“None of this would be happening without someone who’s not here today, and that’s Senator John McCain, an American hero,” General Milley said to some of the loudest applause of the day.

“We were never above probably a total of eight people,” the aviation Cross Functional Team chief, Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, told me. “We’re not this big colossal thing, we’re a lean, mean organization.”

This internal budget battle in the Army could cede the actual battlefield to high-powered Russian and Chinese jammers, electronic warfare advocates fear, with the same lethal consequences for US troops that Ukrainian forces have suffered since 2014.

Even as the US Army races to install Trophy Active Protection Systems on its M1 Abrams heavy tanks, Trophy’s manufacturers are testing slimmed-down versions they want to sell the US for lighter vehicles, especially the aging M2 Bradley troop carrier. While other technologies look promising, Trophy is still the only non-Russian system that’s combat-proven to… Keep reading →

Gen. Milley lays out what the Army needs, embodied in its Big Six modernization priorities. Sec. Esper then works on how to fund and deliver those needs.

“I’ve seen comparative numbers of US defense budget versus China, US defense budget versus Russia,” Gen. Milley said. “What is not often commented on is the cost of labor. We’re the best paid military in the world by a long shot. The cost of Russian soldiers or Chinese soldiers is a tiny fraction.”

The Army Chief of Staff wants revolutionary new weapons. The Army Secretary wants affordable technology fast. How can they reconcile these opposites?

As the US tightens its terms for financing the Israeli military, one of America’s closest allies is beginning to sell its weapons to the US, instead of the other way around. 

“Once the US companies come on line,” Gen. Milley said, “the intent is to outfit the entire heavy force — the Bradleys, the tanks, any future combat vehicles — with active protective systems.”

Looking to spend billions more on its top modernization programs, the Army is changing things up by spending those dollars in places that might come as a bit of a surprise.