Defense
Despite Hard Times, The F-35 Program Demonstrated Stellar Performance In 2020 (From RealClearDefense) In a year where the Department of Defense struggled to address a global pandemic, uncertainty at home, and multiple security challenges abroad, the F-35 program stands out as a success story. The aircraft continues to provide exceptional capability for ...
Pentagon Report Paints Grim Picture Of America’s Industrial Decline (From Forbes) On January 12 the Department of Defense released its 2020 assessment of U.S. industrial capabilities. It is alarming compendium of decay that signals FDR's arsenal of democracy is on its last legs. From shipbuilding to machine tools to semiconductors, ...
The Four Biggest Hurdles To Rebuilding The Nuclear Bomber Force (From Forbes) The average age of heavy bombers in the Air Force fleet is now 45 years. The force has grown so decrepit that its ability to provide a credible deterrent as part of the nation's nuclear triad is becoming doubtful. For instance, the B-52s that comprise ...
New U.S. Maritime Strategy Makes Case for More Coast Guard Cutters (From The National Interest) The three sea services—the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard—just released their new, joint maritime strategy titled Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power. The document reflects the realities of an international environme ...
The Standard Missile: America’s First Family Among Defense Programs (From RealClearDefense) Most major U.S. defense programs have been based on both revolution and evolution. Historically, the Pentagon has invested in an initial leap-ahead capability, one designed to provide the military with a qualitative edge. But from their early years, vi ...
Why Getting Rid Of U.S. ICBMs Could Make Nuclear War More Likely (From Forbes) Plans to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with a new "ground-based strategic deterrent" are likely to be carefully scrutinized by the Biden Pentagon. If the scrutiny is objective, here is what it will find: maintaining ...
Greece Could Usurp Turkey’s Role As Leading NATO Air Power In Eastern Mediterranean (From RealClearDefense) The most recent dispute between Turkey and Greece has created a disturbance within the alliance that was supposed to deter such conflicts. In September of 2020, Turkey began to actively search for oil and natural gas deposits close to Cyprus, quickly e ...
Biden Defense Team Inherits Navy Robotic Warship Research Aimed At Deterring/Defeating China (From Forbes) Joe Biden is about to inherit a diverse portfolio of defense innovations funded by his predecessor. One of the most ambitious initiatives is the Navy's effort to develop unmanned surface warships and submersibles capable of supporting the manned fleet ...
Lockheed Martin’s Purchase Of Aerojet Is A Modest Transaction With Major Benefits (From Forbes) Lockheed Martin disclosed on Sunday that it plans to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Unlike some other mergers in the aerospace sector, this deal is likely to bolster competition. There are only two domestic pr ...
Biden Defense Team Needs To Speed Consolidation Of Pentagon’s Vulnerable Cloud Architecture (From Forbes) Two years after the Pentagon released a strategy directing that defense users migrate to an enterprise-wide cloud computing architecture, little progress has been made. The next-generation JEDI program remains mired in legal wrangling, while various de ...