News
Afghanistan war metrics were manipulated to highlight battlefield success, according to bombshell WaPo report-
America’s longest war continues to drag on as U.S. forces are amid one of its heaviest bombing campaigns since the start of the conflict 18 years ago as Washington seeks to force the Taliban into a settled peace.
Cold War redux? U.S. to hold largest Europe exercises in 25 years-
The United States will send 20,000 troops to Europe next April and May in its biggest military exercises on European soil since the Cold War to underscore Washington’s commitment to NATO, a senior allied commander said on Dec. 10.
Afghanistan’s Karzai says American cash fed corruption-
Afghanistan’s former president argued Dec. 10 that Washington helped fuel corruption in his nation by spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the past two decades without accountability.
Turkey says will retaliate against any sanctions ahead of U.S. vote-
Turkey said on Dec. 11 it would retaliate against any U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian defense systems, adding that with Britain it had agreed to speed up a joint fighter jet program to meet Turkish defense needs.
Business
Full speed ahead: First phase of JEDI rollout expected in February-
One day before Amazon chief Jeff Bezos gave a keynote at the Reagan National Defense Forum, never uttering the word JEDI, the Pentagon’s chief information officer spoke with great confidence that Amazon’s protest of the Department of Defense’s enterprise cloud contract award will go nowhere.
Lockheed deems first test shot of precision strike missile a success, amid Raytheon delay-
The first test shot of Lockheed Martin’s precision strike missile at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was a success, the company said in a statement.
Turkey reveals path to boost defense and aerospace exports by $10.2B in 2023-
Turkey plans to boost its defense and aerospace exports to $10.2 billion by 2023, from $2 billion in 2018, according to a government document.
Pentagon must demand refunds on flawed F-35 parts, Congress says-
The Pentagon must press Lockheed Martin to recoup fees paid to the No. 1 defense contractor for F-35 parts that weren’t ready to use in the planes after delivery to the military, according to the planned defense policy bill for this fiscal year.
AWS blames Trump for its loss in the JEDI bid-
Citing pressure from President Donald Trump as a major factor in the Pentagon’s decision to award its controversial enterprise cloud contract to Microsoft in late October, Amazon Web Services lawyers believe “basic justice requires reevaluation of proposals and a new award decision.”
This company will keep airwaves clear for military satellites-
Kratos will provide 24/7 bandwidth monitoring for the Combined Space Operations Center under a potentially five-year $39 million contract, the company announced Dec. 6.
U.S. Army picks two vehicle protection systems to evaluate realm of the possible-
The U.S. Army has picked two active protection systems to evaluate next fall for possible applications on a variety of ground combat vehicles.
Defense
Democrats ‘got completely rolled’ in NDAA talks, critics say-
The final defense authorization measure for the current fiscal year represents a victory for Republicans. That’s the word from a large number of angry Democrats in Congress, their supporters and, more discreetly, from many Republicans.
DOD inspector general is looking into recruit deaths at military training-
Recent deaths during initial training across the services is the subject of a new Defense Department inspector general project, according to a Dec. 4 memo.
Pentagon isn’t sure what to do with Turkey’s undelivered F-35s-
Congress is offering the Defense Department the option to purchase Turkey’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and giving the defense secretary discretion to spend up to $30 million to store the fifth-generation jets until a plan for their use is formalized, according to the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020.
More equipment, spare parts needed for all Army brigades to hit highest readiness levels-
Little things, like spare parts, fuel systems and trailers, can stymie the Army’s primary close combat force, a recent report found.
Nuclear deterrent still the U.S. Navy’s top priority, no matter the consequences, top officer says-
The U.S. Navy’s new top officer is doubling down on the service’s commitment to getting the new generation of nuke-launching ballistic missile submarines fielded as soon as possible.
Congress slows the U.S. Navy’s roll toward a robot-ship future-
U.S. Navy’s newfound zeal for unmanned surface vessels has been met by skepticism in Congress.
Congress lowers cost caps on future aircraft carriers-
Congress intends to drop the cost of future aircraft carriers, a move that lawmakers often employ to try to force the U.S. Navy and shipyards — in this case, Huntington Ingalls Industries — to stay inside their fiscal limits, according to the new defense authorization bill.
Get USS Kennedy ready for F-35Cs, Congress orders Navy-
The Navy always planned to add F-35 modifications to its two brand-new aircraft carriers at a later date. But an annoyed Congress wants it done now.
Pilot training recovers in 2019, after hypoxia fixes put in place-
The Air Force graduated 1,279 pilots from undergraduate pilot training in fiscal 2019, according to Air Education and Training Command — a marked improvement from the previous hypoxia-plagued year.
Veterans
Here’s how much more veteran households earn annually than non-veteran households-
Veteran households consistently outearn their non-veteran counterparts — a trend that has prevailed for nearly 40 years, according to a new report.