The Army is preparing to formally join the Pentagon’s AirSea Battle operational concept, reported the Washington Times. The land service will soon issue a memo outlining how it will implement its role in the concept, according to the newspaper’s Sept. 30 report. In 2009, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates directed the Air Force and Navy to create AirSea Battle, which emphasizes operations in anti-access and area-denial environments. Due to the concept’s emphasis on integrating air and naval assets more closely, the Army did not play a large role in its formulation, according to the newspaper. But already last November, Defense Department officials told reporters that efforts were under way to bring the Army into the construct. (See also No One Left Out and Breaking Down AirSea Battle.)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
