Defense
Osprey Belongs In The Combat Search And Rescue Mix
Few military missions are more dangerous than combat search and rescue (CSAR). Warfighters and noncombatants stranded in remote locations must be found and retrieved, often while enemies are doing their . . .
Democrat Views Of Defense Industry Are Self-Defeating
It is now 20 years since the Soviet Union began breaking up, removing the threat to American survival that spawned the modern defense industry. Industry fortunes have oscillated wildly in the post-communist . . .
Strategic Surprise and Tactical Warning: A Personal View
Thank you for inviting me here today and making such good arrangements for my visit. I am always happy to be in Denver, where I have lots of family and friends and have spent a great deal of time since . . .
Why Ten More C-17s Are Important To America
Debate is raging on Capitol Hill about whether to buy ten more C-17 military airlifters. It’s astonishing, given that the C-17 is perfect for “the wars we are in” as the Pentagon likes to say. Right . . .
Politics Will Decide The Outcome Of The Tanker Competition
The first thing to understand about the Air Force plan to buy a new aerial-refueling tanker is that it is just a tanker. A flying gas station. Either of the planes being proposed for the mission . . .
The All-Volunteer Force Is Becoming Unaffordable
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently cited an estimate that the United States accounts for nearly half of all global military spending. What he didn't mention was that since the current decade . . .
Details Of Army Truck Award Reveal Numerous Errors
On August 28, the U.S. Army's Tank, Automotive & Armaments Command awarded a $4 billion contract to the Oshkosh Corporation to build 23,000 medium-size trucks. The award was an upset win for Oshkosh, . . .
New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages
If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little . . .
Gates Signals F-35 Fighter Will Be Administration Priority
Defense secretary Robert Gates has finally found a weapons system he likes. After canceling or cutting back over a dozen major programs in April -- and setting the stage for additional cuts in the fiscal . . .
Failure To Use Radar Planes Against Taliban Is Foolish
U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are reporting worrisome advances in the battlefield performance of Taliban insurgents. Enemy discipline and morale seem to be improving, encouraged no doubt by the inability . . .