The Heritage Foundation ranked both the Air Force and the Space Force as “weak” in its 2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength released Oct. 20, citing issues ranging from low readiness and misaligned investment in fourth-generation platforms to insufficient space domain awareness and offensive space ...
As a Pentagon task force begins reviewing the department’s approach toward China, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III used his first media briefing to reiterate that Beijing is the top “pacing threat” for the military and the U.S. needs to ensure its deterrence can remain ...
President Joe Biden on Feb. 10 announced a new Defense Department quick-paced review of the military’s overall strategy toward China. Over the next “few months,” the Department of Defense China Task Force will work to define new priorities and “decision points so that we can ...
The 2021 iteration of the annual Red Flag combat air exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., is focused on great power competition, two of the minds behind the event told Air Force Magazine on Jan. 29. With 27 unique scenarios (a mixture of offensive ...
The other military services should defend USAF's air bases as the “tax” to enjoy the many benefits the Air Force provides them in terms of communications, mobility, and protection, Deputy Chief of Staff for operations Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella Jr. said Dec. 8. The ...
House-Senate Conferees require a larger Air Force in the final version of the fiscal 2021 defense bill, directing the service to build the 386 combat squadrons it said it needs to meet the National Defense Strategy, and specifically raising the bomber fleet to 225 aircraft, ...
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller on Nov. 16 issued a three-pronged set of priorities for his time leading the Pentagon, intended as an annex to his Nov. 13 message to U.S. troops that called for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “Building on the message ...
“Irregular warfare” isn’t just for special operations forces. A newly published summary of an annex to the 2018 National Defense Strategy argues that after decades of asymmetric conflict—wars where enemies have exploited weaknesses in U.S. technology and tactics—the Pentagon is still underprepared for that kind ...
Congress wants the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command to provide a plan on how to counter emerging threats from foreign countries while continuing to fight terrorism and fix ethics and professionalism concerns in the Command. While USSOCOM has grown to face new threats, Congress ...