News
U.S. Bomber Cost Could Reach $81 Billion
The Air Force's new long-range bomber may cost as much as $81 billion for the 100 planes planned, 47 percent more than the $55 billion sticker price the service has listed.
Pentagon Fiscal Chief Robert Hale: ‘I am nervous’
/.../The next two weeks running up to Thanksgiving are pivotal if Congress is to have any chance of restoring some order for the Pentagon and a broken appropriations process. But what’s most remarkable is how lawmakers seem to be backing into decisions without first having a full debate over what level of defense the U.S. needs going forward.
Northern Bases Hit US Pivot Sweet Spot
Australia is poised to become a vital operating base for US military forces in the western Pacific as they seek a safe haven from China's fast-growing missile arsenal, according to a major new report by a key US think tank.
Yes, There Will Be a New Jet Fighter After the F-22 and F-35
/.../If future U.S. national security policy calls for operating over the vast reaches of the Pacific, a future fighter aircraft might be fundamentally different from anything that has come before. “We need to stop thinking about combat aircraft as bombers and fighters or ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platforms for that matter,” says Mark Gunzinger, an air power analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
For Now, Pentagon Plays It Safe on Compensation Reform
The Pentagon is playing its cards close to the vest on the issue of military retirement and compensation reform.
Pentagon Still Sorting Out Looming Bill From War Budget Transfers
The Defense Department has yet to figure out how much funding currently routed through overseas contingency operations accounts will have to be folded back into the base budget once U.S. forces return from Afghanistan, according to officials.