Washington: The Pentagon is hoping that a newly-revised price estimate will be the key to locking in a deal to sell the Global Hawk to the South Korean military. DoD plans to ship over that new estimate to Seoul within weeks, according to industry officials familiar with the program. Recent estimates by DoD have put… Keep reading →

It may surprise many, but today’s Air Force cannot hold every contested target at risk, a fundamental strategic goal. Last week, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and other senior leaders at the Air Force Association’s annual air and space conference made a clear and compelling case for long-range strike. The Air Force plans to fund… Keep reading →

Washington: News reports appear to confirm weeks of worries by senior White House and congressional officials that large numbers of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles have gone missing in Libya. ABC News is reporting that a secret White House meeting discussed the disappearance of 20,000 “portable, heat-seeking” missiles. They quote Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security… Keep reading →

Washington: Norway is threatening to delay its buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters if DoD decides not to support a new missile system built by one of the country’s top defense firms. Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg is pressuring the Pentagon to integrate its Joint Strike Missile for use on the F-35, indicating that Norway is… Keep reading →

Washington: In the last few days one thing has become crystal clear: the Obama administration — from the Pentagon to the Situation Room to OMB — has decided America cannot sustain defense cuts that go beyond the currently planned $450 billion. We knew the Pentagon felt this way ever since a carefully masked “senior Pentagon… Keep reading →

Washington: The South Korean government is threatening to walk away from an almost $400 million Global Hawk purchase unless the Pentagon can bring the price down. According to a recent report in the Korea Herald, top decision makers in Seoul claim the revised cost estimate out of the Pentagon for the four-plane deal is nearly… Keep reading →

Robbin Laird, international defense consultant, has been in Paris interviewing French military officials about lessons learned in Libya. This is the first of two pieces he’ll do for Breaking Defense on what he’s learned. The Editor. A main point underscored by the French military was the impact of the political process on military planning. The… Keep reading →

Washington: The outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pulled no punches during his last week on the job, saying today that the across-the-board defense cuts under the so-called “doomsday” scenario will break the military. For the first time, Adm. Mike Mullen said this afternoon that if the Super Committee set up by the… Keep reading →

I was continually frustrated during my time as the Marine’s Deputy Commandant for Aviation by our inability to rapidly upgrade Marine equipment, especially aircraft cockpits and similar systems. The reason is simple, much of the aerospace and defense industry uses unnecessary and arbitrary proprietary markings as a base requirement. We must change this mind-set. The… Keep reading →

PHILADELPHIA: As the budget outlook for the services seems to get bleaker with each passing day, one Army general says he expects to do pretty well come February. Maj. Gen Tim Crosby, head of the Army’s program executive office for aviation, said his office’s funding request for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2013 budget should remain… Keep reading →