Thursday, October 3, 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.
President Biden intends to veto the House's defense appropriations bill if, in the unlikely event, that is the final version he is presented by Congress, according to a statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The Air and Space Forces Association hosts its annual Air, Space, Cyber Conference this week, while senior defense officials are scheduled to appear before the Senate for confirmation hearings.
The Defense Department has created a special working group charged with increasing oversight of Pentagon services contracts, which account for about $200 billion in annual spending, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The Defense Department today announced a $600 million military aid package intended to support Ukraine's long-term security needs, including additional ammunition, air defense equipment and electronic warfare systems.
Anduril, a non-traditional defense startup based in California, has acquired drone maker Blue Force Technologies amid a flurry of announcements from senior Pentagon officials in the past few weeks that fleets of autonomous weapon systems must be fast-tracked to compete with China.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said today that the Pentagon's new program to buy thousands of small autonomous drones, recently dubbed "Replicator," will be implemented in the next 18 to 24 months without asking Congress for additional funding in the coming fiscal year.
The Defense Department today announced a $175 million weapons package for Ukraine that will be drawn directly from U.S. stocks, including depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks that is slated to arrive on the battlefield this fall.
The Defense Department inspector general is launching an audit this month examining the process by which the Pentagon values weapons being transferred to Ukraine, which follows an accounting error that resulted in DOD having $6.2 billion more in funding than it initially projected.
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.