Budget

House passes defense authorization with new arms transfers restrictions

The House on Thursday passed the $840 billion National Defense Authorization Act 329-101 after voting to attach hundreds of amendments, some of which included new arms transfers restrictions.

Commentary

Senate must back creation of ‘Space National Guard’ to end a needless division

A brain drain in the space arena will have detrimental effects on our national security and our states’ readiness, and creating a Space National Guard is the best, most cost-efficient way to prevent that from happening.

Commentary

How to set defense spending when inflation is volatile

During periods with volatile inflation, policymakers have different outlooks on the accuracy of the inflation forecast.

More money to buy weaponry and fight inflation in House defense bill

Despite hours of sometimes intense debate, the measure advanced out of committee on a bipartisan 57-1 vote.

No consensus yet on military spending for next year, except for more of it

House lawmakers on Wednesday offered new and conflicting plans for defense spending next year, setting up intense congressional debate in coming months over what the right level of military funding for fiscal 2023 should be.

Pentagon should consider ‘National Hypersonic Initiative’ to speed development, lawmakers say

The House Armed Services Committee wants DoD to explore options for creating a National Hypersonic Initiative that would guide collaboration among the services and agencies involved in development and testing activities and help accelerate production and fielding of hypersonic systems.

Commentary

What it looks like when competing with China comes last

It is past time for the Biden administration to answer fundamental questions about how it intends to support Taiwan and secure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Senators back $45 billion boost in defense spending for FY23

Lawmakers say the extra money will counter rising inflation and replenish stocks of munitions sent to Ukraine.

The US is heavily reliant on China and Russia for its ammo supply chain. Congress wants to fix that.

The mineral antimony is critical to the defense-industrial supply chain and is needed to produce everything from armor-piercing bullets and explosives to nuclear weapons as well as sundry other military equipment, such as night vision goggles.

House panel wants independent look at how Pentagon funds testing

“We place a lot of demands on that community, and those demands are not always aligned with the resources that they have,” one committee staff member said. “This is geared towards shining a light on some of the shortfalls.”

US Army terminates science and technology effort for strategic long-range cannon

The Army has zeroed out funding for the Strategic Long-Range Cannon science and technology effort to focus on other long-range precision fires priorities.

Commentary

The US defense budget’s latest casualty is readiness

To advance future capabilities that provide for long-term readiness, the armed services need well-trained, knowledgeable warfighters who have the capacity to integrate modernized systems into sustained arsenals. Instead, the budget’s reductions come at a point when the operational tempo of the force continues to increase as capacity investments are falling.

Republicans lay battle lines over Biden’s plan to retire B83 megaton bomb

Congressional Republicans are pushing back against the president’s plan to retire an aging nuclear weapon, decrying the effort during a series of hearings this week dedicated to the administration’s fiscal 2023 budget request for nuclear forces and atomic energy.

SOFIC

Special ops leader issues warning over information warfare capabilities, funding

Though operational commitments keep U.S. Special Operations Command moving, progress comes down to affordability.

Commentary

Is America’s military headed down the same path as Russia’s?

Diplomacy that is not backed by military might will fail. It all comes down to credibility behind the words. The U.S. has lost its edge in that regard from both a military capability and capacity perspective.

Most projects on Pentagon’s $5.7B lab ‘wish list’ likely to stay unfunded

The Pentagon's chief technology officer says addressing the lab and testing infrastructure gap is a top priority, but most of this year's unfunded facilities projects are too early in the design process for Congress to consider.

Inside the US Air Force’s race to fund future fighters, bombers and autonomous drones before the next crisis

To prepare for far more contested airspace, the U.S. Air Force is laying the groundwork for a series of radical transformations in how it approaches air combat that could cost at least tens of billions of dollars over the next two decades.

This week in Congress: Military leaders line up to ask for bigger budgets next year

Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of May 9, 2022.

US Army’s budget lacks plan to buy protection system for Bradley vehicles

The Army is further afield to get a vehicle protection capability in place for its current fleet against rockets and drones, and the service has provided no funding to procure an interim system for its Bradley in the meantime.

How much did engine delays set back the Future Attack Recon Aircraft program?

An Army prototype flight schedule, among other milestones, has slipped due to issues getting the first ITEP engine into testing during the pandemic, budget books show.

Commentary

Moskva’s sinking, the rise of anti-ship cruise missiles and what that means for the US Navy

If a relatively low-cost, short-range missile can destroy one of the largest warships in the Russian Navy, how do we ensure that ships in our fleet are not doomed to the same fate?

US Navy envisions larger fleet despite long-range plans reflecting budget crunch

The Navy is heading toward a fleet size that its top officer admits “nobody likes.”

US Army to choose whether it’ll pursue a hybrid Bradley vehicle in FY23

The Bradley vehicle is already pushed to the maximum when it comes to using power to support everything from running the vehicle to controlling its payloads.

DARPA budget request seeks to bolster ‘critical’ defense technologies

The agency's $4.1 billion budget is closely aligned with DoD's critical technology priorities, particularly in the areas of microelectronics, artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

NORAD boss wants to get creative about defeating cruise missiles

The U.S. commander responsible for North America says he’s open for new ways to defend against cruise missile attacks on the homeland, including electronic warfare and other non-kinetic means.