What They Are Saying
New Report Calls for Rethink of How DoD Presents Budget to Congress
By: John Grady A mid-year budget review between the Defense Department and congressional committees could be the first step to improve relations between the Pentagon and Capitol Hill over spending, the chair of the commission charged with recommending ways to...
Army cutting force by 24K in major restructuring
BY ELLEN MITCHELL The U.S. Army is cutting its force by about 24,000 positions, nearly 5 percent, in a restructuring effort it says will help prepare it to fight in future wars as it struggles to recruit soldiers. The...
Official Says 2023 Was ‘Most Transformative’ for DOD in Indo-Pacific
WASHINGTON --- This has been the most transformative year for U.S. force posture in the Indo-Pacific in a generation, Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs said today. Even with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas attack on...
Does the US have what it takes to keep its nuclear edge?
U.S. lacks the infrastructure it needs to produce the nuclear weapons needed to keep pace with Russia and China, according to a congressional panel. “I think we have to be very practical. And right now, pretty much everything is behind schedule and over budget,”...
Pentagon to pick first Replicator drone tranche by mid-December, though secrecy abound
ASHLEY ROQUE “I've talked to Congress in classified sessions on this, but how we choose to speak about it, in terms of the particular programs or projects that will be accelerating through Replicator is to be determined,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen...
Task Force 99 Exploring ‘One-Way Kinetic Attack’ Drones, AFCENT Boss Says
Oct. 4, 2023 | By Chris Gordon An Air Force task force charged with advancing new technologies is considering fielding one-way attack drones in the Middle East, the top USAF commander for the region told reporters Oct. 4. Task Force 99, a small detachment in Air...
US Officials Concerned China Could Use AI to Spread Misinformation in 2024 Election
By Josh Keating of The Messenger The U.S. government is concerned about foreign actors, including China, using new artificial intelligence tools to spread lies and disinformation in the U.S. during the 2024 presidential election, as well as launching cyberattacks...
U.S. military preparing for possible evacuation of Niger drone bases
BY JEFF SCHOGOL of Task and Purpose The U.S. military is making plans to evacuate its drone bases in Niger, but no such order is imminent, said Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe/Africa. “We are doing a lot of prudent planning, but right...
Capitol Hill commission urges overhaul of Pentagon budget planning
Bryant Harris of Defense News WASHINGTON ― A congressionally mandated commission on Tuesday took its first shot at convincing the Pentagon and Congress to reform its budget planning process. The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution Reform...
Pentagon Seeks ‘Escalation Management’ With China, Top Policy Official Says
Aug. 1, 2023 Chris Gordon, Air & Space Forces Magazine Though a parade of senior American officials have visited China as of late to try to encourage a working relationship with Beijing, the Pentagon has yet to make significant progress in establishing substantive...
F-16s key step for Ukraine, but won’t be ‘game-changer,’ SECAF says
Stephen Losey of Defense News WASHINGTON — Training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters is a key step in building that nation’s future air force, U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday — but he doubts Fighting Falcons will change the course of...
Cyber Diplomacy Is in High Demand
Former Marine takes diplomacy of emerging technologies, digital infrastructure and the cyber domain around the world. By Kimberly Underwood of SIGNAL The U.S. Department of State is formally executing a new role, that of cyber diplomacy. With the creation of the...