The Pentagon’s fiscal 2024 budget request calls for termination of one class of amphibious vessels and stretching out of another, while nonetheless retiring three aged amphibs. The end result is that the size of the amphibious fleet would fall to three-quarters of what the Marine Corps says is its minimum requirement for lift–24 vessels versus 31. Congress has passed a law requiring the operational amphib fleet not fall below 31 large warships, and has directed that the Commandant of the [ Read More…]

The steady decline in mail volume over the past 15 years has recently kicked into high gear, potentially foreshadowing major financial problems for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the demise of a communications medium that has literally knit the nation together. Whether used to distribute government documents (e.g., driver’s licenses and court papers), for marketing and business development, or personal correspondence, a strong mail system means a strong America. It cannot, and will not, ever be entirely replaced by [ Read More…]

In 2018, Congress came together on an overwhelming bicameral, bipartisan basis to enact a sensible, technologically proven, low-cost measure to remove fentanyl shipments from the international postal system. Since then, the leadership of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in two administrations, has done everything conceivable to blunder enforcement, thereby ensuring international drug cartels maintain reliable use of one of their proven shipping and distribution channels. If the drug cartels had bribed U.S. officials, they could not have gotten better [ Read More…]

The commercial-transport unit of Boeing has escaped from the twin traumas of aircraft failures and a global pandemic to enter what looks to be a period of steady growth. Air travel is reverting to pre-pandemic levels around the world, and as it does the market is clamoring for Boeing products. Roughly 900 737 MAX single-aisle jetliners have been delivered, and they are averaging 99.55% reliability. The 787 Dreamliner widebody is out-performing its Airbus rivals, and Boeing’s 777 twinjet dominates the [ Read More…]

For the past two years, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sought to finish building the wall that former President Donald Trump started to build along the border between his state and Mexico. This wall is the priority for Mike Brown, the newly named Texas border “czar.” This effort entails significant costs, resistance from local property owners and interest groups along the border, and technical challenges due to terrain issues. It also takes time. The urgency of the border demands a response that is rapidly [ Read More…]

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall disclosed on March 13 that his service will not pursue development of a new engine for the F-35A fighter. The case had been made that a more powerful engine was needed to support Block 4 upgrades to the airframe. Kendall decided that upgrading the existing F135 powerplant would be sufficient to do the job, and that an all-new engine was not affordable. This was the right choice, given the lack of support for a new [ Read More…]

Amazon is working on a constellation of satellites that would compete with SpaceX’s Starlink in delivering broadband internet to terrestrial users. This may be the best opportunity consumers have for fostering competition in an emerging market, demonstrating that big companies aren’t always bad for price and performance discipline. However, to make it work, Amazon’s Project Kuiper (as it is called) needs to compete on a level playing field. That means not giving Starlink and other early entrants a pronounced competitive [ Read More…]

Eight years ago, the Joint Chiefs of Staff identified an urgent need to equip combat helicopters in the joint force with effective countermeasures against portable surface-to-air missiles. Many light or medium helicopters still lack that protection, although a solution to the threat is readily available. The solution is the Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures System, or DAIRCM. The system is relatively inexpensive and weighs barely a hundred pounds, well within the carrying capacity of even the lightest helicopters. It has been [ Read More…]

The Department of Defense (DoD) recognized that it was necessary to move beyond service-specific networks and provide a means for connecting sensors, shooters, and data sources regardless of where they were or who “owned” them. The Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept would provide the means to share information across the services and potentially with other parts of the U.S. government, and even beyond. But how to secure such a massive, constantly changing and evolving network? The answer is for the [ Read More…]

The U.S. Navy is buying ten fewer P-8A Poseidon antisubmarine planes than its validated warfighting requirement, an odd move at a time when the maritime threat from China and Russia is growing. By not filling its full requirement, the sea service might also be creating a problem for a sister service. The Air Force wants to use the same version of the Boeing 737 to host its replacement of the E-3 AWACS, but if the Navy stops buying too soon [ Read More…]