The heads of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees oppose proposed new rules changing how the Pentagon compensates contractors.

Rep. Mac Thornberry and Sen. Jim Inhofe sent a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Sept. 24.

“Look, the Obama administration indicated that Russia was in violation of the INF Treaty four years ago,” said a staffer from the House Armed Services Committee. “If the treaty’s being violated, we have to take steps to ensure that stability some other way.”

There’s no timeline, no cost estimate, and no certainty Trump’s proposed Space Force will even happen. Even the interim step of creating a Space Command is being dialed down, a significant policy shift.

Thursday’s overwhelming Senate vote to pass the bill clears a major hurdle in getting the budget passed on time. But Not only do the House and Senate have little time to knock out final appropriations language and vote on it, but President Trump has signaled he wouldn’t be opposed to a government shutdown this fall, which would bring everything to a grinding halt.

The White House only has a few objections to this year’s NDAA, and lets Congress know what they are as the Senate gears up for debate.

With the two-year budget relief ending in 2020, and a new Space Force to fund, the good times might not last long.

Most coverage of the annual defense policy bill has focused on program changes: more ships (including six icebreakers!), no change to F-35’s, more RDT&E, no JSTARS recap, a growl (but no more) on ZTE, and many more (the bill and report run 2,500 pages). Less discussed, but of more import in the long run, are the… Keep reading →

Of DoD’s proposed reforms, the biggest thing not included in the NDAA is the Space Development Agency, which would appear to strike a blow at the heart of DoD space acquisition: the Air Force-run Space and Missile Systems Center. SMC has long been criticized for its slow pace, bureaucratic stovepipes, and opacity, but praised for its technical brilliance.

WASHINGTON: A little known group of top America scientists known as JASON will, if the Senate Armed Services Committee has its way, perform a major analysis of US and allied Electronic Warfare capabilities and recommend how the US can improve this crucial element of warfare. Why is the SASC doing this: “The committee recognizes that… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Senate Armed Services Committee has lost patience with the Army program to develop cruise missile defenses, IFPC, and reallocated $500 million to buy an off-the-shelf alternative by 2020. The system would defend US bases abroad from Russian, Chinese, Iranian, or North Korean strikes. While the bill language and SASC staff are careful not… Keep reading →