DefenceTalkThe F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program office announced today the European locations for heavy engine and heavy air frame maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade facilities. “In the European region, F-35 initial air frame MROU capability will be provided by Italy by 2018,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan told reporters. Bogdan is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-european-maintenance-sites-announced-61122/

DefenceTalkSecretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced today a comprehensive action plan to reform to the nuclear enterprise and called for additional critical investments in sustainment as well as measures to address longstanding cultural issues that have hurt the morale of the nuclear force. In February of this year, following a series of events involving the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/secretary-of-defense-hagel-announces-nuclear-force-reforms-61004/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement in principle for the production of 43 F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Officials anticipate the Low-Rate Initial Production lot 8 (LRIP 8) contract to be finalized in the coming weeks. The contract is for fiscal year 2014 with deliveries beginning in 2016. Cost details […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-and-lockheed-announce-principle-agreement-on-purchase-of-f-35s-60882/

DefenceTalkDefense officials today welcomed an announcement by the Japanese government that it would seek a change to the policy regarding the country’s collective self-defense. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement that the change will enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces to engage in a wider range of operations and that it will strengthen the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/defense-officials-hail-japanese-decision-on-self-defense-law-60013/

DefenceTalkThe United States Department of Defense (DoD) is strategically leveraging innovations in geospatial technologies to ensure commanders at every level have a deeper understanding of evolving operational environments. Multi-fused geospatial products that could serve as a foundation for many modeling and simulation training programs and enhance the ability of military commanders and civilian emergency responders […]https://www.defencetalk.com/innovations-drive-us-dod-spending-on-geospatial-technologies-59836/

DefenceTalkChina continues to modernize and improve its military capabilities, according to an annual DOD report to Congress, and is also preparing for contingencies in the South and East China Seas where Beijing has been involved in increasingly tense territorial disputes with its neighbors. The just-released “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-continues-military-modernization-report-says-59797/

DefenceTalkThe Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget proposal supports the Department’s 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) that is being released in conjunction with the budget. The 2014 QDR updates the Defense Strategic Guidance released in January 2012. This updated strategy focuses on defending the homeland against all strategic threats including violent extremism, building security globally, and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/summary-of-the-dod-fiscal-2015-budget-proposal-58940/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel has proposed cuts in military spending that include further reductions in troop strength and force structure in every military service in the coming year as part of an effort to prioritize U.S. strategic interests in the face of reduced resources after more than a decade of war. At a Pentagon news […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-outlines-budget-reducing-troop-strength-force-structure-58856/

DefenceTalkTwo years into the pivot to the Asia-Pacific region and the concurrent drawdown in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials today related to Congress the Defense Department’s strategy to maintain U.S. superiority in military technology. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services Committee that until U.S. forces are reduced to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-official-force-size-limits-modernization-efforts-50184/

DefenceTalkStrategy and budget realities are two aspects of the Defense Department’s new Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap, released Dec. 23. The report to Congress is an attempt to chart how unmanned systems fit into the defense of the nation. “The 2013 Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap articulates a vision and strategy for the continued development, production, test, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-looks-25-years-ahead-in-unmanned-vehicle-roadmap-50000/