A new $2 billion initiative announced in Kyiv today by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is intended to help build a domestic defense industrial base in Ukraine as it faces long-term conflict with Russia.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Key Issues USAF depot plan LSM design FLRAA program schedule
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.
A new $2 billion initiative announced in Kyiv today by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is intended to help build a domestic defense industrial base in Ukraine as it faces long-term conflict with Russia.
The House Armed Services Committee's draft of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill would approve funding for more than $1 billion in "unfunded priorities" identified by the military, mostly U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante told Senate appropriators today that new funding flexibility would allow the department to more quickly counter the evolving threat of battlefield drones.
The Defense Department has released an "open announcement" seeking proposals for critical technology prototypes from companies in the U.K., Australia and Canada that will be funded under the Defense Production Act.
The House Armed Services Committee's draft of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill would cut 10 of the Pentagon's 68 requested F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and reinvest about $1 billion in the production of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft, which continues to see performance and cost challenges.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week.
The Defense Department has announced a $400 million transfer of U.S. weapons to Ukraine to combat the ongoing Russian invasion, including air defense munitions, artillery rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank systems.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today said the United States has "paused" a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel, citing concerns about civilian "collateral damage" in Gaza.
Senior Senate appropriators voiced bipartisan support today for increasing the fiscal year 2025 defense budget above the spending cap mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said today that he would favor the U.S. intelligence community being more "aggressive" when it comes to disclosing information about the actual size of China's military budget, which U.S. officials and analysts have long said is not accurately reported by Beijing.
Janice Muskopf, the Defense Department's director of price, cost and finance, has retired and will be temporarily succeeded by an acting official, according to a recent Pentagon memo.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington and elsewhere this week.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said today that China and Russia have begun closer military ties that could possibly threaten Taiwan.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) said today that any effort to increase defense spending in fiscal year 2025 above the cap set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act must also be matched by a boost in non-defense funds.
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady said today that electronic warfare, though it didn't play a major role in earlier phases of Ukraine's conflict with Russia, has now become a "defining feature of that battlespace."
The State Department is proposing to exempt the U.K. and Australia from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to better bolster the trilateral AUKUS agreement and "foster defense trade and cooperation between and among the United States and two of its closest allies."
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, today released a letter to defense appropriators with 120 signatures from lawmakers seeking the restoration of funding for a Virginia-class submarine in fiscal year 2025.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) today said he intends to honor the defense spending cap mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act when he leads the panel in its mark-up of the annual defense authorization bill, though he stressed that he thinks the $895 billion limit is far too low.
Senior defense officials are scheduled to appear at several congressional hearings and think tank events this week.
The Defense Department, tapping new funds provided by a supplemental spending bill recently signed into law by President Biden, today announced a $6 billion long-term military aid package for Ukraine, which follows closely behind a $1 billion immediate transfer of U.S. weapons.