Washington: The Pentagon email traffic is burning up with whispers that the White House has told the Pentagon to plan for an additional $100 billion in cuts for 2013. The planning guidance was reportedly issued to insure that the Pentagon would be ready should the Super Congress fail to implement $1.2 trillion in cuts and… Keep reading →

Washington: Falling budgets will force the Army to boost adoption of unmanned systems and to look more closely at the ethical and moral implications of killing people using autonomous systems, two senior Army officers said Tuesday. Although the Army has been working with unmanned programs for decades, it still is not moving as fast as… Keep reading →

UPDATED Washington: Former congressman and long-time House Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton is heading to the Democrat’s designated military thinktank, the Center for A New American Security. Skelton, along with former senior State Department officials Anne-Marie Slaughter and Richard Verma are joining the Center for A New American Security’s board of directors. Skelton’s appointment… Keep reading →

The next generation of smart grid may be deployed first by the military. The Department of Defense is the largest energy consumer in the US, and is facing many of the same challenges as the rest of the country with aging infrastructure and an increasing need to use renewable fuels. As the forces become more… Keep reading →

Washington: While the Navy hasn’t made up its mind whether to build its new Ford-class aircraft carrier, one senator doubts whether the service can afford the half-billion dollar base meant for the new ship. In a letter sent to the Government Accountability Office today, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia questioned the Navy’s plan to stand… Keep reading →

Washington: Things are only going to get worse for the Defense Department and industry, as the White House increasingly looks to military spending as a way to cut the nation’s debt. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army had a plan to revamp its ground combat fleet that would carry the service into the next decade. Then the debt deal happened. Now, the Army is trying to figure out how to execute that strategy while meeting the $350 billion in defense cuts included in the White House debt reduction plan.… Keep reading →

Washington: The Pentagon’s top intelligence official has ordered the Air Force to set up a new intelligence unit to analyze the behavior of foreign-based commercial aircraft and integrate intelligence from the combatant commanders as the planes move through American airspace. Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Mike Vickers has tasked Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to… Keep reading →

Washington: For the first time, the Navy’s MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter is heading to a foreign military. The two helos delivered to the Thai navy today will give those forces the same combat search and rescue to troop transport capabilities as their U.S. Navy counterparts, said Michael Sears, the Navy’s international deputy program manager for the… Keep reading →

UPDATED Washington: A recent Navy decision to deactivate one of its aircraft carrier groups could be a sign of things to come for the service’s carrier fleet. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on Twitter @BreakingDefense. On Monday,… Keep reading →