Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
The Navy Will Have Less Money in the Future, Not More Testimony to the Seapower & Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee
Thank you for the opportunity to be here today.
I would like to briefly review the military and economic challenges our nation faces, and then draw [Read More...]
The Military Needs Many More C-17 Airlifters Issue Brief
It has begun to dawn on many observers that President Obama doesn’t care much about defense. He honors the nation’s warfighters and supports their programs, but his heart lies elsewhere — mainly in reforming the economy and building [Read More...]
Navy Will Offer Up Carrier & Air Wing In Quadrennial Review Issue Brief
The word within the Pentagon is that the White House wants to collect 6-8 “scalps” — major program kills — in this year’s Quadrennial Defense Review. Some of the cuts are already being considered as defense secretary Robert [Read More...]
How To Cut The Cost Of The President’s New Helicopter Issue Brief
There’s a simple way of eliminating all of the recently reported cost increase in the presidential helicopter replacement program: kill the more advanced version of the new copter and stick with the initial design. Doing that would give [Read More...]
Buying Two Engines for the F-35 Wastes Billions of Dollars Issue Brief
The Obama Administration has begun “rebalancing” the nation’s defense posture to focus on emerging threats and free up money for domestic initiatives. As was the case under Carter and Clinton, the budget axe looks likely to fall first [Read More...]
President Obama Will Decide The Fate of F-22 This Month Issue Brief
Sometime in the next dozen days, President Obama will make his first big decision about America’s future military capabilities. The fiscal 2009 defense authorization act requires the President to tell the Congress by March 1 whether the nation’s [Read More...]
Rumored Weapons Cuts Would Hit Local Economies Hard Issue Brief
Last week, two of the best-sourced reporters on the defense beat wrote stories indicating that the Pentagon may be getting an early start on cutting weapons programs. On February 5, Jason Sherman of InsideDefense.com disclosed that defense secretary [Read More...]
Rumored Weapons Cuts Would Hit Local Economies Hard Issue Brief
Last week, two of the best-sourced reporters on the defense beat wrote stories indicating that the Pentagon may be getting an early start on cutting weapons programs. On February 5, Jason Sherman of InsideDefense.com disclosed that defense secretary [Read More...]
Defense Companies Have Many Options In A Downturn Issue Brief
When you only have one customer and that customer suddenly finds itself spending a trillion dollars more per year than it is taking in, prudence dictates you should start developing alternatives to your current business plan. That’s the [Read More...]
Listen to the Navy: The DDG-1000 Destroyer Is Not Needed Issue Brief
The U.S. Navy has a favorite mantra that concisely captures why maritime strategy matters: 70% of the world is covered by water, 80% of its people live close to the sea, and 90% of its trade travels by [Read More...]