Aboard the USS Wasp: The sleek, angular plane pulls up to the flight line. The jet’s single engine rumbles slowly while waiting for the high-sign to takeoff. Once the member of the deck crew threw his thumbs up, the jet’s center fan — which gives the F-35 the ability to take off from smaller carriers… Keep reading →

Washington: The White House’s decision to send U.S. troops to help the Ugandan military curb a violent separatist group had Washington buzzing last week. Many inside the Beltway feared the mission, in which American special forces would support Ugandan forces in their war against the Lord’s Resistance Army, could be a first step into a… Keep reading →

Washington: Despite drastic changes made by the Army and the Marine Corps to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program, defense companies are still struggling to get costs under control, according to an industry official. Kathryn Hasse, JLTV program manager for Lockheed Martin, said costs for the new combat truck continue to be the program’s “most… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army needs a new way to connect soldiers on the battlefield, and it doesn’t care how it gets there. The service is taking a “platform agnostic” approach to the way it is carrying out its new network strategy, a senior Army program official told me yesterday during the U.S. Army Association’s annual symposium… Keep reading →

Washington: Army acquisition is facing the largest financial crunch since the infamous defense drawdown of the 1990s. To meet that challenge, service officials today rolled out a list of seven “commandments” it will follow to get the Army through these tough times. The problem is these “commandments” — increased focus on cost and schedule, increased… Keep reading →

Washington: Despite cutting over $1 billion from a key weapons program designed to keep American troops out of harms way, the Army can get enough systems into the field when U.S. troops need them. Last month, Army officials cut the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), built by Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg, from $2.6 billion… Keep reading →

Washington: The first of up to seven new Army units, created to train and help foreign militaries will be operational by the next fiscal year. The first of these “Regionally Aligned Brigades” will be assigned to Africa Command, but will be stationed in the continental United States, according to British Army Col. Andrew Dennis, attached… Keep reading →

Washington: American troops stationed in Europe may be coming home much sooner than the White House or the Pentagon had initially expected, the top U.S. commanding officer in the region said. European Command leaders have submitted recommendations that would mean an Army Brigade Combat Team would be pulled from the region much sooner than originally… Keep reading →

Washington: America’s shipyards are sinking fast, and the only way to keep them afloat is to kick the Navy’s shipbuilding plan into high gear, a recently released DoD report states. Pentagon officials noted that U.S. shipyards are falling behind their international peers, in both technology and productivity, according to the department’s annual assessment of the… Keep reading →

Washington: Only three days into the new fiscal year the Army has wielded its mighty budget ax on what many believe is a highly promising weapon system designed to protect soldiers as they roll into battle. Service officials cut the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), built by Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg, from $2.6 billion… Keep reading →