Elaine McCusker and John G. Ferrari | Defense News
As there are two major wars ongoing, several shadow wars, and the potential for a major conflict with China, we can expect the Pentagon may also have a fiscal year 2025 emergency supplemental in the works. Even with this context, the unfunded priorities lists contained several interesting surprises.
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By Jennifer Stewart, National Defense Magazine: “During the last 35 years, six U.S. administrations have worked tirelessly to deter peer conflict. But in many ways, the nation both forgot enduring truths regarding what national deterrence against peer competition requires and failed to successfully address the changing social, demographic and financial trends impacting the defense industrial base.”
Beating the Ossification Trap DoD |
Marshall moderated a discussion with Jeff and Noah about their recent article, “Shining a Light on the Defense Department’s Industrial Base Problems.”
Mackenzie Eaglen | AEIdeas
The White House’s military budget that it recently sent to Congress does not have enough funds to cover inflation. Mackenzie Eaglen explains how the president’s budget will cause America’s armed forces to fall further behind those of China and other adversaries. First, the costs of delayed and anemic military modernization will continue to compound and grow. Next, the Army is facing steep reductions, and the Navy plans on buying only six battle-force ships. Finally, the retirements and equipment quantities in the request will result in a less capable Air Force. If Congress does not want the military to fall further behind adversaries, it needs to revise the budget caps and provide the armed forces with real growth. Learn more here. >>
William C. Greenwalt | Senate Committee on Armed Services
The defense acquisition system works as well as can be expected given the many, and oftentimes conflicting, mandates it must meet in law, executive orders, regulation, and policy. William C. Greenwalt notes the Defense Department’s legacy acquisition system is still too slow to be competitive and is only incrementally innovative. As America’s threat environment changes, its acquisition system must be flexible enough to adapt to disruptive new technology trends in real time. Despite reforms designed to elevate speed and the importance of time in acquisition, progress has been marginal at best. Without embracing the changes necessary to speed acquisition time, the Pentagon will not be capable of meeting the threats of the future. Read the full testimony here. >>
John G. Ferrari and Charles Rahr | Breaking Defense
The Pentagon seems to be the one institution in America that believes Congress will bail it out. John G. Ferrari and Charles Rahr explain that rather than relying on the Hill to save them, Defense Department leaders should consider alternative ways to meet current needs under budget constraints and a hard pivot away from expensive manned systems in favor of cheaper unmanned ones that can provide mass and capability for near-term conflicts. In failing to submit a budget that meets its strategy, the Pentagon is betting on Congress to come to its rescue. If that rescue mission does not pan out, then the Defense Department may have to pivot from large, expensive platforms to unmanned, attritable platforms bought at scale. Continue here. >>
The Isis attack on Moscow has its origins in the Russian president’s earliest days in power—and points up the stakes for what follows when he is gone.
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