“New START matters to our security, to the security of the alliance, to the cohesion of the (NATO) alliance,” said Tom Countryman, former assistant secretary of State for international security and nonproliferation,

“Every day that goes by makes North Korea a more dangerous country,” John Bolton said at CSIS. “When does it become too late? Today is better than tomorrow. Tomorrow is better than the next day.”

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center won’t automate nuclear response — but it is working towards AI on conventional weapons and leery of arms control.

“We think clearly it’s time for the Air Force and other governmental entities to engage and direct the right solution. Northrop has chosen not to do that,” Frank McCall, Boeing’s director of strategic deterrence systems, said.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak: “In North Korea, we saw war threats that ended in hugs, a dead end in negotiations, hugs again, and then the story repeats all over again. The same could happen with Iran.”

“[A]dversaries could track the movements of U.S. and allied military equipment, detecting patterns of training and operations; hyperspectral imaging can identify chemical compositions; short-wavelength infrared imaging can see through clouds; and SAR sensors can image at night. When determining risks to national security, one can define it as the risk of being seen or detected.”

The Navy has eight four-stars in its ranks — a number that will stay steady when presumptive CNO Gilday is confirmed and gets his fourth star, and current CNO John Richardson steps down. The Air Force, by contrast has 13 four-star generals.

Vice Adm. David Kriete, deputy STRATCOM commander: “Strategic deterrence is active deterrence; it’s very dynamic.”

Hyten is not just one of the nation’s 40 active-duty four-star officers, already an elite club with fewer members than a single NFL football team. He is also the the leader of the space community and the advocate-in-chief for space specialists’ careers.

If the current GBSD requirements can be met through amending the RFP without delaying the program, then we can go in that direction. Otherwise, Northrop Grumman should proceed with the GBSD research and development contract.