Countering China: Hypersonic Missiles, Sensors, Stealth, & Speed
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We have heard much about the anti-access/area denial threat China poses to American and allied forces in the Pacific. We have read much about new Chinese missiles such as the DF-21, which supposedly can destroy maneuvering ships at sea — especially US aircraft carriers. We have read that Pacific allies wish to deploy substantial fleets… Keep reading →
F-35B Jump Jet Makes Its First Vertical Landing At Night (VIDEO)
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The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has had more than its share of ups and downs, but this week the jump-jet variant of the JSF had an up and down of historic significance: On April 2nd, a Marine Corps F-35B conducted the first ever short take-off and vertical landing that aircraft has ever done at night.… Keep reading →
Sec. Chuck Hagel Lays Groundwork For Cooperation With China, Reducing Military Pay & Benefits Growth
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WASHINGTON: In his first major address as Secretary of Defense, former Senator Chuck Hagel paid homage to the usual pieties — but he also, very cautiously, laid the groundwork for two unpopular policies: seeking greater cooperation with China, including controversial “mil-to-mil” exchanges of military officers; and controlling the costs of pay and benefits for military… Keep reading →
Why We Still Need To Stop Sequestration
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The President, congressional leaders of both parties and senior military leaders all agreed: Sequestration should never happen. Yet here we are, one month in. Two critical questions arise: Is sequestration really that bad for national security? And what, if anything, should the government do about it? To answer the first question: yes. As then-Defense Secretary… Keep reading →
Fortunes Of War: American Army Vet Arrested; Does Fighting Alongside Al Qaeda Mean You Belong?
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WASHINGTON: Former American Army private first class Eric Harroun morphed from a jovial and swaggering bad ass, riding around Syria two weeks ago with guns, RPGs and such to suspected criminal arrested as he came home yesterday. AOL D readers will remember that we covered some of Harroun’s exploits, following him from suspected member of… Keep reading →
What Congress Can Do To Trim Pentagon Overhead
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The Pentagon needs to trim its overhead, many senior officials and experts argue, because it sucks scarce resources away from military weapons and personnel. To understand the root cause of this problem, one must return to the fundamental national security legislation passed in the wake of World War II. Before becoming president, Harry Truman chaired… Keep reading →
Air Force Maj. Gen. Kane Proposes Shake-up Of How Service Budgets, Buys And Plans
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Senior Air Force leaders are likely to test a new decision model proposed in a very interesting paper co-authored by an Air Force major general and a lieutenant colonel. The real power of the paper lies in the technical model it presents to help the Air Force (and presumably other services) better balance risk, capabilities,… Keep reading →
Raytheon Sonar, SAIC Drone Ship Could Transform Anti-Sub Warfare
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Anti-submarine warfare has given rise to some of the best war movies — “Run Silent, Run Deep;” “The Hunt For Red October” and “Das Boot” come to mind. The romance of the terror of being hunted and of the human conflict inherent in submarine warfare offers great material for auteurs. But the sometimes unbearable tension… Keep reading →
Gen. James Jones: Arm Syrian Rebels — Some Of Them
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WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s former National Security Adviser, retired Marine Gen. James Jones, said the administration should go ahead and arm rebels in Syria — albeit carefully selected ones. “Hope is not a strategy,” Jones declared at the small, student-run Georgetown Diplomacy and International Security Conference at Georgetown University, where Jones is an alumnus. “If… Keep reading →
Singapore Poised To Announce Purchase Of 12 F-35Bs
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WASHINGTON: Singapore is expected to announce sometime in the next 10 days that it plans to buy its first squadron –12 planes — of some 75 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35Bs, further bolstering what had been the flagging fortunes of the world’s most expensive conventional weapon system. The fact that American allies in the Pacific are… Keep reading →