Sunday, February 9, 2025
Sebastian Sprenger was the chief editor of Inside the Army until May 2016, where he primarily reported on land warfare and associated budgets, policies and technologies. A native of Siegen, Germany, he got is start in journalism at the now-defunct Westfälische Rundschau in Kreuztal. He studied at Universität Trier and elsewhere.
Besides a potential deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to South Korea, the Army also is weighing requests from U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command for the capability, a key official said.
A proposal by the National Commission on the Future of the Army to retain 72 Apache attack helicopters in the National Guard is estimated to cost $2.4 billion and threatens to throw the service back to the very same budget problems it was trying to fix with its Aviation Restructure Initiative, a key service official said.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Daniel Allyn told senators last week he would support a review of Obama administration plans to reduce his service's end strength to 450,000 active-duty soldiers.
Senior Army leaders have approved a new strategy for making helicopter-fired weapons more accurate and deadly, according to the head of the service's aviation branch.
Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Army.
The chief of U.S. Northern Command continued his defense of a controversial aerostat program last week, alluding to the possibility that the military could overlook a nuclear-armed Russian cruise missile if the radar-laden blimp floating near Washington were to be canceled.
As Army officials try to retool the acquisition process with a greater focus on experimentation and prototyping, the service's chief believes a congressionally chartered expert panel could help the Defense Department find new talent in the commercial sector to support such an approach.
U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin, along with its partner MBDA Germany, hopes to sign a contract for the Medium Extended Air Defense System with Berlin this year, as Poland also is showing renewed interest in the technology, according to company officials.
Highlights from the front page of this week's Inside the Army.
Army leaders are preparing an adjustment to the fiscal year 2017 budget request for overseas contingency operations that is meant to "jump-start" the production of upgraded tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, a key official said.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley is remaking the Army Requirements Oversight Council into a key forum for growing his influence in acquisition matters, according to a report sent to Congress.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has rejected a recommendation by an expert panel to trade active-duty infantry forces for aviation capabilities and other purposes.
Defense Department Comptroller Michael McCord has asked Congress to allow a reprogramming of funds from the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program to finance the resumption of a controversial exercise involving a missile-defense blimp watching over the Washington region.
Highlights from the front page of this week's Inside the Army.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) signaled he would fight the Army's proposed fiscal year 2017 budget for aviation, contending the requested $3.6 billion is not enough.
Top Army brass threw their support behind an at-risk airborne infantry unit in Alaska last week, with service Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley proposing to keep the brigade around for a one-year probation.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has submitted a report to Congress in which he advocates for significantly enhancing his service's authorities in acquisition matters -- in many cases at the expense of Office of the Secretary of Defense overseers.
Besides equipping a Europe-based Stryker unit with more powerful weapons, the Army also is moving forward with previously laid plans to outfit the entire vehicle fleet with greater combat punch, according to a key official.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley last week signaled that recommendations by the National Commission on the Future of the Army may receive a warmer reception than expected by many military watchers.
As defense officials are moving to continue a controversial demonstration with a pair of giant, sensor-packed blimps after one aerostat blew away and crashed during bad weather, money fresh from Congress is needed soon to implement the plan, according to officials and documents.