EUCOM Morphing To Better Deter Russia: SecDef Germany Trip Preview
Posted on
PENTAGON: In a stark indicator of just how grim the situation between Russia and the United States is growing, senior US defense officials say European Command is shifting its focus from “reassurance to deterrence” and “from a training to a warfighting stance.” Defense Secretary Ash Carter himself is flying across the Atlantic to preside over Tuesday’s… Keep reading →
Nuclear Bomber Signaling Doesn’t Work
Posted on
In a recent article in Breaking Defense, Adam Lowther and Chris Winklepleck argue that the strategic aircraft leg of the triad provides unique “nuclear signaling” capabilities essential to demonstrating the seriousness of U.S. nuclear threats. But the benefit of using nuclear weapons in this manner is a dubious one, both for America and its allies.… Keep reading →
Europe Needs Intel, Ships, & Focus: Gen. Breedlove
Posted on
WASHINGTON: NATO‘s supreme commander is on a pilgrimage to the Pentagon to ask for three things. Gen. Philip Breedlove wants more intelligence support, more naval power, and continued focus on the Russian threat to Europe. That’s tricky at a time when the Russian intervention in Syria — where the US will now send special operations… Keep reading →
Russian Threat Dominates AUSA: SecDef, Army Leaders
Posted on
AUSA: “Russia has used political, economic, and military tools to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries, flouted international legal norms, and destabilized the European security order by attempting to annex Crimea and continuing to fuel further violence in eastern Ukraine.” With those words, Defense Secretary Ash Carter captured the enormous shift in… Keep reading →
Russia Builds ‘Arc Of Steel’: Adm. Ferguson
Posted on
WASHINGTON: “We are observing the manifestation of a more aggressive, more capable Russian navy,” the US Navy’s top commander in Europe said today. And if that fleet is Putin’s seagoing hammer, missile bases ashore are his land-based anvil. Complementing Russian naval modernization, Adm. Mark Ferguson said, we have seen “the construction of an arc of… Keep reading →
Russians In Syria Building A2/AD ‘Bubble’ Over Region: Breedlove
Posted on
WASHINGTON: In keeping with its increasingly aggressive behavior over the past two years, Russia is deploying lethal and long-ranged anti-aircraft defenses to keep Western forces out of three key regions: the Baltics, the Black Sea, and, now, the Levant. From where NATO’s top commander Gen. Philip Breedlove sits, the Russian forces flowing into Syria don’t look… Keep reading →
Upgraded Radios, Networks Needed For Russian Challenge; Troops Fine: Lt. Gen. Hodges
Posted on
RESTON, VA: US command and control networks take too long to link to allies and respond to Russia’s rapid-fire aggression. In Ukraine, “we’ve had at least two, maybe three of these cycles [already, where] they’ll back off, and there’ll be a long kind of quiet period, and then they’ll spike back up,” Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges… Keep reading →
Russians ‘Closed The Gap’ For A2/AD: Air Force Gen. Gorenc
Posted on
AFA CONFERENCE: “The alarming thing,” said the commander of US Air Forces in Europe, is that the Russians are catching up. “They’ve closed the gap.” “The advantage that we had from the air I can honestly say is shrinking,” Gen. Frank Gorenc said, “not only with respect to the aircraft that they’re producing, but the… Keep reading →
Pentagon Issues Surface — A Bit — At Presidential Debate
Posted on
At last night’s debate for those with a real shot at the nomination, there was an inverse proportion between the putative Republican presidential candidates’ places in the polls and the detail of information they offered about the US military. Most of the jaw-jaw — for that’s all it is at this stage in the race… Keep reading →
Ukraine: Sneak Peek At World War III?
Posted on
PENTAGON: What would World War III look like? Ask a Ukrainian. In their war against Russia, Ukrainian troops have endured artillery bombardments like nothing Americans have seen since World War II. Russian electronic attacks against radio communications are like nothing the US has seen — ever. So even as Washington debates further training — and perhaps arming — the… Keep reading →