Facing a moment with no historical precedent, the United States needs to recalibrate to deal with two nuclear peers in China and Russia—and to work to modernize its entire nuclear enterprise, a top general with U.S. Strategic Command warned Feb. 7. Air Force Maj. Gen. ...
A group of 55 Democratic lawmakers from the House and the Senate released a letter Jan. 26, urging President Joe Biden to declare a “no first use” policy for nuclear arms and to roll back the U.S.’s “reliance on nuclear weapons” in the Pentagon’s forthcoming ...
Adm. Christopher W. Grady, nominee to be vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Senators during his Dec. 8 confirmation hearing that the Pentagon needs to be prepared to deal with “two nuclear peer competitors," calling China’s rapid growth of its nuclear capabilities ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III outlined Dec. 4 the vital importance of U.S. defense investment keeping pace with that of China before issuing a statement warning that such competition would suffer “irreparable” damage if Congress opts for a yearlong continuing resolution, a real possibility ...
As the Pentagon increasingly pivots its focus to strategic competition with China, the U.S. will look to expand its partnership with South Korea to increase security across the entire Indo-Pacific region, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said Dec. 2 during a visit to the ...
The Air Force isn’t giving up on its long-frustrated efforts to retire older aircraft as its department’s leader continues to talk with lawmakers about plans to free up funds for modernization, Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones said Nov. 30.
One day after the Space Force’s second in command warned that the U.S. is “not as advanced as the Chinese or the Russians in terms of hypersonic programs,” a media report indicated that China’s likely test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon this summer included an added ...
The U.S. has consulted with allies regarding its ongoing Nuclear Posture Review and will continue to do so, the Pentagon said Nov. 8 after a media report indicated other nations have been pressing President Joe Biden not to change American policy on the use of ...
The U.S. and Japanese air forces should look to strengthen their coordination and training, potentially even staging a high-level exercise in Japan, to counter the threats facing both countries in the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. Air Force Director of Staff Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider said ...
The Pentagon’s new report on Chinese military power released Nov. 3 highlights a 2027 military modernization milestone that positions China for “credible military operations” against Taiwan. “They’re preparing every contingency to unify by force,” noted a senior defense official briefing journalists ahead of the report’s ...
The Chinese air force is developing new stealth aircraft and expanding the weapons-carrying capacity of its J-20 stealth fighter, the Pentagon said in its annual report on Chinese military power, issued Nov. 3. The Pentagon said U.S. advantages in the air domain are “eroding” as ...
China is building new nuclear weapons much faster than previously predicted, already has a “nascent nuclear triad,” and will field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, according to the Pentagon’s 2021 report on China's military power, released Nov. 3. According to a Pentagon briefing ...
