The consequences of the cost overruns that plague so many Pentagon procurement programs have traditionally been limited to tongue lashings from Congress, bad press and not a whole lot else.
Big weapons programs will take significant hits if Congress’s short-term spending plan turns into a year-long contingency budget.
On average, it took 1,000 sorties of B-17 bombers dropping nearly two-and-a-half million pounds of “dumb” bombs to successfully knock out a significant Nazi target in 1944. By contrast, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a B-2 bomber could reliably achieve the same result with a single 2,000 pound “smart” bomb—and then go on to strike up to fifteen more targets in a single mission.
For years, the Long Range Strike Bomber project has been shrouded in secrecy, likely at Area 51, the Air Force’s top-secret proving ground deep in the Nevada desert. Service leaders say little beyond that they plan to buy 80 and 100 aircraft for about $550 million each, and will award a contract “soon” to either Northrop Grumman or a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team — perhaps at this week’s Air Force Association convention just outside Washington, D.C.
In an interview with Octavian Manea for Small Wars Journal, Jim Thomas offers his thoughts on how revisionist powers are wielding their Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) military capabilities, NATO’s ability to respond to irregular threats, and the way forward for countries concerned about the challenges posed by Russian aggression.
The Iran debate remains in flux but its fundamentals have not changed. Some members of Congress want to filibuster, and some believe the debate must continue because the Obama administration has not met the terms of existing law by failing to provide all the necessary documentation. There is yet another set of lawmakers who support the deal with the hope that they can improve upon it after it is implemented. However Congress resolves these challenges, legislators must recognize this inescapable fact: the deal’s flaws can’t be materially ameliorated; they are deeply rooted in the agreement’s structure. To ‘fix’ the deal, Congress must reject it and force a fundamental renegotiation.
1667 K Street NW Suite 900
Washington DC, 20006
202-331-7990
info@csbaonline.org
