WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is pushing hard to get weapons technologies into the hands of U.S. allies and a new advisory panel will help the department do just that. The new Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure Office created by Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter will help “ensure DoD-wide planning for building partner capacity [by] taking into… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: If the Army wants to get the Armed Aerial Scout into the fleet — which it wants to badly — it’s gonna have to sacrifice parts of its air portfolio to get there. Federal funding for the Army’s air directorate will likely remain static in the Pentagon’s upcoming budget proposal for fiscal 2012, Maj.… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: A special Marine Corps task force created specifically to drag the service’s amphibious operations into the 21st century will be sticking around for awhile longer, according to a top service general. The current Amphibious Capabilities Working Group will be renamed the Ellis Group and be permanently assigned to Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Lt.… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: With the Navy’s fleet set to shrink over the next decade, service leaders are pushing hard to keep what ships they have left combat ready. With the sea service to take on the large share of the Pentagon’s Western Pacific strategy, the Navy is looking to push every ready hull out to sea. But… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Navy sails on the cusp a new “golden age” of seapower despite the fact that it will have one of the smallest fleets in recent history, a top service leader believes. While actual ship numbers have dropped, the Navy has roughly the same number of large warships — cruisers, destroyers and aircraft carriers… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Navy could abandon its long-standing goal for a 313-ship fleet in its new force structure plan to meet the needs of the White House’s new national security strategy. Navy leaders are in the midst of drafting a new force structure assessment, according Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson. That new… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Defense lawmakers blessed the Navy’s plans to begin a new multiyear plan to bolster its fleet of MH-60 combat helicopters, according to legislation passed this week. Earlier this week, lawmakers approved two new multiyear procurement plans pitched by the Navy as part of the final version of the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill. The… Keep reading →

In this exclusive article for Breaking Defense, President of Monitor National Security Ajay Patel and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and Senior Advisor Ben Wachendorf claim the impact of looming defense budget will be much worse than expected. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned Congress about the potentially catastrophic impact of the $500 billion in… Keep reading →

A perfect storm of mismanagement, procurement cost overruns, expanded post-9/11 security duties, budget constraints and a rapidly aging fleet have combined, analysts say, to make a mockery of the Coast Guard’s motto: Semper Paratus — Always ready.

The Department of Defense is on the defensive nowadays, with everybody braced for cuts. The Army already has marching orders to reduce its manpower from the current 565,000 active-duty personnel to 520,000, and no one expects it to stop there. But some Army leaders are looking past the lean years and planning how to build… Keep reading →