"To be clear: we do not seek conflict or confrontation," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the Shangri-La Dialogue. "But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion."
At Breaking Defense we read and hear a lot of speeches by generals. Few of them amount to a hill of beans, which is usually the intent of the person delivering the speech. Make no news, unless you’ve got a clear message to send is the rule hewn to. Well, we got a […]
WASHINGTON: If the Navy would buy one squadron of new F-18s (known as the XT, Block 3 or Advanced Super Hornet) instead of the carrier version of the F-35 it “actually improves overall mission capability, while substantially reducing cost.” But the Navy could go even one better and buy two squadrons of the new F-18, which […]
WASHINGTON: As Defense Secretary Jim Mattis prepared to appear before the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee to defend President Trump’s first defense budget, GOP stalwarts Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mac Thornberry were telling reporters it was dead on arrival. “We’ve got planes that can’t fly, ships that can’t sail and Army units that can’t train,” McCain, […]
WASHINGTON: Until the Trump Administration, one of the standard limits on bureaucratic power was the circumscribed reach of anyone serving in an acting capacity. Unless or until a person was confirmed by the Senate for a senior position in the Pentagon, the argument went, they didn’t possess the political or public authority to make new policy […]
WASHINGTON: While Gen. “Fighting Joe” Dunford didn’t discuss the new anti-Daesh strategy in detail today, he laid out the goal during a discussion today at the Brookings Institution: “working in combination with local forces and coalition forces, drive the threat down to the level where local law enforcement, security forces can deal with that threat and therefore, […]
America’s Asian allies have been unnerved by President Donald Trump’s dismissive rhetoric about alliances based on cost/benefit grounds, and his decision to dump the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. That’s part of the reason Defense Secretary Jim Mattis traveled in Asia to calm nerves in Tokyo and Seoul. America’s European allies are also deeply unsettled by Trump’s […]
WASHINGTON: After weeks of uncertainty and mounting evidence that only larger deficits were the path to a significant boost to the US military, President Trump has signaled the fiscal spigots will be opened in the interests of a larger and more capable US military. “I think it’s significant in signaling this is a priority among the […]
If the Trump administration wants to negotiate an arms control treaty with Russia, it must meet several preconditions. The Times of London reports that then President-elect Donald Trump signaled he would consider a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Russians. He was quoted as saying, “For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and […]
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Defense Secretary James Mattis expressed doubts over plans to buy the nuclear Long Range Stand-Off cruise missile (LRSO). “I need to look at that one.” Mattis said, “My going in position is that it makes sense, but I have to look at it in terms of its deterrence capability.” While Mattis should take […]
SIMI VALLEY, CALIF.: You might not think a man nicknamed “Mad Dog” would put America’s allies at ease. But that’s the buzz here at the Reagan Library’s annual defense conference, where Donald Trump‘s choice of Gen. James Mattis to run the Pentagon met with enthusiastic praise from the right, from the left, and from overseas. […]
UPDATED: Trump May Name SecDef By End Of Week WASHINGTON: While much of the country seems to think retired Marine Gen. James Mattis has a lock on the job of Defense Secretary in a Trump Administration, increasing signs make clear other candidates’ stars are rising, a source involved with the Trump transition says. The main reason for […]
What are we going to do about the Russian hacks that have wrought havoc across the entire political spectrum and are rapidly shifting from being an embarrassment to, possibly, being strategically crippling? The body count of ruined careers aside, sizeable harm is being done to our political process and a likely intelligence loss as foreign actors rummage […]
PENTAGON: In a stark indicator of just how grim the situation between Russia and the United States is growing, senior US defense officials say European Command is shifting its focus from “reassurance to deterrence” and “from a training to a warfighting stance.” Defense Secretary Ash Carter himself is flying across the Atlantic to preside over Tuesday’s […]