Paris: One of the biggest topics being discussed by defense industry experts here as they rev up for the Paris Air Show has little, at first glance, to do with planes: cyber war. Much of the chatter was sparked by Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn’s speech in which he discussed nothing – nothing – but… Keep reading →

Hill loves M1 tank SASC adds $322M to upgrade 49 more M1A2s,. House added $272 mil to WH request @paulmcleary

The future of the Marines, which has been hotly debated ever since Defense Secretary Robert Gates referred to it as our “second land army” days after he announced the closure of Joint Forces Command, may well lie more in the air than on the sea. If you want to glimpse that future you could look… Keep reading →

Washington: This year’s Paris Air Show, the year’s largest gathering of the defense and aerospace businesses, will focus on unmanned systems such as the now-famous Predator since that is one of the few growth areas for the defense sector. The show itself, which starts Monday, promises to be, simply, huge. Some statistics: more than 2,100… Keep reading →

@BreakingDefense launches with @ColinClarkAOL at the helm. Looking forward to great articles and seeing them at GEOINT 2011 breakingdefense.com @GEOINTsymposium

Robert Gates has been called the best secretary of defense in recent memory. On the other hand, he has a reputation with some as a slick career bureaucrat with a knack for avoiding blame but pocketing credit. Both are true. “Best in recent memory?” It would have been hard for Gates to have been a… Keep reading →

The people who run the U.S. defense industry aren’t real big on metaphors, and yet many of them subscribe to a distinctly metaphorical view of how military spending ebbs and flows. The prevailing view in the sector is that Pentagon spending occurs in waves that crest every 20 years or so, after which demand gradually… Keep reading →

Politicians will say it’s easy to cut the defense budget. Just wring out the waste, fraud and abuse and… voila! Unfortunately for them, there’s no line in the Pentagon’s budget labeled “waste, fraud and abuse.” And so, when cuts are made, they often wind up reducing investment in specific capabilities sorely needed by those in… Keep reading →

The Coast Guard plays important roles combating piracy and keeping America’s shores safe, but unless the President is an alchemist and can turn words into money, the service soon won’t be able to do what Congress says it must do. There is no military area where gap between words and deeds yawns wider than in… Keep reading →

Panetta says US plays “unique role in world” pushing unversal rights, econ reform. “That’s a unique role for” US. Strong military needed. @BreakingDefense