Manpower, Parts Shortages Would Hinder Navy In Wartime
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Faced with erratic funding from Congress, the Navy has pursued cost-efficiency so rigorously that it has cut corners and compromised peacetime safety and, very possibly, wartime performance. Crews are shorthanded and spare parts stockpiles are low.
DoD R&D Soars 24%, Procurement Up 15%; Army Up Most
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The Defense Department’s 2019 budget request dramatically increases spending on research and new weapons, less so on personnel and readiness. That’s as promised by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Navy Kludges Networks: $1M Per Carrier Strike Group, Per Deployment
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SAN DIEGO: It takes a million dollars and at least 50 technical experts just to get a carrier strike group’s networks working right before a deployment, Navy officials said at the AFCEA-USNI WEST conference here last week. The Navy’s vision of future war against a major power — China or Russia — relies on secure, reliable,… Keep reading →
Too Busy To Train? The Navy’s Cyber Dilemma
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SAN DIEGO: The Navy’s overworked IT teams need new “virtual training tools” and more time to train, especially for all-out cyber/electronic warfare against a high-end adversary, the commander of Naval Information Forces said here Tuesday. As the new National Defense Strategy refocuses the entire military from counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan to great-power warfare against… Keep reading →
Streamlined MV-22 Maintenance: From 70 Osprey Types Down to 5
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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 →
Navy Copes With Budget Chaos, But It’s Ugly: CNO Richardson
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HERITAGE FOUNDATION: The Navy’s has been forced to resort to awkward, inefficient, even dysfunctional expedients to cope with Congress’s chronic inability to pass a proper spending bill on time, the Chief of Naval Operations said here this morning. “We do need stable funding, right, but the system has adapted….I wouldn’t say in completely healthy ways,… Keep reading →
Electronic Warfare Trumps Cyber For Deterring Russia
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CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: NATO’s plans to defend the Baltic States are “inadequate” because they don’t take full account of Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities, a leading expert warns. The Russians are hardly invincible, Roger McDermott emphasized at CSIS on Monday. The story of them “shutting down” the Aegis radar on the USS Cook… Keep reading →
F-35 Problems: Late IOTE, F-35A Gun Inaccurate, F-35B Tires, Threat Data, Cyber…
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WASHINGTON: Perhaps the most damning thing a director of Operational Test and Evaluation can say about a weapon is that it is not “operationally suitable.” Here’s what the new DOTE, Robert Behler, says about the F-35 Joint Strike fighter in his office’s latest annual report: The operational suitability of the F-35 fleet remains below requirements and… Keep reading →
Marine Air Needs FY18 Budget To Recover From ‘Horrible Year’: Commandant
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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 →
Army Reserve Readies For Major War: Cold Steel II
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WASHINGTON: The Army Reserve is preparing 10,000 soldiers for major war with intensive training on machineguns and automatic grenade launchers. For many, these Cold Steel exercises held across the country are the first time they’ve touched such heavy weapons since basic training, said the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. Charles Luckey. The Reserve… Keep reading →