WASHINGTON: Before we go any further, this story is based on direct observations of what was believed to be the so-called Zuma satellite, as well as a lot of spookily sourced information, most of it from a single source who shall not be identified. First, nobody who doesn’t have extremely high clearance really knows if… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Musical chairs times, dear readers. The rumor mill — we can’t call it anything else given how uncertain the Trump administration’s nomination process has been — has a number of top Pentagon positions getting filled. Who, you ask breathlessly? Robert Blair, the top staffer on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, has surfaced as a likely candidate… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: A top candidate for the Pentagon’s No. 2 position is Mike Wynne, the former Air Force Secretary who has been an advisor to Donald Trump for some time. We only have one source on this and can’t identify the source in any way, so put this one in the good rumor basket. Wynne was… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON:  While it’s always a challenge to nail down just who will be nominated for top Pentagon jobs, Air Force Space Command leader Gen. John Hyten seems as close to a lock for Air Force Chief of Staff as you can get. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has made clear her commitment to diversity… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Jim Clapper, the first Director of National Intelligence to order budget cuts across the intelligence community, may be leaving his post this fall. Or, then again, he may not. At this stage, all is rumor. So far, we’ve got three people with good intelligence connections saying Clapper is likely on the way out. We’ve… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Army will cancel a multimillion dollar effort to upgrade its Humvee fleet and funnel those funds into the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, according to sources with knowledge of the program. Pentagon acquisition officials spearheaded Army’s decision to terminate the Modernized Expanded Capability Vehicle program — the official moniker of the Humvee recapitalization… Keep reading →

CORRECTED: We Inflated The Value of Digital Globe’s Most Recent Government Contract San Antonio: You can smell the fear and worry here at the annual Geoint conference. The budget cuts that Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper outlined yesterday may be as deep as $40 billion over the next 10 years, sources here say. The… Keep reading →

Washington: The Pentagon email traffic is burning up with whispers that the White House has told the Pentagon to plan for an additional $100 billion in cuts for 2013. The planning guidance was reportedly issued to insure that the Pentagon would be ready should the Super Congress fail to implement $1.2 trillion in cuts and… Keep reading →

Since many of our readers are thinktank experts or Pentagon officials who will be thinktank experts in 18 months or so (length of average stay — not when next election occurs) we thought the following item could be highly useful. At least, we will all get a chuckle out of it. We live to serve.… Keep reading →

Washington: America does not need a stealthy long-range bomber able to penetrate deep into remote, well-defended places, America’s No. 2 military officer said this morning. The country, Marine Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright said, cannot afford to buy an upgraded nuclear triad of new bombers, new intercontinental ballistic missiles and new nuclear missile submarines. Cartwright, outgoing… Keep reading →