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Defense Firms Warn About Layoff Warnings
Dismayed at a returning Congress still struggling to avert automatic budget cuts, defense contractors could soon alert thousands of employees their jobs are at risk.
In the News
Pentagon Takes Second Look At Strategy; Where Are The Holes?
The strategic guidance issued to much fanfare by President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last January is getting a "relook" because the senior leadership has "found some problems" with it, according to the Defense Department's head of acquisition, Frank Kendall.
Analysis
U.S. Defense and the 2012 Presidential Election
Following the Republican and Democratic national conventions, the fall electoral season kicks into high gear. Among the many issues being debated are those focused on U.S. defense: How would the presidential candidates shape America’s future armed forces? Where do they agree and where do they disagree? Which broader realities, both within their control and beyond it, will affect their decisions on these matters?
Analysis
How Big Should the Defense Budget Be?
Use reasoned judgment, not artificial measures. Using a percentage of G.D.P. or past spending levels would set the budget with little regard for what is needed or what we can afford.
In the News
Budget Cuts Bear Down
As the specter of mandatory budget cuts totaling $500 billion within the Defense Department looms ever larger, the Air Force finds itself facing the possibility of dialing back its aircraft modernization plans and ditching older aircraft.
In the News
Energy Weapons: Zap, Crackle and Pop
The main appeal of using an energy beam to shoot things is that it travels at the speed of light, which means, in practice, that it will hit whatever it is aimed at. Trying to shoot down an incoming missile or warhead with a physical projectile, by contrast, is much more difficult. The guidance challenges of trying to “hit a bullet with a bullet” are enormous and are only gradually being solved using complex radars and missiles equipped with expensive sensors. A second attraction of lasers and other energy weapons is that in most cases they cannot run out of ammunition, and can keep firing for as long as they are plugged into a power source. The initial costs may be quite high, but each shot may then cost only a few dollars, compared with a price-tag of $3m or more for the latest missiles used to shoot down aircraft or other missiles.