Navy Drops Carrier Group, Down To Nine
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UPDATED Washington: A recent Navy decision to deactivate one of its aircraft carrier groups could be a sign of things to come for the service’s carrier fleet. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on Twitter @BreakingDefense. On Monday,… Keep reading →
DoD Panel Says SM-3 Makes Sense
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Washington: SM-3 proponents can breathe easy. The missile won’t be coming under the Pentagon’s budget ax anytime soon, according to a soon-to-be released DoD report. Members of the Defense Science Board briefed the Hill on the initial findings of that report, which focused on ballistic missile defense operations, particularly in the early launch phase. What… Keep reading →
Navy Says New Amphib Is Ship Shape, Finally
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Washington: To say the Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious ship has had some mechanical difficulties during construction is like saying F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has cost a little more than what it should have. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch… Keep reading →
Northrop Fixes Major Flaws In Navy Drone
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Washington: The Navy has fixed the fatal flaws that put the future of its newest unmanned drone in jeopardy, and is now on track to get the aircraft into final testing by the end of this year. The FireScout unmanned aerial vehicle earned a scathing review by DoD’s test and evaluation shop during 2009 test… Keep reading →
Top DoD Buyer Tapped as DepSecDef; Carter Will Oversee Drawdown
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Washington: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a safe choice and elevated the head of Pentagon acquisition to serve as his deputy. Ash Carter will lead the Pentagon’s enormously difficult efforts to cut the budget without gutting America’s military capabilities. The nomination of Carter, who has won consistent praise from defense lawmakers for his oversight of… Keep reading →
DoD Kicks MULE To The Curb
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Washington: The end has finally come for the Army’s Multifunction Utility Logistics Vehicle, better known inside the Pentagon as the Army MULE. The Defense Department’s procurement chief Ash Carter put the final nail in the program last week, issuing an Acquisition Decision Memorandum canceling the program on July 29, according to recent news reports. A… Keep reading →
What Does Debt Deal Mean for Pentagon?
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Washington: Thank god the debt deal is done. At least that threat to our national security appears to have been nullified. One of the sacrificial lambs appears to have been the defense budget but, as with so much surrounding the negotiations of the last few months, little is known of the details. The White House… Keep reading →
McCain Blasts Fleet; No New Or Reliable Ships
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Washington: Sen. John McCain, son of an admiral and a legendary naval aviator in his own right, dispensed a little tough love today to the Navy on its management of its current and future fleet. The Arizona Republican blasted away at Navy’s less-than-stellar record in shipbuilding during today’s confirmation hearing for presumptive Chief of Naval… Keep reading →
New CNO Puts LCS Plan On Chopping Block
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Washington: The Navy, like the rest of the services and the Pentagon, is adamant that all options are on the table when it comes to trimming the service’s bottom line. But from aircraft carriers to overall force structure cuts, details on those options coming from the Navy have been sparse. And in recent weeks, it… Keep reading →
Amos Keeps Pushing For More Amphibs
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Washington: Anyone who has tracked the defense budget battles inside the beltway knows the rhetoric can get repetitive if you listen long enough. The services versus the Pentagon, the services versus each other or the department versus other government agencies — the details differ, but the sentiment basically the same. Each program, be it a… Keep reading →