WASHINGTON: One of the time-honored tenets of many Pentagon observers is that senior officials should not benefit from their experience working for or with the military when they leave government service because it’s unethical, drives costs up and is just, well, not right. (And same goes for them leaving industry to work for the government…)… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The top Air Force acquisition civilian, Richard Lombardi, has been “removed” from office for failing to disclose his wife’s financial links to Northrop Grumman, winner of the Long Range Strike Bomber contract. Lombardi’s wife had a Northrop Grumman retirement account. He came forward and told the Air Force he had failed to mention this in his annual disclosure form.… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The head of the Air Force’s Quadrennial Defense Review office made very clear today that the service will do all it can to protect the F-35 for a pretty compelling reason: “We must be able to project power in contested environments (A2/AD) and the Joint Strike Fighter is that machine.” Kwast told reporters after his public… Keep reading →

[updated Wednesday 12/5] WASHINGTON: Top executives from four major defense and aerospace firms sent a message to Congress and the Obama administration today: the nation expects its elected leaders to lead and the well-paid executives are willing to accept higher personal and corporate taxes on the path to find a solution to the nation’s fiscal… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON [Corrected at 6 pm Friday]: The latest crash of a V-22 tiltrotor may be a black mark on the aircraft’s safety record, but it won’t bring down the program. Despite literally decades of criticism — which is now certain to flare up again — there’s simply too much budgetary momentum, political support, and, yes,… Keep reading →

The Navy declared LCS-1 Freedom “fit for service” yesterday and on track for next year’s deployment to Singapore, while lead contractor Lockheed Martin says LCS-1’s shortfalls are largely fixed in the redesigned LCS-3, Fort Worth — but watchdog group POGO, whose reports have fueled Congressional skepticism, still has its doubts. “Earlier this month we have… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: While the Littoral Combat Ship is not suited for the front lines of a war with China, it would provide vital protection to US supply lines in such conflict, said Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work, and against Iran, LCS would be in the battle from “day one,” with eight LCSs ultimately operating… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In an otherwise pro-forma meeting to approve legislative language for the 2013 national defense authorization, the Seapower panel of the House Armed Services Committee paused to add just one amendment to the otherwise unmodified bill: a provision by California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter demanding that the Navy ‘fess up to Congress on problems with… Keep reading →

To defend the nation we must cut defense spending. We can no longer afford to waste money subsidizing the defense of Western Europe, overpaying contractors, and buying overpriced and under-performing weapons with exquisite requirements. As Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says: “Our national debt is our biggest national security threat.”… Keep reading →

Washington: Two respected taxpayer groups are calling for more than half-a-trillion in defense cuts. The Project for Government Oversight (POGO) and Taxpayers for Common Sense released a plan today targeting some $586 billion in what they call “wasteful defense and contractor spending over the next 10 years.” The two groups say the weapons systems they’ve… Keep reading →