global trade. With over 40,000 commercial vessels plying the world’s oceans, less than 200 are registered in America. The entire tonnage of the U.S.-flag fleet amounts to about 13% of the tonnage that the global fleet added in one year during the pandemic. There is reason to suspect that in a prolonged war, the small size of the U.S. fleet could be the Achilles heel in America’s defense posture. Washington needs [ Read More…]

The war in Ukraine has provided many lessons about the nature of modern high-intensity conflict. One of the most significant is the central role that armored fighting vehicles, particularly main battle tanks (MBTs), will have in both offense and defense. NATO countries are rushing to upgrade their tank fleets with a mix of new platforms and the modernization of existing systems. The U.S., which has committed to providing the M1 Abrams to both Ukraine and Poland, can help build a [ Read More…]