More than seven months after Congress created a Space Force, House lawmakers want assurances that the new service can improve how it develops and buys new technology. They’re even willing to hand the military extra money to work on it. The catch: The Trump administration ...
Congress
The Pentagon will begin to wind down the U.S. military presence at Germany's Spangdahlem Air Base, pulling out Air Force F-16s and canceling plans to move tankers and special-operations forces to the European hub, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced July 29. The decision marks ...
Tracking and countering advanced cruise missiles developed by Russia and China needs to be a top priority for U.S. Northern Command, the nominee to lead the organization told lawmakers July 28. USAF Lt. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, currently the director of the Joint Staff, said ...
Army Lt. Gen. James H. Dickinson on July 28 outlined his plans to continue ingraining space operations expertise around the U.S. military, if confirmed as the next boss of U.S. Space Command. Dickinson, currently SPACECOM’s deputy commander, would be the first uniformed officer outside the ...
The House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the 2021 defense spending bill by a 30-22 vote July 14, though dissenting Republicans warned of “poison pills” in the measure that would invite a veto. The bill includes $694.6 billion for the Pentagon, including $626.2 billion ...
House appropriators want to severely limit funding for the Air Force's new Advanced Battle Management System, while also restricting the series of ABMS exercises. The Air Force's fiscal 2021 budget calls for more than $302 million for ABMS —its “system of systems” linking space, air, ...
Japan has gotten a green light from the State Department to buy 105 more F-35s in two variants, which will make that country the largest operator of the Lightning II outside the U.S. The news comes the same week Japan's defense ministry informed the country's ...
The heads of eight top defense contractors are urging the White House and Pentagon not to cut modernization and research and development funding to come up with the money to pay for expenses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The companies said they're worried modernization will ...
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) hopes a small addition to fiscal 2021 defense legislation will make a big difference in how the Pentagon spends its money. The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee argues Congress should let the military roll over as much as ...
A bipartisan group of four senators are demanding that the Pentagon explain why Turkey's expulsion from the F-35 program—to have been completed in March—now isn't expected until 2022. The senators said the sense of Congress on the matter is clear, and they want no further ...
House appropriators are planning to offer the Pentagon $694.6 billion for operations, personnel, and procurement, plus another $10.5 billion for military construction, in fiscal 2021. The Defense Department funding proposal is $1.3 billion higher than DOD received in fiscal 2020, but nearly $4 billion lower ...
The Afghan Air Force has made major strides in its ability to plan and conduct operations, especially on its A-29 Super Tucano fleet, but it is overly reliant on contractor support to keep flying, according to a new Defense Department report on progress in Afghanistan. ...
