SAN DIEGO: Why does the Marine Corps Commandant want the Navy to build more attack boats? “As a naval force, part of a maritime campaign, we need more attack submarines,” Gen. Robert Neller said at the AFCEA-USNI WEST conference. Why? “I want to get where I’m going,” Neller said to laughter from the audience. “A bunch… Keep reading →

SAN DIEGO: Before the first human Marine hits the beach in the next war, long-range MUX drones will launch from ships to scout for threats. Next comes a wave of robotic small craft, Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) converted to carry sensors, jammers, missile launchers, even racks of mini-drones they can dump into the water to… Keep reading →

UPDATED with timeline WASHINGTON: If you’re a pilot or mechanic working on the Marine Corps’ prized V-22 Osprey, you probably spend a lot of time reinventing the wheel. That’s because the 129 MV-22Bs in service come in more than 70 different configurations, identical to the untrained eye but all subtly different — for example, in the… Keep reading →

CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Marine Corps aviation is recovering from “a horrible year” of “horrific” accidents that killed 20 Marines, the Commandant said here yesterday. But, Gen. Robert Neller said, that progress is at risk unless Congress — which just passed a short-term spending bill to end the government shutdown — can actually enact… Keep reading →

The Navy and Marine Corps hit the wall in 2017 with an string of deadly accidents. The newly named Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, seems to be charting a collision course with joint commanders.

The Army’s embattled missile defense network, IBCS, passed a major field test at Yuma Proving Ground in October, contractor Northrop Grumman announced today. In stark contrast to chronic software crashes early on, the command-and-control system accurately tracked everything from drones to helicopters to fighter jets, both Army aircraft and Marine ones. (It’s hit ballistic and… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Adds SecDef Spox Comment That CRs Are “Damaging” & Mattis Supports Spending Bill CAPITOL HILL: To prevent a government shutdown Dec. 8th, Congress looks likely to pass a stopgap spending bill called a Continuing Resolution. But yet another CR, rather than a proper budget, would do unacceptable damage to the military, defense hawks say. So… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Congress and pundits have raised the cry of a readiness crisis, but the military’s top enlisted men want America to know there’s no such thing. In a rare press briefing today by the most senior non-commissioned officers of all five services (including Coast Guard), plus the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the… Keep reading →

It’s one thing to tell a veteran, “thank you for your service.” It’s another to understand what that service really requires — and what being truly grateful would look like. Just today, the Navy’s already beleaguered 7th Fleet announced one of their 30-year-old C-2 Greyhounds — an aging shore-to-carrier transport due for replacement — had… Keep reading →

Denmark is a small country, but an important player in the NATO Alliance and the resurgent Nordic defense group of Norway, Sweden and Finland to deal with the rumbling Russia. And it will grow more important as it implements an impressive 20 percent increase in defense spending over the next six years. The increase was… Keep reading →