WASHINGTON ― The final version of the must-pass annual defense policy bill unveiled Thursday mandates the U.S. president sanction Turkey for its acquisition of the S-400 air missile defense system. Though President Donald Trump has held off sanctioning Turkey for the purchase under the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, the defense bill would order that five or more sanctions under CAATSA be […]
Defense
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WASHINGTON — Congress directed the Pentagon to build an interim homeland intercontinental ballistic missile defense interceptor, a weapon that is not in the Missile Defense Agency’s current plans to counter threats from North Korea and Iran. The fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act released Dec. 3, gives the Pentagon, through the Missile Defense Agency, 30 days to “commence carrying out a program to develop an interim […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s $11.7 billion network consolidation contract and a “crown jewel” of the defense department’s IT reform efforts is expected to be released next week after a two-month delay, a defense official told reporters Thursday. The contract, called Defense Enclave Services, will move 22 Defense Department organizations, known as Fourth Estate agencies, from disparate networks to common IT systems under a single provider. Government […]
WASHINGTON — Congress is requiring a consolidation and transfer of all electromagnetic spectrum operations to a yet-to-be-determined entity. Language about the issue in the defense policy for fiscal 2021 that both congressional defense committees accepted and released Dec. 3 differs from the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version in June. President Donald Trump still has to sign off. Specifically, the initial bill required the secretary of defense […]
WASHINGTON ― Eyeing China’s rise as a global military and economic power, lawmakers unveiled a compromise defense policy bill Thursday that targets China on multiple fronts, with $6.9 billion prescribed for a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative over two years. The 4,517-page 2021 National Defense Authorization Act reflects a national defense budget of $740.5, and it includes a second Virginia-class submarine and contract authority for up to […]
WASHINGTON — Could drones hold the answer to putting satellites on orbit faster? Space logistics company Aevum is betting on it with its new Ravn X drone, which it built in the hopes of launching rockets into orbit every three hours. “Aevum is completely reimagining access to space,” said Jay Skylus, Aevum’s founder and chief executive, said in a statement unveiling the new launch solution Dec. […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency has begun monitoring encryption capabilities that could protect defense communications from powerful quantum computers, a top technology official said Thursday. At DISA’s annual forecast to industry, Stephen Wallace, systems innovation scientist at the agency’s emerging technology directorate, said that quantum-resistant encryption is a new technological area of focus for the agency in fiscal 2021. Quantum-resistant technology is only […]
COLOGNE, Germany — An influential report by NATO advisers has urged the alliance to find a common course toward standing up to China, nixing proposals to create a direct line of communication with Beijing in the style of the NATO-Russia Council. The recommendation is included in a new report by the so-called Reflection Group, which started its work on reforming the alliance in April. Member states […]
WASHINGTON — A year after the U.S. Army awarded a contract to build a heavy-duty robot able to dispose of bombs and other explosives, the Air Force is looking for its own system — and it wants to see what’s on the market before committing to purchasing what the Army buys. The Air Force in October released a solicitation for a large explosive ordnance disposal robot, […]
WASHINGTON ― The Senate will vote next week on legislation to halt the Trump administration’s $23 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets, Reaper drones and munitions to the United Arab Emirates, a lawmaker said Thursday. Four pending joint resolutions of disapproval offer lawmakers a chance to block the Trump administration’s 11th hour proposal to transfer arms to the Emirates. Critics say the sales, meant to bolster […]
WASHINGTON — The fourth GPS III satellite has achieved operational acceptance from the U.S. Space Force at record speeds using an expedited process that was 10 days faster than previous efforts. “[The fourth GPS III satellite] sets a new standard for handover from the contractor launch team to operational acceptance, setting the satellite healthy to the global user community approximately 30 days post launch. Moving forward […]
HAIFA, Israel — Israel’s Navy on Wednesday welcomed the first of four German-made warships that will be at the vanguard of the country’s efforts to protect its coastline and growing natural gas industry. The first missile boat of “Project Magen” docked at Israel’s Haifa port, with three more of the corvettes scheduled to arrive over the next two years. “The Israel Navy has proved it can […]
WASHINGTON — Officials expect a tool to jointly manage the electromagnetic spectrum to kick off next year, helping commands strengthen battle plans to track and stop threats over the waves. Leaders have discussed the program, called Electromagnetic Battle Management, or EMBM, for some time, and it will now get started in fiscal year 2021. The electromagnetic spectrum has gained importance in recent years, with adversaries becoming […]
WASHINGTON ― House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith said he believes it’s still possible President Donald Trump would veto the annual defense policy bill but warned it “would be a huge political mistake.” “I’m not unhappy when President Trump makes political mistakes, but I want this bill in law,” Smith, D-Wash., told Defense News in an interview Wednesday. “So, I hope the president realizes that […]
ROME – Italy is close to opening a new pilot finishing school on a Mediterranean island where expanded air space will allow it to double its current intake, with a majority of students coming from overseas militaries. Now based at Galatina air base in the southern heel of Italy, students in the final, Phase 4 stage of flight training will move to Decimomannu air base on […]
Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy, shares her thoughts on where the Pentagon must invest to succeed in the future. Current media reports would lead us to believe that questions are being raised about the qualifications of former Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy to be nominated as secretary of defense, including whether her connections to the defense industry should disqualify her candidacy. The […]
WASHINGTON – The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Pentagon’s top IT agency to roll out collaboration tools at record speed and scale to a workforce that largely went remote. The pandemic sent organizations across the United States scrambling to support mass telework, but none had to meet the size and scale of the Defense Department with its millions of employees. One of the major initiatives rushed out […]
WASHINGTON — The Army wants its Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) Gray Eagles to have synthetic aperture radars, moving target indicators, electronic intelligence and communications intelligence capability as well as air-launched effects and radar warning receivers, according to a new market survey. Now, the Army wants help from industry with those payloads for its Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft systems. Specifically, the service is looking for systems […]
After years of fighting with federal officials, Vietnam veterans suffering from high blood pressure and several other serious health conditions would be granted presumptive benefits status under language included in the final version of the annual defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday. If passed into law, the mandate would require Veterans Affairs officials to begin granting fast-track disability status for about 200,000 veterans suffering from hypertension, bladder […]
WASHINGTON — With an increasingly expanding attack surface – exacerbated by droves of employees now working remotely – officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency say the organization’s new cloud-based browsing tool boasts stronger security for the Department of Defense networks. The Cloud Based Internet Isolation (CBII) program, which hosts internet browsing in an isolated cloud environment, transfers the traffic away from the user’s desktop or […]
WASHINGTON — Raytheon’s intelligence and space business announced Wednesday it was awarded a five-year basic ordering agreement for software services by LevelUP, a U.S. Air Force software factory. The award to the defense giant comes after the company announced a $70 million contract for submarine communications sustainment with the Navy. A Raytheon spokesperson was unable to provide a contract value for the Air Force deal. According […]
WASHINGTON — Pentagon planners need a “reality check” about future defense budgets and must accept that military dollars may be drying up, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. “I suspect that, at best, the Pentagon’s budgets will start flattening out. There’s a reasonable prospect that they could actually decline significantly, depending on what happens” with the broader economy, Gen. Mark Milley said […]
WASHINGTON ― Congress is moving ahead with its annual defense policy bill without repealing a prized legal shield for social media companies, testing President Donald Trump’s threat to veto the bill. Neither chamber’s version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act includes legislative language addressing the protections, enshrined in the Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, three congressional aides confirmed Wednesday. “We worked hard […]
WASHINGTON — The next satellite for the U.S. Space Force’s missile warning constellation is finished and ready for its 2021 launch date, according to primary manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The company announced Dec. 2 that work on the fifth geosynchronous Space Based Infrared System satellite (SBIRS GEO-5) was officially completed back in October. “Completing the production of a complex missile-warning satellite during the challenging COVID environment is […]
MOSCOW — The Russian military on Monday received its first batch of Terminator tank support vehicles for testing. Russian state television showed Terminators attached to the 90th Tank Division in the Chelyabinsk region of the Urals on Dec. 2. “The uniqueness of this car is its ability to follow three targets at once with all of its weaponry systems,” Col. Andrey Sigarev, the deputy commander of […]
ROME – Italy is planning to buy up to eight new Gulfstream signals intelligence aircraft and build a maintenance hub for similar aircraft operated by other nations around the Mediterranean. The plans, which were outlined in documents supplied to the Italian parliament, would reinforce Italy’s signals intelligence capability as the Mediterranean becomes a flashpoint for regional tensions with neighbors like Turkey and Egypt tussling over the […]
In a paradox worthy of the nuclear age, the conventional capabilities that have enabled the United States to reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons have also increased the risk of misperception that could spark a nuclear war. The United States now bases its war plans around using its exquisite conventional forces to sever the connections between an adversary’s leadership and its military forces. But in an […]
WASHINGTON — The civilian official overseeing the Pentagon’s campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in the Middle East was forced to resign in the latest jolt to Pentagon leadership in the waning weeks of the Trump administration. The Pentagon said in a written statement that the acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller, on Monday accepted the resignation of Christopher Maier, who had provided policy oversight of […]
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon agency tasked with combat IT support is finalizing long-time efforts to transition the department to the latest system that routes internet traffic across the globe. The Defense Information Systems Agency must enable core hardware for internet protocol version 6 by the end of 2021, according to Kenneth Garofalo, lead for IPv6 virtual program management office at DISA. The timeline, outlined in a […]
The panel recommended Rogers, the Homeland Security Committee’s ranking member, over House Strategic Forces Subcommittee ranking member Mike Turner, R-Ohio. During the closed-door meeting, House Seapower Subcommittee ranking member Rob Wittman, R-Va., withdrew Tuesday and endorsed Rogers, the source said. The full GOP conference is expected later this week to ratify the committee’s recommended slate of committee chairmen. Rogers, 62, comes from a deep red district, […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday cleared six foreign military sales cases, worth a potential combined total of $1.55 billion. The six cases, spread across South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Croatia, Lebanon and Canada, were announced on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. DSCA announcements mean that the State Department has decided the potential FMS cases meet its standards, but is not […]
WASHINGTON ― With congressional talks close to finalizing this year’s defense policy bill, lawmakers are wrestling with the Trump administration’s last-minute demand to include its legislation to overhaul the tech industry’s prized liability shield. Closed-door talks between the House, Senate and White House had centered President Donald Trump’s threat to veto the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act over military base renaming issues, but the focus has […]
Amphibious operations are firmly in the back of the mind for NATO and its allies as they pivot away from protracted asymmetric conflicts and ready themselves for expeditionary warfare. Central to their success in a contested environment — and especially against a peer or near-peer adversary — is effective command and control, in particular during the initial stages of an operation when a “data gap” can […]