The Defense Department's long-awaited 2005 update to its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) road map is in final draft and could be issued as soon as July, according to Pentagon officials.
Jason Sherman is a reporter for Inside Defense. For more than two decades -- including stints with Defense News and Armed Forces Journal -- he has covered the Pentagon, defense industry, the military budget, weapon system acquisition and defense policy formulation as well as reporting on technology, business, and global arms trade. Jason has traveled to more than 40 countries, studied medieval history at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and lives in Brooklyn.
The Defense Department's long-awaited 2005 update to its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) road map is in final draft and could be issued as soon as July, according to Pentagon officials.
The Defense Department is overhauling a key component of its National Defense Strategy -- its force planning construct -- in a move that could set the stage for a significant revision of U.S. war plans, weapon system investments and military organization, according to Pentagon officials.
The Pentagon plans to hold two high-level meetings on the Quadrennial Defense Review this month, providing senior officials opportunities to wrestle with a sweeping array of issues regarding the future shape and capabilities of the U.S. armed forces as the congressionally mandated assessment moves into the homestretch.
Combatant commanders may soon be directed to provide protection and intelligence to civilian employees of private firms supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as non-combat situations, according to legislation recently approved by the House.
Kenneth Krieg is preparing to take the helm of the Pentagon's massive weapons acquisition operation as soon as the end of this week, according to Defense Department officials.
The White House is concerned that "large cuts" to major Pentagon procurement programs recently agreed to by the House of Representatives will adversely effect modernization efforts key to U.S. military transformation.
Kenneth Krieg's bid to be the Pentagon's new acquisition executive is back on track after the Senate Armed Services Committee favorably recommended his nomination yesterday to the full Senate.
The House Armed Services Committee is calling for a new commission to review the Defense Department's progress in making changes to its nuclear forces.
Suzanne Patrick, the Pentagon's industrial policy boss, will step down from her position this summer, according to Defense Department officials.
The Defense Department should shore up homeland defenses against one of the most vexing security challenges -- enemy cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and other low-flying aircraft, Senate authorizers say.
No decision was reached last week at a high-level Pentagon meeting on the Marine Corps' future in Special Operations Command, according to a service spokesman.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is considering permanently assigning thousands of Marines for the first time to U.S. Special Operations Command in a bid to find additional elite commando forces to carry out the U.S. global war on terrorism, according to defense officials.
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking the military's assistance in developing a planning process to support short-notice, large-scale mobilizations of civil authorities in response to domestic crises, according to a senior Pentagon official.
The Defense Department is expanding its ability to support civil authorities in the event of massive terrorist attacks against multiple American cities, according to a senior Pentagon official.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to travel next month to Asia to meet with defense ministers from the region and participate in a security conference in Singapore, according to a source familiar with the event's planning.
U.S. combatant commanders will convene in Washington May 16 to 18 for meetings with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, according to Pentagon officials.
Senior Pentagon officials leading the Quadrennial Defense Review are training their focus on the capabilities U.S. military forces need to manage future relations with China.
An influential Navy group is preparing for the service's top officer a list of missions, capabilities and requirements for the service to offer as its main contributions to the Defense Department's global war on terrorism, according to service officials and documents.
The Navy and Missile Defense Agency are studying options for defending ships against short-range ballistic missiles, including a new, unorthodox alternative -- equipping fighter aircraft with interceptors like the most advanced version of the Patriot, according to Navy documents and sources.
The Navy has quashed an internal proposal by two senior officials to avoid delivering a 30-year shipbuilding plan to Congress this summer, according to Pentagon officials and documents.