Monday, March 20, 2023
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
The Pentagon is conducting a contract financing review that could alter its decades-old approach to paying defense contractors, a convoluted subject with a controversial history that the department's pricing chief has likened to a "third rail."
Senior Pentagon officials are slated to speak at a key space and missile defense conference in Huntsville, AL, this week.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, currently the Air Force public affairs director, has been named the Defense Department's new press secretary, according to a Pentagon announcement.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is taking a dim view of a new Pentagon proposal to create a $500 million "Critical Munitions Acquisitions Fund" intended to help the United States surge production of key anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to continue to aid Ukraine and prepare for other potential crises.
The United States will be transferring $550 million in artillery ammunition to help Ukraine fend off an ongoing Russian invasion, including additional rounds for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, according to a Defense Department statement released today.
Nominees for several senior defense positions are slated to testify on Capitol Hill this week, while think tankers ponder the Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Review.
The United States is sending a $270 million military aid package to Ukraine that includes four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and up to 580 additional Phoenix Ghost tactical drones, which have loitering munition capabilities similar to Switchblade unmanned aerial systems.
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Government Accountability Office to review the Pentagon's process for considering defense industry mergers and acquisitions, a topic that has become especially controversial in recent months following the government's blocking of Lockheed Martin's proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The United States intends to send four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and more long-range missiles to Ukraine, bringing the total number of transferred HIMARS to 16, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today.
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Defense Department to stop blocking the public release of information on the performance -- or lack thereof -- of multibillion-dollar weapon systems and is calling for the Pentagon inspector general to review DOD's "uneven" justifications for doing so.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has filed its version of the fiscal year 2023 defense policy bill, which would authorize $45 billion more in spending than what President Biden has requested.
David Norquist, who served as acting defense secretary, deputy defense secretary and Pentagon comptroller during the Trump administration, is now at the helm of the National Defense Industrial Association where he says he has a much different job, but similar priorities.
Senior defense officials are slated to speak at several events this week.
The House has voted 329-101 to pass its version of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill, now awaiting the Senate to do the same so the legislation can enter conference committee negotiations in the coming weeks.
The House Rules Committee has voted to include 650 amendments in the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill scheduled to debated on the floor by lawmakers this week.
The White House opposes several provisions in the House's version of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill that would limit the Pentagon's ability to divest "lower-priority" platforms, but is not threatening to veto the legislation, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
The new head of Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works" team says the company has begun fleshing out its approach to the future of aerial warfare -- manned-unmanned teaming, with plans for a "distributed concept" that would join a variety of aircraft in the skies enabled by artificial intelligence and machine autonomy, especially lower-end, more "expendable" assets.
The House is set to debate its version of the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill this week.
The United States is sending a new $400 million military aid package to Ukraine that includes another batch of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, along with new munitions to allow for "more precise targeting" of invading Russian forces, according to a senior defense official.
Congress has given the Defense Department approval to reprogram $969 million toward the Defense Logistics Agency to cover the rising cost of fuel, according to a Pentagon document.