Archive for April, 2011

The Pentagon’s top 25 most expensive weapons programs

1. F-35 fighter aircraft

2. Ballistic Missile Defense System

3. Virginia-class submarine

4. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

5. C-17A transport aircraft

6. F-22 fighter aircraft …

TO GENS. PETER CHIARELLI AND JOSEPH DUNFORD for leading the push to ensure that troops who suffer concussions are eligible for Purple Heart recognition. The Army vice chief of staff and Marine …

12 key questions about the potential outcomes of U.N. Resolution 1973

A hesitant president, a skeptical SecDef and a cautious Air Force chief of staff made a curious trio of warmongers in …

Early in the new Obama administration, efforts began to form a new relationship with Russia. The aim was to correct what Vice President Joe Biden described as a “dangerous drift” in U.S.-Russia …

TO DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES for including in his Efficiency Initiatives Decisions memo some savings that aren’t real. Among the 102 general officer and flag officer positions listed for elimination, some incumbents …

Unmanned systems could be casualties of budget pressures

It’s amazing how quickly attitudes can turn in Washington. A decade ago, words like “unmanned” weren’t even voiced in defense policy debates. But now, …

Like first carriers, Littoral Combat Ship enters age of experimentation

Weapons programs take years to develop, build and field, and years more to perfect. Service officials repeatedly promise a system that will …

From World War ally to Cold War foe, through the breakup of the USSR and the war with Georgia, Russia’s relationship with the U.S. has been a complicated affair.

In our two-part …

When optimum manning is not optimal

It was the shot heard ‘round the Navy’s Human Systems Integration (HSI) world. “We’re going to effectively migrate, reconstitute in a way, the surface fleet afloat,” …

How to navigate the defense downturn

Strategists and armchair warriors might want to wall off the armed forces from budget cuts, buy new stuff, fix the war-damaged gear and maintain high personnel …