Reagan Forum coverage -- Part 1

Here is the first portion of our coverage from this past weekend's Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, CA, now available to all:

DOD officials bracing for inflation squeeze with final FY-23 topline guidance

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The Defense Department is awaiting "passback" guidance from the White House, a topline allocation that will allow Pentagon leaders to lock in the fiscal year 2023 budget proposal and account for inflation forecasts that could significantly diminish weapon system buying power.

Austin issues call to U.S. industry to help in contest against China

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued "a call" to U.S. industry -- particularly information and technology innovation firms -- to help "bring the American way of war to the 21st century," directly appealing to national interest in the contest against China, previewing what he said is a pillar of the forthcoming National Defense Strategy.

2026 target for INDOPACOM's No. 1 priority, Guam Defense System, appears to be slipping

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The gambit to deliver Guam a new air and missile defense system by 2026 -- U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's No. 1 unfunded priority which the Pentagon is still working to define and Congress has not fully funded -- appears no longer achievable, with a new target date set to be identified in the fiscal year 2023 budget request.

Iron Dome 'not the answer' to Guam's air- and missile-defense requirement

SIMI VALLEY, CO -- The Army's maiden deployment of its Israeli-built Iron Dome air and missile defense system is wrapping up, capping a deployment to Guam -- billed as an experiment -- that began in early October to exercise transporting the system and setting up for operation but not conducting any live firings.