Thursday, April 25, 2024
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 Defense Department has nearly $6 billion remaining in congressionally appropriated funds used for transferring weapons to Ukraine, giving the Pentagon some cushion as the threat of a shutdown looms over the federal government and as some lawmakers voice reluctance about passing a supplemental spending bill to continuing aiding Kyiv against Russia.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events this week.
The White House is asking Congress to avert a looming government shutdown by passing a stopgap continuing resolution that, among other things, would include authority for the Defense Department to spend money on the Columbia-class submarine program to avoid a 20-month delay, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
The Pentagon this week revealed what some drone manufacturers hope is a game-changing moment with the announcement of the new "Replicator" program and top defense officials, though reluctant to provide details, say the decision to award contracts in the next 18 to 24 months for thousands of small, autonomous weapon systems signals a major milestone in the mission to counter China's massive military.
The Defense Department announced today that a military package worth $250 million would be transferred from U.S. stocks to Ukraine.
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said today that Australian military officials will be meeting with her in September to discuss possibilities for air and missile defense integration.
Defense Department technology chief Hedi Shyu has been testing rapid prototype weapons for months and is now preparing for a major meeting with the Pentagon's top officials to make the case for funding them and providing them to the military services at scale, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks today unveiled a new Pentagon program called "Replicator" that aims to produce and field thousands of "attritable" autonomous weapon systems within the next 18 to 24 months in a bid to counter China's surging military ambitions with a next-generation arsenal that is "small, smart, cheap and many."
Senior defense officials are slated to speak around the Washington area this week.
Ukrainian pilots are coming to the United States next month to begin training to fly F-16 aircraft, according to the Pentagon’s chief spokesman.
The Government Accountability Office today said it intends to honor the request of House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and review the basing decision process that determined U.S. Space Command should remain in Colorado instead of moving to his home state of Alabama as former President Trump previously announced.
Doug Beck, the former Apple executive who in April became director of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit, said today that the war in Ukraine is helping the Washington defense establishment reach a "tipping point" when it comes to adopting commercial technology.
The State Department has approved a potential $500 million foreign military sale to Taiwan for F-16 Infrared Search and Track systems, according to a notice from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The House Freedom Caucus threatened today to not support legislation that would avoid a government shutdown unless they get their way in several areas including the elimination of “woke policies in the Pentagon.”
Defense officials are slated to speak at conferences around the country this week.
Senior leaders on the independent congressional commission aiming to reform the Defense Department's budget and planning system say Pentagon officials need more flexibility from lawmakers if the notoriously slow process is to become agile enough to capture technological innovation needed to compete with China, but they stress DOD must do more to build trust with Capitol Hill.
The congressional commission tasked with reforming the Defense Department's 1960s-era budget planning and programming system is considering making recommendations to lawmakers that would provide the Pentagon with greater spending flexibility amid an appropriations process that has become mired in political dysfunction.
The Defense Department "generally did not meet" deadlines for responding to reviews conducted by the Government Accountability Office, submitting about half of its agency comments late, according to a new congressionally mandated GAO report.
The Defense Department announced today it will begin transferring another $200 million in U.S. weapons to Ukraine following a June review that found the congressionally approved funding remained available and unspent.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), angered by President Biden's recent decision to keep U.S. Space Command headquartered in politically blue Colorado instead of moving it to deep-red Alabama, is demanding that senior Pentagon officials comply with his requests for documents and interviews as he launches an investigation into the matter.