Former Defense Secretaries Harold Brown and James Schlesinger say the “increasing likelihood” that a terrorist group will obtain nuclear weapons necessitates giving US Presidents the option of “prompt, precise, non-nuclear strikes.” In a Washington Post op-ed, the two elder statesmen make a cogent case for the Pentagon plan to employ a new type of conventional warhead on two of the Trident missiles on US submarines. They refute charges by Congressional critics who fear such a move would lead to the de-nuclearization of US subs or to inadvertent launch by less stringent conventional protocols or to Russia mistaking a launch as an attack. Read it here.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
