Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks
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Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, spoke last week with a small group of traveling reporters after attending a conference of NATO Military Chiefs in Warsaw, including Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield. Dunford described Russia’s strategy for pulling NATO apart and reiterated that Moscow poses the single greatest global threat to the UnIted… Keep reading →
Pentagon Searching For New Ways To Move Gear During Next War
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As the Pentagon wrestles with how to ready itself for competition with China and Russia, the issue of how to move troops, equipment, and supplies around the globe is becoming increasingly important.
Disaster Averted – For Now: The Pentagon In 2018
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The Trump Administration managed to avoid starting wars or crippling NATO in fiscal year 2018, writes CSIS scholar Kathleen Hicks in this op-ed, but as we stagger into 2019, the fates of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, his National Defense Strategy, and the Pentagon budget remain alarmingly uncertain. We continue our partnership with DC’s leading defense… Keep reading →
Pentagon’s No. 2 Says Internal Battles Over Space Force Are Healthy
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After an Air Force memo pushing back on some of Deputy Secretary of Defense Partrick Shanahan’s early plans for the Space Force hit the streets this week, Shanahan sought to smooth things over.
Mattis Supports Saudi War in Yemen, Rejects Privatizing Afghan Fight
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“The training we have given them we know has paid off,” Mattis said of the Saudis. “We have had pilots in the air who recognize the danger of a specific mission and declined to drop even when they get the authority. We have seen staff procedures that put no-fire areas around areas where there’s hospitals or schools.”
Heroism on Robert’s Ridge: Trump Awards Second Medal Of Honor
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This week the White House will issue its second Medal of Honor in recent months for extreme valor in the Battle for Robert’s Ridge, recognizing one of the most intense and influential firefights of the post-9/11 era. It will be awarded posthumously to Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman. Sometimes at night they huddled over a… Keep reading →
Despite Trump’s Rhetoric, U.S. Defense Firms Pitch Moving Production To India
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As big defense firms line up to pitch their fighter planes to India, the government of Narendra Modi is demanding they build in India, something that might be at odds with the Trumpian America First philosophy.
US Needs Hi-Lo Mix Of ‘Exquisite’ & Affordable ISR: Intel Official
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“Those will be debates we’ll have over the next couple of years, and those are some tough choices,” intelligence official Kevin Sherman told me. “Do we reduce some of those capabilities have been very helpful in the CT (counter-terrorism) fight, that a lot of our combatant commands have relied on, in order to buy more exquisite things?”
Mattis in Europe Shows His Influence, And Challenges of Translating Trump
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Fresh from the drama of Brussels, Defense Secretary Mattis visited NATO allies across Europe to preach stability, forward progress, and friendship. He remains a popular figure on the continent, but rumblings from Washington have the NATO alliance concerned.
Mattis, Visiting Balkans, Sees Russian Meddling and ‘Hybrid’ Threats to Allies
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Russia is threatening the confidence of the young democracies in the Balkan region, where countries have been flocking to NATO and the European Union and leaving Moscow behind.