Last week China revealed that it planned to increase its 2007 military budget by 17.8 percent, which Rep. Ike Skelton (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee called “the biggest increase in defense spending in five year.” In remarks at Wednesday’s budget hearing, Skelton went on to decry China’s recent anti-satellite test, the potential for “miscalculation” in the Taiwan strait, and China’s growing influence in Latin America and Africa. US Pacific Command chief, Adm. William Fallon told the panel that he is “concerned” about Beijing’s “continued double-digit” defense spending, however, he believe progress in military-to-military relations has been “positive.” He expects to see more “transparency and reciprocity.”
The Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract to design and build a communications satellite prototype with advanced anti-jam and data processing capabilities. The service announced the contract for the Enhanced Protected Tactical SATCOM-Prototype program, or Enhanced PTS-P, May 15, and said the satellite will launch no sooner than…