Over 17 years of fighting terrorists and insurgents, “our SIGINT forces mastered the art and science of identifying and tracking individual threats with pinpoint precision,” Lt. Gen. Berrier said. “We now face a significant challenge on a much larger scale.”

WASHINGTON: There’s a new admiral in charge at the renamed Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Philip Davidson. Davidson, as we’ve noted, has relatively little firsthand experience with the peoples and region over which he will now command 60 percent of the US Navy fleet, along with substantial Marine, Army and Air Force assets throughout the region. Davidson, as… Keep reading →

Pentagon planners aren’t only worried about North Korean ICBMs, but Chinese hypersonics and medium-range missiles. That means, according to analysts, that an array of distributed systems are needed to meet a wide range of potential threats.

“I’d say six to seven years to essentially work out the Concept of Operations (and) develop the capabilities,” Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves told the Senate.

WASHINGTON: Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has asked legislators to repeal an obscure statute that he says hinders Navy readiness in the Pacific, where accidents this summer killed 17 sailors. Armed Services committee leaders seem receptive, but it’s the appropriators who’ll have to change the provision in question, which was written by their late, great chairman… Keep reading →

The Navy’s Force Structure Assessment (FSA) calls for a 355-ship fleet, ultimately growing to a force of 653 ships. However, the Navy knows that a 653-ship fleet, outfitted with the proper weapon systems, is simply financially unattainable. But the world has become more dangerous in the last eight years and a credible U.S. naval deterrence remains… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In what would be a remarkable break in US military tradition, an Air Force general has emerged as the top candidate to lead Pacific Command. Sweeping from India to the west, north to Russia, south to Antarctica and east to the California and Mexican coasts, Pacific Command is just what it says: the military… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: It was fitting that North Korea launched another missile over northern Japan just hours after Sen. John McCain appears to have won a substantial victory with today’s cloture vote apparently clearing the way for passage of the Senate version of the defense policy bill. Among the most interesting changes, one that was not unexpected,… Keep reading →

CAPITOL HILL: Congress’s repeated budget malpractice and the Navy’s flawed policies combined to cause the accidents that killed 17 sailors, the Navy and the GAO say. Legislative dysfunction means budget cuts, caps, and delays have chronically shortchanged training and maintenance across the fleet, forcing sailors to work 100-plus hours a week to try to catch… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The concept called Multi-Domain Battle – a single seamless offensive across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace – may seem futuristic, but the Army wants to start implementing at least parts of it right now. In wargames, doctrine, and interservice dialogue, “it’s actually becoming reality,” said Gen. David Perkins. As one of the fathers… Keep reading →