DefenceTalkThe Defense Department’s senior leaders announced changes today in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff designed to save money and better align the department’s structures and resources. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed decisions made as part of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-reductions-first-step-in-realigning-defense-spending-49840/

DefenceTalkBudget pressures mean defense acquisition workers’ lives “are going to stay difficult for a while,” their chief told the workforce here this week, but he reminded them that they have a critical mission for the country. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, visited here Sept. 3 to discuss the Pentagon’s Better […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-official-predicts-bleak-budget-picture-for-fiscal-2014-48965/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a 20 percent cut in funding for the Pentagon’s top civilian and military headquarters by 2019, saying everyone has to “do their part.” Hagel announced the order Tuesday during a visit to a naval air base in Jacksonville, Florida, portraying the move as a signal that no element of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-orders-cuts-for-pentagon-headquarters-48512/

DefenceTalkDefence budgets in the Asia Pacific region will overtake the United States and Canada by 2021, according to a study by respected analysts IHS Jane’s published on Tuesday. Weapons spending in China and other Asia Pacific countries is expected to rise 35 percent above its 2013 level to $501 billion (383 billion euros) by 2021, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/asia-pacific-defence-budgets-to-outstrip-north-america-by-2021-48269/

DefenceTalkThe shadow of sequestration in 2013 and ongoing fiscal uncertainty will affect critical programs and objectives for years to come, Air Force officials said yesterday at a Pentagon briefing on the service’s fiscal year 2014 budget request. While Air Force officials have scrambled to minimize impacts on readiness and people, the bow-wave of reductions, deferments, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-budget-official-outlines-fiscal-2014-funding-request-47452/

DefenceTalkIt is generally agreed that the additional cuts to the defense budget required by sequestration will do more than just hurt the military; they will require significant force posture changes and, according to senior Department of Defense (DoD) officials, a new defense strategy. This should come as no surprise. The first round of cuts imposed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/defense-budget-cuts-demand-smart-downsizing-47111/

DefenceTalkChina will increase its defense budget by 10 percent this year. The country’s growing military spending is a trend that has many of its neighbors worried. Beijing sees the increase as natural. China has planned a defense budget for the year 2013 that will total around 90 billion euros. That is an increase of 10.7 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-defends-military-expansion-47079/

DefenceTalkChina plans to raise its central government defense budget by 10.7 percent to 720.2 billion yuan (114.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013, according to a budget report submitted to the national legislature for review on Tuesday. The military spending will be used to improve living and working conditions of service people, make the armed forces […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-defense-budget-to-grow-10-7-in-2013-report-47066/