Inside Defense has obtained Defense Department documents sent to Congress this week detailing key procurement and research and development information.
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Saturday, October 18, 2025
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.
Inside Defense has obtained Defense Department documents sent to Congress this week detailing key procurement and research and development information.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 36-27 to advance its version of the fiscal year 2026 defense spending bill, despite lacking an official request from the White House.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged today the Pentagon is reviewing the Constellation-class frigate program when asked by a lawmaker if it was being terminated, noting it was one of several "difficult decisions" slated to be made impacting the department's portfolio of large acquisition programs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today defended the Pentagon's flat fiscal year 2026 budget request and its reliance on a one-time boost from the yet-to-be-passed reconciliation bill from the bipartisan criticisms of several senior Senate appropriators.
The Pentagon's portfolio of major defense acquisition systems saw nearly $50 billion in unscheduled cost growth last year, mostly from the Air Force's Sentinel missile program, which accounted for 73% of the increase, according to the Government Accountability Office.
New budget documents quietly sent to Capitol Hill today show Pentagon procurement -- especially for Navy shipbuilding -- is slated to take a heavy hit in fiscal year 2026 if the Republican majority in Congress cannot pass its controversial "Big, Beautiful Bill."
House appropriators today -- some of them skeptical, others hostile -- questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time since he took the helm at the Pentagon about many of his recent moves to transform the department, including the fiscal year 2026 budget, which has not yet been formally submitted to Congress.
A new bill offered by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) would transform the Defense Department's Joint Requirements Oversight Council and establish a new rapid acquisition authority empowered to elevate key procurement decisions to the highest levels of the Pentagon.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee has released the draft text of its fiscal year 2026 spending bill, marking the Defense Department's topline to $831.5 billion, the same amount enacted in FY-25.
Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to appear at numerous congressional hearings this week, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is slated to make three trips to Capitol Hill.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been nominated to serve as the supreme allied commander of NATO forces in Europe, in addition to serving as chief of U.S. European Command.
President Trump has nominated Vice Adm. Charles Cooper to become the next chief of U.S. Central Command, according to a Pentagon notice.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) today unveiled the GOP's bill to increase defense spending by $150 billion using budgetary reconciliation, calling the amount a "major opportunity," but said it is not adequate in relation to the Trump administration's flat fiscal year 2026 Pentagon budget request.
The Senate GOP has released its $150 billion defense reconciliation bill, which will be included in the chamber's version of the "Big Beautiful Bill" that must eventually be aligned with one that narrowly passed the House last month.
“I hope this damn thing works . . .”
It’s the caption of a military cartoon that Robert Behler, the Pentagon's former chief weapons tester, says once hung outside his office -- depicting a World War I soldier preparing to throw a hand grenade.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to testify before both the House and Senate defense appropriators on June 10.
The Senate has voted 51-46 to confirm Michael Duffey to be under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is slated to appear before the House Armed Services Committee the week of June 12.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to appear at several events this week, including congressional hearings.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has released an appendix for the fiscal year 2026 budget request, highlighting topline investments in defense spending accounts, though additional information is expected in June.