“Transparency (canopy) supply shortages continue to be the main obstacle to achieving this. We are seeking additional sources to fix unserviceable canopies,” Esper said in response to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“After a comprehensive investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, there was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct on the part of Gen. Hyten,” Pentagon spokeswoman Col. DeDe Halfhill said yesterday.

Trump nominee for Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett “is a force to be reckoned with and has the leadership, experience, and knowledge to lead our Air Force into the future during a time of increased global threats,” says Sen. Martha McSally.

The Acting Defense Secretary, with less than two years of national security experience under his belt, is poised to take over a department in the throes of a rapid modernization project, while rattling sabres with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, China, and Russia.

SPACE SYMPOSIUM: For the first time, the United States is sharing its space war plans, known as Olympic Defender, with a small number of allies, says the head of Strategic Command. Gen. John Hyten told us in a Monday evening interview that a new version of the plan was published “last December,” he said. “Everything that… Keep reading →

The White House defense budget for 2020 falls short of commitments made and actual requirements to meet the military’s strategy, but it begins to shift priorities and start the long process of investing in long-term competition with China and Russia. Washington still lacks the budget details for another week, but here are some initial reflections… Keep reading →

“We need to have a secretary of defense; we’ve always had one, so I anticipate we will,” Inhofe told the Defense Writers Group, directly contradicting Trump’s predilection for acting officials. “I think he’s going to nominate someone.”

WASHINGTON: One of the time-honored tenets of many Pentagon observers is that senior officials should not benefit from their experience working for or with the military when they leave government service because it’s unethical, drives costs up and is just, well, not right. (And same goes for them leaving industry to work for the government…)… Keep reading →

PARIS AIR SHOW: As much as I tried to give David Melcher slack to say the powerful Aerospace Industries Association he leads was finding it more difficult to do business under the chaotic and oft-bewildering Trump administration, he kept saying things were pretty well in hand. “The first year of an administration is certainly more… Keep reading →

President Trump’s just-released 2018 budget proposal meets the goals set by Secretary Jim Mattis when he came into office, the Pentagon insists, even though the budget does not deliver the impressive defense growth the president promised. Instead, it will, the administration says, be enough to patch up a “depleted” military that needs to be brought back to health after… Keep reading →