Policy

Where’d the Money Go? Lawmakers Press Air Force on Planned Radar Plane

Congress approved $200 million last year to get the first E-7s faster. That’s not happening.

Policy

As Pressure Builds, US Keeps Mum on Ukraine’s Cluster-Munitions Request

Proponents and military leaders note their tactical benefits, but strategic concerns may quash the deal.

Policy

Special Operations Seeks 20% R&D Budget Bump

Collaborative autonomy and better contested communications top the wish list, while supply-chain risk becomes a top concern.

Policy

DHS Is Trying to Predict How AI Will Be Used for Harm

The coming inclusion of AI in critical infrastructure will open new and ill-understood vulnerabilities, the agency's Science and Technology Directorate leader says.

Policy

US Space Command Wants Red Phones With China, Russia

Global norms and mil-to-mil hotlines are urgently needed as the prospects for war in space rise.

Policy

Let Me Start Weapons R&D Faster, Air Force Secretary Asks Congress

Frank Kendall wants freedom from rules that require lawmakers’ approval to get anti-China weapons off the ground.

Policy

Tighten Access to Classified Info, Air Force Secretary Says

As the Pentagon responds to a classified document leak, officials should focus on enforcing “need to know,” according to Frank Kendall.

Policy

Navy Shipbuilding Plan Draws Lawmakers’ Ire Anew

Like last year’s, the new long-range plan offers a three-option menu and fewer amphibs than Congress mandates.

Policy

Pentagon Lags on Software-Buying Reforms, GAO says

DOD has yet to implement any of the 2018-19 recommendations of the Defense Science Board, and more besides.

Policy

This Agency’s Declassification Work Could Be a Model for Others

A new paper, based on consultations with government officials and others, looks at what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has done in recent years.

Policy

‘A War On Two Fronts’: Ukraine Takes On Corruption As It Fights Russia

Can the Pentagon’s inspector general satisfy skeptics while still rooting out corruption?

Policy

Treasury Aims To Halt Russian Smuggling, Sanctions Evasion

Russia’s smuggling efforts are providing diminishing returns, Treasury Department officials say.

Policy

F-22s Marked for Retirement Will Never Be Combat Worthy, General Says

The Air Force hopes Congress will let them get rid of 32 Block 20 F-22s in the 2024 budget.

Policy

As Air Force Tries to Retire Jets, HASC’s Wittman Wants a Gapfiller

The Virginia Republican wants a “tactical interim” capability to arrive while the Air Force awaits its secret NGAD combat aircraft.

Policy

Can F-35 Engine Plan Get Foreign OK?

The U.S. Air Force decided to upgrade the existing engine instead of pursuing a new adaptive engine, and will likely talk to partners about the change later this year.

Exclusive Policy

Milley: Don’t Send Uninvited US Troops to Mexico

The top U.S. general recommends military training and law enforcement to stem drug and migrant flows—not special operators and other forces.

Policy

SecDef to Senator: Your Abortion-Related Holds Are Hurting Readiness

Lloyd Austin told Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., that holding up 160 promotions and appointments "creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be.”

Policy

US to Sextuple 155mm Production, Improve Arms Factories

Some $1.45 billion will be spent to better produce artillery rounds, over a million of which have been sent to Ukraine.