The two congressional defense policy committees may not have a clear path to avoid a punishing sequestration of defense funds — that big fat $600 billion cut triggered by the failure of the Supercommittee — but they do have a plan to get their work done early so they can do what really counts on… Keep reading →

With the Supercommittee’s wreckage still smoldering in Congress, the prospect of an additional half trillion dollars in cuts to our national defense budget isn’t hypothetical anymore. For an overstretched military needing to reset after a decade of war and the 13 million Americans already looking for work, it’s a disaster. But amazingly, even as expert… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Sen. Susan Collins blasted the “highly politicized” nature of Congress, questioning whether lawmakers can resolve any of the major problems facing it, including the threat of sequestration. Collins, one of the few surviving Republican moderates on the Hill, noted the positive results for the Navy in the fiscal 2012 defense appropriations during her speech… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Congress needs to take a larger role in deciding how to get unmanned technologies into the hands of American allies while keeping them out of hands of U.S. adversaries, according to a new congressional study. The use of unmanned systems on the modern-day battlefield has increased significantly over the past decade. Unmanned aircraft have… Keep reading →

(Photo: U.S. Air Force) UPDATED WASHINGTON: Defense giant Boeing may have to prove in person their case to Congress on why they opted to shutter their Kansas facilities last week. “There are still a lot of outstanding questions” on Boeing’s decision to shut down their assembly plant in Wichita, KS and move those operations to… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Army and Marine Corps efforts to cut costs on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle may be too little, too late to save the program, according to a new Congressional Research Service report. The initial sticker shock for the JLTV has not faded away from congressional lawmakers minds, despite the services’ cost reduction efforts. Breaking… Keep reading →

UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Navy chalked up a big financial win for the MQ-8 Fire Scout program last month, setting the stage for a multimillion-dollar deal to buy a slew of new unmanned aircraft in the coming years. Congressional appropriators set aside $191 million for the Navy to buy 12 new, long-range variants of the helicopter-like… Keep reading →

My vote in the 2012 presidential election will go to the candidate who most resists pandering to the American electorate. I say “most resist,” as all candidates pander, but hopefully at least one of the presidential candidates will believe and act as if there should be a limit. Given the campaigns so far, perhaps there… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Defense lawmakers blessed the Navy’s plans to begin a new multiyear plan to bolster its fleet of MH-60 combat helicopters, according to legislation passed this week. Earlier this week, lawmakers approved two new multiyear procurement plans pitched by the Navy as part of the final version of the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill. The… Keep reading →

In this exclusive article for Breaking Defense, President of Monitor National Security Ajay Patel and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and Senior Advisor Ben Wachendorf claim the impact of looming defense budget will be much worse than expected. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned Congress about the potentially catastrophic impact of the $500 billion in… Keep reading →