World’s Fastest
We’re building, right now, incredible military equipment at a level that nobody has ever seen before. We have no choice. We have to do it—with the adversaries we have out there. We have a—I call it the ‘super-duper missile.’ … Take the fastest missile we have right now—you’ve heard Russia has five times [faster than the fastest U.S. weapon today], and China is working on five or six times. We have one 17 times. And it’s just gotten the go-ahead.President Donald Trump during the presentation of the U.S. Space Flag in the Oval Office with Space Force leaders announcing a new weapon [May 15].
5G vs GPS
I do not think it is a good idea to place at risk the GPS signals that enable our national and economic security for the benefit of one company and its investors. This is about much more than risking our military readiness and capabilities. Interfering with GPS will hurt the entire American economy.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) disputing the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to allow Ligado Networks to deploy a nationwide GPS frequency-adjacent spectrum [May 6].
Let Art Imitate Life…
The one piece of advice that I would give to Steve Carell is to get a haircut. He’s looking a little too shaggy if he wants to play the Space Force Chief.Gen. Jay Raymond, U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations, on the new Netflix show “Space Force,” starring actor Steve Carell as the new Space Chief [May 6].
Let Life Imitate Art…
We need you all to make us invisible, enhance our senses, help us see through walls, across domains and from every perspective. … Give us the tools to detect, engage, and destroy any threat—physical or virtual—blind our enemy and deny them any lead advantage or safe haven. … We need to think big and take risks, and we need to turn science fiction into science fact.
Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, at the Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference [May 13].
Don’t Play With Matches
The Taiwan question is China’s core interest and the bottom line of China that cannot be challenged. The U.S. deliberately stepping on the line is nothing else but playing with fire. China has never compromised on the issue of territorial sovereignty. If the U.S. does not have a clear understanding of this, and repeatedly probes and even breaks through China’s bottom line, it will eventually bring fire to itself.Gao Peining, writing in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s China Military Online [May 5].
In It to Win It
Over the past decade, in U.S. war games against China, the United States has a nearly perfect record: We have lost almost every single time. Christian Brose, former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in his new book, “The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare.”
Time Machine
It’s time to dust off those Ability to Survive and Operate manuals. Many of us grew up in the age of Apple Orchards, MOPP levels, operations with PPE, aircraft decontamination procedures, etc. While we have not required it in recent years given our focus on the Middle East, the ability to survive and operate in a CBRNE environment is in our DNA.Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, in an April 28 letter to commanders on the long-term reality of the COVID-19 operating environment.