The weight of evidence leads to the conclusion that China’s military expansion is undermining the regional stability that has produced an era of peace and unparalleled prosperity. China’s actions speak far louder than its words.
Defense analyst Todd Harrison posed a fascinating question while we discussed the battle over the Air National Guard’s budget: When has a military service had to negotiate their budget request with a group of state officials?
If you want to build a laser weapon, start small and go from there.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz warned this week that Congress must add funding to the Air Force’s budget if it wants to preserve the number of guardsmen the service plans to cut. Otherwise, Congress will hollow out his service.
Russia and China recognize the low-cost efficiency of lasers. Does the Pentagon?
Lasers are déclassé even in science-fiction nowadays – the guys in Avatar and Mass Effect shoot bullets – and the big Air Force and Army laser programs of the last decade were ignominiously cancelled. So I was surprised at last week’s Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference to hear “directed energy” technology mentioned by no less a figure than Vice-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson as an area where the defense industry should invest.
1667 K Street NW Suite 900
Washington DC, 20006
202-331-7990
info@csbaonline.org
