The Defense Department is reviewing the "pass-through" budget idiosyncrasy that can make the Air Force's spending levels look nearly a fifth larger than they really are, acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The sticking point is that changing ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 10 would not say whether the U.S. military will still conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan to defend population centers after the retrograde completes this summer, but the Pentagon is pursuing ways to base surveillance and strike aircraft closer ...
The Air Force’s plan to cut 42 A-10s but retain the bulk of its fleet is an acceptable amount of risk and necessary as the military looks ahead to more survivable capabilities, said Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The ...
Frank Kendall, nominee to be Air Force Secretary, hinted that it may be time to resurrect the Cold War practice of dual-sourcing munitions to maintain wartime surge capacity. He also warned against any jointly managed acquisition programs and suggested that the Air Force will have ...
China's meteoric rise in military capability—and the urge to do something to contain it—is the chief reason Frank Kendall, the Biden administration's pick to be Air Force Secretary, agreed to return to Pentagon work, he said in his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. Kendall ...
U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded a total of $19.2 million to five companies for prototype demonstrations as part of the Armed Overwatch effort to buy a low-cost aircraft to fly surveillance and strikes in austere locations. The aircraft selected to proceed are: Leidos Inc.’s ...
The Air Force should pause its major recapitalization of its intercontinental ballistic missile fleet—a move top military officials strongly oppose—as budgets tighten and other nuclear modernization efforts proceed, a key lawmaker said May 17. Rep. John Garamendi (D-California), the chairman of the House Armed Services ...
The need to prepare for great power competition means Air Force Special Operations Command is at a historic “inflection point” akin to transformations following the failed 1980 hostage rescue in Iran and four counter-terrorism operations after 9/11. “The rise of belligerent peers and near-peers who ...
Since U.S. forces withdrew from Somalia earlier this year, they have been “commuting to work” via aircraft to help train Somali troops, but without a ground presence there is limited intelligence understanding, the head of U.S. Africa Command told lawmakers. In December 2020, former President ...
As the new administration and Congress prepare. to take a critical look at the nuclear triad and overall need for nuclear modernization, the head of U.S. Strategic Command warned lawmakers that a reduction in the overall force could mean a return to Cold War norms. ...
Five hundred more U.S. personnel will be based in Germany starting later this year, in a reversal from previous Pentagon plans to draw troops out of the country under the Trump administration. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced the increase during a visit to ...
U.S. forces will leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11—the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Biden administration officials said. President Joe Biden is expected to formally announce the plan on April 14. The new deadline is not "conditions based," ...