Saturday, April 27, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
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 embarking on an era of new investments in key developmental technologies, including directed energy, to ensure continued military superiority over China and Russia, according to Mike Griffin, the under secretary of defense for research and development.
Congress is set to boost the Defense Department's budget by $165 billion over the next two fiscal years, but the military has to show it is wisely spending taxpayer dollars when it acquires new weapon systems, according to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX).
The North American Free Trade Agreement is a "core aspect" of U.S. national security and President Trump should continue to honor it, according to a letter from 10 former chiefs of U.S. Northern and Southern commands.
The week ahead features a variety of congressional hearings, think-tank events and industry conferences with senior Pentagon officials. Meanwhile, a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded expires Friday.
On the heels of President Trump's executive order to block Singapore-based Broadcom's $117 billion bid to buy U.S. chip maker Qualcomm, the Pentagon's top industrial base official urged lawmakers today to further expand the authority of the powerful and secretive government committee that helped kill the deal.
The top Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are requesting Defense Secretary Jim Mattis send them any information on the Pentagon's decision to restrict information about the U.S. mission in Afghanistan that was previously unclassified.
A bipartisan team of influential lawmakers from the House Armed Services Committee has sent a letter to President Trump urging him to fully resource State Department activities aimed at protecting the United States from information warfare attacks stemming from Russia and non-state terror groups.
The United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom believe Russia is responsible for the recent nerve agent attack against an ex-Russian spy and his daughter, according to a joint statement.
Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
The United States has a "healthy," but tenuous lead over China in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, according to the head of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.
Raytheon has selected Adriane Brown to serve on its board of directors, according to a company statement.
Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of U.S. Central Command, said today that Russia plays the role of both “arsonist and firefighter” in the Middle East by fueling conflict in Syria and then posturing itself as a peacemaker.
The week ahead is full of appearances by senior Pentagon officials at Capitol Hill hearings and think tank events.
Defense industrial base officials from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada met in Washington today to discuss transnational security cooperation, but were leery of weighing in on potential disruptions caused by President Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The Aerospace Industries Association has sent a letter to President Trump asking him to reconsider his plans to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum.
President Trump, citing national security concerns, is ordering new tariffs on steel and aluminum today with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico and potential exemptions for other U.S. allies on a case-by-case basis.
The Pentagon's new chief management officer told the Senate Budget Committee this week he is confident the Defense Department will be able to find $46 billion in wasteful spending over the next five fiscal years that can be redirected to higher priorities.
Here are some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Wednesday asked Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist during a Senate Budget Committee hearing to provide him with a report detailing how the Defense Department can effectively negotiate CEO salaries of defense contractors.
It could take at least 10 years and billions of dollars for the Defense Department to achieve a clean audit, though the department can begin seeing benefits from the process far sooner, according to Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist.