Lawmakers press Army aviation leadership on FARA cancelation
UH-60M Blackhawks from Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and CH-47F Block II Chinooks from Boeing would have ended production in 2030 if the Army kept FARA going, a top service official testified.
After Hamas attack, US rushed new F-35 capabilities, parts to Israel: Officials
A wide-ranging hearing on the F-35 revealed new details on the aircraft’s current operations, as well as its developmental struggles, including its beleaguered TR-3 upgrade.
At Reagan Forum, Rep. Wittman talks drone wingmen, the Indo-Pacific pivot and EW [VIDEO]
Breaking Defense's Michael Marrow interviews Rep. Rob Wittman on a host of key defense issues.
For AUKUS to work, US needs to drop the ‘arrogance’ on info sharing with allies: Wittman
“We look sort of speciously at our friends… [and] with what we’ve gone through here recently, with security breaches, we should be the last ones to be lecturing somebody else about what they need to do," the congressman said.
House lawmakers tee up dueling AUKUS sub transfer amendments
One NDAA amendment attempts to calm potentially rough waters around Virginia-class sub transfers, while the another could reel in that ambition to guard the US industrial base.
Why Wittman wants to save AETP engine while slowing next-gen fighter funding
In an interview with Breaking Defense, chairman of the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee Rep. Rob Wittman explains the committee’s thinking behind keeping AETP going, as well as the reason for slashing funds from NGAD.
Wittman: Why manned-unmanned teaming could be the Fourth Offset for America’s military
In an exclusive op-ed, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-VA., the Vice Chairman of the HASC and Chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, lays out why he thinks efforts like the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program could be the future of warfare.
Lawmaker calls for ‘joint autonomy office’ in DoD’s CDAO to coordinate tech adoption
“If we’re going to have unity and purpose, it needs to be in a single place,” Rep. Rob Wittman said.
Rep. Wittman on F-35 engine upgrade, KC-46 concerns and which USAF plane’s ‘time is done’
"I can tell you, this is going to get re-litigated in the committee and on the floor. And I just want to make sure people have the full scope of information to make the decision," said Wittman on the F-35's next engine.
US gets an ‘F’ for erratic, unfocused funding of defense innovation, says Reagan Foundation
A ponderous budget process, overspending on old tech, and chronically late appropriations hamstring the Pentagon’s ability to tap into private-sector innovation, according to the foundation’s new scorecard.
HASC Adds 5 Ships To Trump Request, But Where’s The $$?
WASHINGTON: Is 13 the Navy’s lucky number? That’s how many ships the House Armed Service Committee wants to buy in 2018, five more than President Trump requested, the seapower subcommittee announced this afternoon. The problem: no one knows where the money’s coming from. The increase is part of a bipartisan push towards the 355-ship fleet […]
OMB ‘Supports’ Extra LCS, But Where’s The Money?
UPDATE: Source Says WH Will Fund LCS Add; CRS Naval Expert Comments CAPITOL HILL: In a startling turnabout, the Trump Administration now “supports” adding a $541 million Littoral Combat Ship to yesterday’s 2018 budget request, Navy officials told Congress this afternoon. What, exactly, does that mean? The Navy doesn’t know. Minutes before Navy witnesses were to testify […]
LCS: HASC Seapower Chair Praises Frigate Delay
CAPITOL HILL: The Navy’s decision to slow down its LCS frigate program is “reassuring,” the chairman of the House seapower subcommittee said yesterday evening. Delaying contract award from 2019 to 2020 gives the service more time to do “due diligence” on the designs, Rep. Rob Wittman told reporters after a hearing on the Littoral Combat […]
No ‘Stomach’ For Full-Year CR: Rep. Wittman
NATIONAL HARBOR: More and more House members oppose another Continuing Resolution, which should compel the passage of proper defense spending bills, the House seapower chairman said here this morning. It’s a rare case where the deep divisions in the Republican party between defense hawks and budget hawks could actually smooth the workings of government instead […]
Pilots Can’t Fly, Ships Can’t Sail & Trump’s Budget Is DOA, Say McCain & Thornberry
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, […]