Re-Think the Weapons Mix

Too much attention is being paid to platforms and not enough to the munitions needed to fight future wars, according to the authors of “Sustaining America’s Precision Strike Advantage,” a study to be released today by the Center for Strategic...

You Gotta Build Them

Hitting targets in well-defended airspace will require new kinds of weapons, delivering more effects and more kinds of effect per weapon, according to the authors of a new study on the Pentagon’s munitions mix. In order to win against a...

More Decoys, Please

A future “salvo exchange” of precision-guided munitions with a similarly armed adversary will probably mean a mass launch of decoys as the first wave, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments senior fellow Mark Gunzinger said Tuesday. Explaining ideas in a...

Raytheon Radar Appeal Denied

The US federal claims court rejected Raytheon’s appeal of a May decision to permit the Air Force to reopen review of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar system contract originally awarded to the company. “Raytheon has not demonstrated either a likelihood...

Presidential Nominations

President Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Tod Wolters to serve as director of operations on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, according to a June 23 Defense Department release. Wolters has served as deputy chief of staff for operations, plans,...

Political Confrontation Behind NDAA, Veto Threat

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) suggested Tuesday that President Obama’s threat to veto the defense authorization bill, which would allow “exactly what he said was needed” in defense spending, was an attempt to provoke a political...

Thornberry Promises to Educate Congress on Nuclear Deterrence

The US nuclear deterrence forces and infrastructure are “atrophying,” while Russia is adding to its nuclear capabilities, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry said Tuesday during an appearance at the Atlantic Council. “Our nuclear defense needs more attention,”...

Testing a New KC-135 Anti-Missile System

Northrop Grumman received a $31.7 million contract to supply three next generation anti-missile systems for testing on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command KC-135 tankers, the company announced. “This open architecture configuration, with its increased capability and reliability,...

Budget Flag

Four Air National Guard F-16 units squared off against contract A-4K Skyhawk aggressors and realistic surface-to-air threats during the large-force employment exercise Northern Lightning at Volk Field, Wis., earlier this month. “The training and quality of operational test we received...

Boeing Confident 737 Is Right Fit for JSTARS Recap

Le Bourget, France Despite USAF’s insistence on a smaller business-class aircraft for the next generation JSTARS, Boeing believes a 737-derivative will provide the space, power, range, and low costs per flying hour for a competitive E-8 successor. “When you look...