The entire field of candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination seems to be trending leftward in the run-up to primary season. If history is any guide, that will enable President Trump to win a second term despite his manifest eccentricities. Five themes capture the tenor of Trump’s likely reelection bid–peace, prosperity, sovereignty, self-sufficiency and energy (meaning activism).  It’s unlikely any progressive candidate can beat that lineup in 2020, assuming the economy remains strong. While Democrats will focus their message [ Read More…]

DoD also has a litany of consumer devices running on its networks, from printers to video monitors and cameras to refrigerators. These devices are continually communicating with one another, as well as with higher headquarters all the way back to the Pentagon. Some observers call this the “Internet of Battlefield Things” (IOBT). The exponential growth of the IOBT is creating new vulnerabilities to cyber attacks at an alarming rate. Compromised IOT/IOBT devices are increasingly the “easy” way for attackers to [ Read More…]

As I explained in a Forbes piece last month, the U.S. Navy’s large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are very survivable against all known threats short of nuclear war. However, survivability only matters if the functionality and cost-effectiveness of carriers is unsurpassed by other warfighting systems. In fact, there are many vital warfighting tasks that only a large-deck, nuclear-powered carrier carrier can accomplish, especially when regional bases are unavailable. These include survivable basing of forward air power, freedom from host country constraints, [ Read More…]

One of the Army’s most important modernization efforts isn’t a new tank or missile. It is the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) to design and develop a new engine intended primarily to replace the existing power plant in the 1,300 Black Hawk and 600 Apache helicopters in the Army’s fleet. The new engine may also power the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. Earlier this year, the Army awarded a contract for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) to General Electric, one of [ Read More…]

To combat climate change, President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, labor unions, the Union of Concerned Scientists and a growing number of environmental activists worldwide, including progressive heads of state, strongly support nuclear power. Their support for nuclear power has been clear and unequivocal, unlike today’s Democratic candidates for President. Lexington Institute’s Paul Steidler has written a commentary for InsideSources about this topic here.

Iran shot down a $100 million U.S. Global Hawk drone near the Strait of Hormuz last week, which should be a wake-up call for anyone who thinks we have entered the era of drone warfare. Our drones, even the most capable, aren’t ready to face well-equipped adversaries. First, the drones have little capacity to protect themselves. Second, more and more countries are acquiring modern air defenses capable of tracking and targeting unmanned aircraft. Third, manned aircraft typically offer greater speed, [ Read More…]

The Putin regime has built a conventional military machine that is capable of posing a significant threat to its immediate European neighbors, including members of the NATO Alliance. Russia’s ability to challenge the West with conventional military power must count on a swift resolution, exploiting Russia’s local superiority before the full but distant potential of the West is brought to bear. As currently postured, NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members. To deter Russia from attempting [ Read More…]

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that Oshkosh Corporation is building for the Army, Marine Corps and special operations forces looks poised to transform the mobility and versatility of U.S. ground forces.  JLTV (as it is usually called) was conceived to provide the joint force with fast, resilient transport that can survive almost any kind of attack. It is flexible enough to support numerous battlefield roles, from fire support to unit command to evacuation of wounded. And it is very reliable, [ Read More…]

A new technological competition has begun, one in which America’s rivals, particularly Russia and China, may be ahead. This is the race to build and put in the field super-fast or hypersonic weapons and vehicles. Senior U.S. defense officials have publicly stated that Russia and China are ahead of us in this new arms race. In response to this threat, the Department of Defense (DoD), which has yet to deploy a single hypersonic weapon, has pushed the research and development [ Read More…]

The Trump administration’s plan to sell tanks, missiles and ground-launched air defenses to Taiwan embodies what might be called a strategic paradigm shift to empower the small island’s deterrence posture against an often-threatened Chinese invasion. While much existing discussion centers upon strengthening Taiwanese air, sea and undersea defenses, there also appears to be an unequivocal need for major land defenses. The existing air-sea emphasis is extremely important, yet there are certainly elements of this approach which invite further discussion about [ Read More…]