WASHINGTON: Boeing’s big win to supply Saudi Arabia with F-15 fighters could set up a larger, more lucrative deal to revamp the country’s naval forces, according to company officials. Washington and Riyadh inked a $29.4 billion deal to provide 84 new Boeing-built F-15E fighters for the Royal Saudi Air Force. Boeing and the Air Force… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: UN nuclear inspectors are pursuing leads to make the case that Iran is working on the bomb, a month after a report that lacked the “smoking gun” needed to brand Iran guilty of seeking nuclear weapons. If Iran used nuclear material to do weapons work, the country would be in direct violation of the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Speculation on how Iran was able to capture the Pentagon’s stealthy RQ-170 unmanned aircraft has consumed defense and intelligence insiders for weeks. But recent reports based on sources in Tehran claim the highly-classified drone was brought down by an Iranian cyberattack. Iranian engineers were allegedly able to hack into the unmanned aircraft’s control systems… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: The United States must not hand over sensitive missile defense technology to Russia even if it means abandoning White House plans for a European missile shield, a key GOP lawmaker says. There already have been numerous instances by Russia to obtain American military secrets even after the collapse of the Iron Curtain the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is “committed” to resolving the stalemate with Russia on the White House’s European missile defense plan despite claims by Moscow the plan is dead on arrival, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said. “I personally believe we will find common ground with the Russian military on [EPAA] because… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: For the second time in as many years, the White House is asking the Pentagon to put a price tag on the Obama administration’s European missile shield program. The Office of Management and Budget first asked the Pentagon wrap up a comprehensive cost estimate for the missile shield program back in December 2009. The… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: A former senior Pentagon official with extensive knowledge of unmanned aerial vehicles expressed great skepticism of the aircraft supposed to be a stealthy RQ-170 shown on Iranian television today. We asked one of Washington’s most experienced UAV experts to have a look at the Iranian TV footage today. They say it’s a stealthy RQ-170… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: There are two anchors of conventional views on the U.S. DoD budget outlook. The first is that it is cyclical and headed down and will follow the same trajectory as defense budgets in the last four cycles since the late 1940s. The second anchor is that the U.S. can and should “pivot” its strategy… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Iran’s three new mini submarines could be Tehran’s first real step toward expanding its naval presence, but the regional powerhouse is still a long way from being a legitimate threat to the United States or its allies, according to one defense analyst. Iranian naval officials last week unveiled the new Ghadir-class mini submarines they… Keep reading →

Before designing and articulating a new defense strategy, DoD officials must answer an important question: Will the most dangerous twenty-first century threats emerge more from unfavorable order or unacceptable disorder? Unfavorable order is rooted in military competition with rising powers like China or Iran and conforms well to emerging concepts like Air-Sea Battle. Unacceptable disorder… Keep reading →