UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Navy chalked up a big financial win for the MQ-8 Fire Scout program last month, setting the stage for a multimillion-dollar deal to buy a slew of new unmanned aircraft in the coming years. Congressional appropriators set aside $191 million for the Navy to buy 12 new, long-range variants of the helicopter-like… Keep reading →

In the new year, America’s power projection forces must be restructured and we must pursue a ruthless retirement of old weapons in favor of the new. Much of this can be paid for and modernized because of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, which costs $2 billion a week. Logistics costs in Afghanistan alone have diverted money… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Defense lawmakers blessed the Navy’s plans to begin a new multiyear plan to bolster its fleet of MH-60 combat helicopters, according to legislation passed this week. Earlier this week, lawmakers approved two new multiyear procurement plans pitched by the Navy as part of the final version of the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill. The… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: A Navy plan to base four Aegis warships in Spain could end up being sunk by congressional lawmakers looking to protect their own political interests. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the ship relocation plan in October at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The decision “should send a very strong signal that the United States… Keep reading →

UPDATED CAPITOL HILL: The $669 billion set aside by defense lawmakers for fiscal 2012 is $24 billion short of the White House’s initial request but will be enough to finance several of the Pentagon’s high-profile programs. The Pentagon will get $554 billion in its baseline budget and $115.5 billion to continue fighting the wars in… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Despite reports of its possible demise, the Navy’s new aircraft carrier has been spared the budget ax. Now Pentagon and service officials have to figure out how they will pay for it. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget approved the Navy’s request to include the carrier program in its six-year spending plan,… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Navy’s decision to cut its future amphibious fleet from 38 ships to 33 has left the Marines clamoring for any and all options on how to close that gap, Assistant Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said today. The typically stoic and reserved Dunford got a little gung-ho when I asked him what… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In the military, you can’t always get what you want but you can usually get what you need. And looming budget cuts are forcing the Marine Corps to do just that with its future amphibious fleet, according to a top service general. Neither the Marines nor the Navy have backed off the Corps’ requirement… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Fatigue testing and analysis are turning up so many potential cracks and “hot spots” in the Joint Strike Fighter’s airframe that the production rate of the F-35 should be slowed further over the next few years, the program’s head declared in an interview. “The analyzed hot spots that have arisen in the last 12… 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 →