Defense spending has probably reached an “apex” for the foreseeable future, and it’s probably “going down from here,” Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for ISR, told reporters in Washington yesterday. Mounting bills for social programs, social security, and Medicare for baby boomers likely won’t allow much room for new defense spending, so it will be critical to “add new capabilities…to the stuff we already have,” he said. “The money’s not going to be there” for a massive refresh of the military’s force structure, he asserted.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.