Early Warning Blog
Gates Embraces F-35 Fighter, Stresses Program Progress A casual observer of recent spending decisions made by defense secretary Robert Gates could easily conclude he is indifferent to military technology. He proposes termination of weapons programs and hiring of additional personnel with such regularity that the Pentagon seems to be headed for the same kind of labor-intensive defense posture traditionally favored by under-developed countries.
“Bottom-Up” Weapons Design Doesn’t Work On April 6, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates cancelled the manned vehicle portion of the Future Combat System (FCS) program, sending the Army back to the drawing boards. Gates said that the original designs were planned with a different conflict environment in mind. The Secretary said he wanted a new design for a manned vehicle that could be put into production in five to seven years.
Dennis Muilenburg: The Future Arrives At Boeing Defense Boeing made a smart, bold choice this week by elevating 45-year-old Dennis Muilenburg to run its huge Integrated Defense Systems unit. Muilenburg has been managing the unit's sprawling services business, but he is best known within the industry for shepherding the Future Combat Systems program through a political minefield without falling behind schedule or going over budget.
The Virginia-Class Submarine Program Is A Model For Acquisition Reform If Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his new acquisition chief Dr. Ashton Carter are serious about acquisition reform they should look closely at the experience of the Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine program.
The Hole At The Core Of The U.S. Theory Of Counterinsurgency The study by the commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, of the situation in that country is an admission of defeat. According to published reports today, the full report clearly indicates that the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan of separating the Taliban from the civilian population is failing. As a
One More Doubt About Unmanned Aircraft We received a lot of positive comments about my August 18 brief suggesting that policymakers are a bit too enamored of unmanned aircraft. The brief argued that such systems would be far less effective against well-armed adversaries than they are against rag-tag enemies like the Taliban. Here is an additional wrinkle on that
End Of Empire (III) Every once in a while I stumble across an item that, while not directly related to national security, raises questions about our nation's ability to maintain its standing as the world's leading economy and culture in the years ahead. I put such items in my "End of Empire" postings. Today's depressing tidbit is bad news for President
STRATCOM A Lonely Advocate Of Nuclear Modernization STRATCOM is emerging as the only consistent proponent of modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is strongly in favor, too, but nuclear warhead money is spent at the Department of Energy, not the Department of Defense.
The Navy Is Not Serious Enough About The Threat From Sea Mines While the Army has spent tens of billions of dollars to counter the dangers posed by land mines and improvised explosive devices, the U.S. Navy has done relatively little against sea mines. In the first Gulf War, Iraqi sea mines damaged two major surface combatants. Iran has an inventory of tens of thousands of sea mines, some
Military Planners Rethink Deterrence “China’s okay with holding Los Angeles hostage. The U.S. is not okay with counter-value targeting.” So stated a senior STRATCOM official who was in town last week, talking about how to maneuver to lower nuclear force levels and still deter other nuclear powers.