Navy Faces Most Maritime Hostilities Since WWII
Troops aboard American destroyers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are facing a level of maritime hostility that the US Navy hasn’t encountered since World War II.
Defense Industry Wary of Buy American
Defense advocates note that foreign military sales fuel a $40.6 billion trade surplus for the sector and help Washington gain interoperability with allied militaries, and they warn those benefits could decline under Biden’s Buy American plans.
The Afghanistan War Takes Its Toll
A Brown University report has put a price tag on the two-decades-long Afghanistan war at $2 trillion, and notes that 240,000 lives have been lost in Operations Enduring Freedom and Resolute Support.
DoD Reassessing Mideast Involvement
The Pentagon sets about to review troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq after the recent reduction of US troops, investigate a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and an additional two airfields in the kingdom amid heightened tensions with Iran, and conduct joint, and holding live-fire training exercises for US and the United Arab Emirates forces, in the UAE,
MD Sites on List of Locations Where Agent Orange Was Stored, Tested
A new list released by the Defense Department shows locations outside Vietnam where herbicides like Agent Orange were tested and stored. Five sites in Maryland were on the list.
Trump: US Seeks Peace; Holds Big Weapons
After Iran retaliates the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani with missile strikes on US troops in Iraq, Trump called for peace but threatened “big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast” US missiles if US citizens are harmed. No US or Iraqi troops were harmed in the Iranian attacks, Trump said.
Space Force, Parental Leave & More in NDAA
The National Defense Bill authorizes Space Force in a compromise exchange for paid parental leave and also contains a requirement the VA answer up on what medical conditions are linked to Agent Orange … and quite a bit more in the $738B budget attached.
Boeing Says 737 Ban to Lift By End of Year
Boeing tells shareholders the ban on its 737 Max planes will be lifted before the end of the year. Grounded since March after two fatal crashes, 737 Max production costs rose in the quarter by almost $1 billion. The company is sticking to its plan to increase production of the planes to 57 a month by the end of 2020, up from 42 currently.
VADM: Navy Needs to Bust the Rust on Its Ships
The US Navy needs to bust the rust. That’s the message from VADM Thomas Moore of the Naval Sea Systems Command. He says if the service plans to keep its destroyers on the water for decades, then it must get the corrosion under control.
F-35 Fleet Upkeep Becoming More Challenging
Upkeep of the F-35 JSF fleet will become more challenging as the Pentagon prepares for what the program’s manager has called a “tsunami” of new production.
