Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
Ukraine, Taiwan Challenges Spur Efforts To Strengthen Munitions Industrial Base (From Forbes) There was a time, not so long ago, when the notion of a federal industrial policy was anathema in some circles. You know, “government picking winners and losers.” At least when it comes to America’s military, that attitude is now [Read More...]
Ten Reasons It’s Time To Kill GE’s Unneeded Fighter Engine (From Forbes) Only months after the Pentagon disclosed it would not be buying a new engine for the tri-service F-35 fighter, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is signaling he wouldn’t mind if Congress were to keep funding the program. Any such move [Read More...]
America Spends Less On Its Military Than You Think. Look At The Numbers. (From Forbes) 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% [Read More...]
Army Chief Stresses Need To Continue Improving “Enduring Fleet” Of Helicopters (From Forbes) 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 [Read More...]
Air Force Plan For An Indo-Pac Tanker Will Transform The Aerial Refueling Fleet (From Forbes) 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 [Read More...]
Five Reasons The Missile Defense Agency Should Be Merged Into The Space Force (From Forbes) 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 [Read More...]
Navy’s Latest Shipbuilding Plan Signals Little Change In Fleet Size For The Foreseeable Future (From Forbes) 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 [Read More...]
Struggling U.S. Merchant Fleet, Critical To National Security, Needs More Federal Support (From Forbes) 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 [Read More...]
AM General’s Winning Bid For The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Makes No Sense. What’s Going On? (From Forbes) On February 9, the Army awarded AM General a production contract for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that could be worth nearly 20 times the company’s annual revenues. The award appears to have been made mainly on the basis of [Read More...]
Leidos CEO Roger Krone Looks Back On A Stellar Career, And Reflects On What He Has Learned (From Forbes) Retiring Leidos CEO Roger Krone is the living embodiment of how the defense industry has changed since Cold War days. When he joined General Dynamics in 1978 as a fledgling aerospace engineer, using drawing boards and punch cards was commonplace. [Read More...]