Friday, April 19, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Today's INSIDER looks at how the Pentagon formulates defense strategy, an Army effort to boost multidomain muscle in Europe, Air Force science and technology, and the Air Force's newest tanker.
We lead off with a deep dive by Tony Bertuca on how Pentagon strategy gets made:
Pentagon calls for 'urgent change,' but lacks strategic analysis process to drive tough budget decisions
The new National Defense Strategy calls for “urgent change at a significant scale” to reposition the U.S. military for global competitions with China and Russia, but the Defense Department lacks a sound strategic analysis process to drive the tough budget decisions likely required for major transformation, according to the Government Accountability Office and former Pentagon officials who spent years crafting national security policy.
The Army secretary said the service is boosting its multidomain presence in Europe:
Army to send multidomain capabilities to Europe
Army Secretary Mark Esper today at Brookings Institution in Washington, discussing great power competition, offered the service’s multidomain task force as a tool for shaping the current picture of what the future force should look like.
Several analysts have taken a look at the Air Force's science and technology plans:
Analysts dissect Air Force S&T plans for industry partnerships
During the roll out of their long-awaited 2030 Science and Technology Strategy, Air Force leaders emphasized relations with the commercial sector as a means of driving innovation.
The service intends to “crank up” its partnership with industry, Air Force Research Lab Commander William Cooley said in an April 18 conference call with reporters.
And finally, more money is going to the Air Force's multibillion dollar tanker program:
Air Force awards Boeing KC-46 post-production contract worth up to $5.7B
The Air Force on Monday awarded Boeing a contract worth up to $5.7 billion for future KC-46 tanker upgrades.
The 10-year contract, dubbed Pegasus Combat Capability (PC2), would cover a slew of post-production efforts, including capability enhancements and Federal Aviation Administration-mandated upgrades. The service obligated an initial $9 million at the time of the award.