If the Trump administration wants to negotiate an arms control treaty with Russia, it must meet several preconditions. The Times of London reports that then President-elect Donald Trump signaled he would consider a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Russians. He was quoted as saying, “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and… Keep reading →

Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who had expressed serious reservations about Rex Tillerson, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of State, said Sunday afternoon they would vote for him, pretty much assuring his elevation. The most combustible part of Tillerson’s testimony was about how to handle a rising China’s actions in the South and East… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Soon after President Donald Trump took the oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” the White House posted two documents declaring they would boost the size of the Navy and Air Force, increase our offensive and defensive cyber capabilities and end sequestration. In the first document, Making Our Military Strong Again, the Trump Administration… Keep reading →

We haven’t done this much here at Breaking Defense, but when I ran DoDBuzz we used to sometimes take cogent and insightful readers comments and build them into a story. Here’s your chance to tell the new administration the smart things it could do with America’s military over the next four years. You can either… Keep reading →

President-elect Trump has promised to destroy Daesh. If Trump wants to avoid being the third Administration in succession to sink into the morass of the Middle East, it is essential to first ask what declaring victory would look like. Part of the West’s challenge is rooted in that Daesh is a brand inside a religion and… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Wealth, population and thin-skinned nationalism make China the number one threat to the US-led world order, not Russia or Islamic terrorism, writes leading military strategist Andrew Krepinevich. That means the US must build up forward-deployed forces in the Western Pacific, he writes, if necessary at the expense of defending Europe. Russia’s oil-dependent economy and… Keep reading →

CLARIFIED w/ CNO response WASHINGTON: The Navy wants a 355-ship fleet. Can US shipyards build it? Yes, they can, the Navy leaders are insisting. But, the Chief of Naval Operations warned this morning, to keep production swift and steady, we should be careful about replacing existing designs — including the Littoral Combat Ship — with all-new warships… Keep reading →

Donald Trump has bemoaned the “over budget, behind schedule” F-35 program. He opened his first press conference as president-elect with a vow to do “big things” to bring down the aircraft’s cost and improve performance. That will take more than jaw-boning. Applying heat to Lockheed will reduce costs to a degree, but it would take another… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: After almost two decades in Hong Kong riding the Chinese economic buffalo, a man little known in Washington is apparently the frontrunner for Navy Secretary in the Trump administration. One source with deep knowledge of the Navy and GOP politics called the pick of Philip Bilden “f**ing ludicrous.” Another, with similar credentials, called it “crazy.”… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Lockheed CEO Marillyn Hewson is getting much more face time with the next president than she ever expected, all as part of a fascinating ballet as Donald Trump tries to force weapons costs down before he even gets sworn in. “I just had a great meeting with President-elect Trump on the F-35 program. I share… Keep reading →