Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The Defense Department's official cost estimate for operating and supporting the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over the life of the aircraft remains $1.1 trillion, despite a lower figure recently provided to lawmakers by the program manager, Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said today.
A hard landing destroyed a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey during a training exercise last week, prompting officials to label the incident the most serious kind of aviation mishap and to launch an investigation.
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little has released a statement confirming widespread reports that the Defense Department and Israel conducted a joint missile defense test today. Little denied the test was linked to preparations for a potential military strike against Syria's government.
Former Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has been selected to lead an upcoming "Organizational Review" of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Chinese proposals to develop a bilateral notification system for major military activities as well as "rules of behavior" for air and naval forces, ideas welcomed by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, could foster trust and improve safety -- but that all depends on the implementation, according to several analysts.
Air Force Space Command has released a white paper touting the potential of disaggregated space architectures to boost the resiliency of Defense Department satellites against Chinese capabilities while also lowering costs, an approach that could shape military investment plans for years to come.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) today urged the United States to take military action against the Syria regime following reports suggesting Syrian forces have “escalated their use of chemical weapons.”
The White House is "deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed in an attack by Syrian government forces, including by the use of chemical weapons, near Damascus earlier today," Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Christine Fox, who recently shepherded the Defense Department's Strategic Choices and Management Review before stepping down as head of the Pentagon's cost assessment and program evaluation (CAPE) shop, has joined the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., as a principal technical adviser, the lab announced today.
The National Defense Panel, charged by Congress with assessing the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, will convene its inaugural meeting Tuesday at the Pentagon in a closed session expected to include briefings from defense officials.
The Defense Department is exploring Chinese proposals to develop a bilateral notification system for major military activities as well as "rules of behavior" for air and naval forces, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and China's defense minister, Gen. Chang Wanquan, said today.
U.S. and Chinese naval officials are slated to kick off a major annual meeting on maritime safety issues next week as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Chinese counterpart conduct bilateral security discussions thousands of miles away at the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is slated to host China's defense minister, Gen. Chang Wanquan, at the Pentagon on Monday, Aug. 19, a Pentagon spokesman told InsideDefense.com.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has issued classified guidance for the Quadrennial Defense Review, which the Pentagon will use to assess strategic risks and develop major budget-cutting proposals for President Obama.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu agreed today on the need for more bilateral military cooperation and directed their respective staffs to draw up plans to make it happen, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's recent announcement that the Pentagon might slash the number of carrier strike groups from the 11 required by law to eight or nine is raising questions about how the Navy and industry would handle such a change.
The White House announced today that "there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a U.S.-Russia Summit in early September."
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today that the Defense Department would reduce the total numbers of furlough days for DOD civilian employees from 11 to six. Hagel noted in the same statement that management initiatives, reduced costs and a reprogramming approved by Congress have led DOD to conclude it can make some improvements in training and readiness and still meet the sequestration cuts.
The Defense Department flew some, but not all, U.S. personnel out of Yemen's capital early this morning due to serious concerns about the threat an imminent terrorist attack.
Potential major reductions to ground and tactical aviation forces that the Pentagon maintains could be used to implement huge budget cuts spanning a decade are backed by recent classified guidance that breaks with the tradition of treating the Army, Air Force and Navy departments as fiscal equals, according to defense officials.