Daily Report

Even without the Budget Control Act’s sequestration mechanism kicking in, “we know there will be much more than $450 billion in defense cuts” in the coming decade, said Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove. Addressing AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium...

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley thinks there will be some serious rethinking of service expenditures in the coming years, especially if the Budget Control Act’s sequester mechanism takes effect. However, he said he doubts that any solution would involve the...

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley began his speech at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles by reiterating that “the Air Force is accountable to our teammates” in terms of treating the remains of fallen US military personnel with the...

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, said he does not oppose the F-35 strike fighter program. Speaking at the Military Reporters and Editors conference last week in Rosslyn, Va., Dempsey took the opportunity to clarify remarks he...

We Thought You Had That Covered: Defense Department officials are keeping details of the Air Force-Navy AirSea Battle concept out of public view “by design,” according to Gen. Philip Breedlove, USAF’s vice chief of staff. “We agreed from the outset...

Hawker Beechcraft officials said they are "confounded and troubled" by the Air Force's decision to exclude their AT-6 platform from further consideration in the service's Light Air Support aircraft competition. In a Nov. 18 release, they stated that the Air Force notified them of this development in a letter, but provided "no basis for the exclusion." They said this news was troubling because their company, which has been teamed with Lockheed Martin in offering the AT-6, has been "working closely with the Air Force for two years and, with our partners, have invested more than $100 million preparing to meet the Air Force's specific requirements." The officials said they have requested a debriefing. The Air Force has said it intends to acquire 20 LAS platforms for the Afghan air force. Embraer's Super Tucano also has been in the running for LAS.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay reaffirmed their nations’ commitment to the F-35 strike fighter program. “Let me make very clear that the United States is committed to the development of the F-35 and to a...

Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander, identified two ways that his organization could save money while preserving critical missions: redefine how it builds its space architectures and constrain requirements growth. “We have to look at new architectures in...

Block buys of evolved expendable launch vehicles would save the Air Force “hundreds of millions of dollars” over the next few years, if properly implemented, said Gen. William Shelton, head of Air Force Space Command. In his address at AFA’s...

In 1941, the US military largely ignored the threat Japan posed, but the United States has wisely not turned a blind eye toward China in recent years, said veteran defense reporter and Pacific security expert Richard Halloran. The United States...

A RAND study last year determined that “it’s risky to go to an all-standoff” approach to long-range strike, according to RAND senior analyst Alan Vick. He told attendees of AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium last week in Los Angeles that RAND...

US officials need to “pay attention to what the enemy says,” asserted media expert and defense consultant Chuck de Caro, when discussing al Qaeda and the war on terror at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium last week in Los Angeles. Low-level...