Strategy & Policy

Oct. 1, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak
China is making steady and ominous gains in the quality of its military forces and its ability to project power—while making more open challenges to the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific and worldwide, according to the Pentagon’s 173-page China Military Power Report released in late August.
American military forces used a large-scale training exercise in the Pacific this month to experiment with new ways of commanding troops as part of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System effort. The Air Force’s third ABMS demonstration, known as an “on-ramp,” quietly unfolded Sept. ...
MQ-9 Reapers, the workhorse drone of America’s two-decade counterterrorism fight in the Middle East and Africa, want to show they’re getting a second wind. The MQ-9 schoolhouse at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., recently rewrote its syllabus to prepare Reaper pilots and sensor operators for ...
As Congress looks to delay passage of a new federal funding package until after the November elections, the Air Force is warning that even a three-month gap would harm national defense. “[Continuing resolutions] immediately disrupt major exercises and training events, affect readiness and maintenance, curtail ...
America’s civilian and military space agencies are walking a fine line with Russia. On one hand, NASA wants to preserve the partnership with its Russian counterpart Roscosmos that has spurred cultural and scientific exchange on the International Space Station and other joint missions since the ...
United Launch Alliance, America’s longtime space launch provider, recently cut ties with one of its suppliers amid worries that the company’s Chinese owner could steal sensitive information. ULA Chief Executive Officer Tory Bruno discussed his “wake-up call” that the Chinese could access proprietary data during ...