Ideas
SOCOM Will Soon Lead the Pentagon’s Anti-WMD Efforts. Here’s What It Still Needs.
America’s special operators know how to catch bomb-makers, but need new expertise on other areas of the fight.
Business
The Complicated Relationship Between John McCain and Frank Kendall
The Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer for the past five years says he’s lowered the cost of arms, but the watchdog senator never seemed satisfied.
Business
US Air Force Needs the F-35 and A-10: Outgoing Secretary
As the Obama administration’s time grows short, Deborah James puts in a word for two polarizing aircraft.
Business
Trump is Now America’s Arms Deal Negotiator
His meetings and bombshell tweets with the heads of America’s two largest weapon makers show Trump will play a role in hammering out contracts.
Threats
Made-in-America Weapons, War Crimes, and the Outcry Over Yemen
As the US limits some arms sales to Saudi Arabia, human rights groups present 'overwhelming evidence' pointing back at Washington.
Science & Tech
The Invisible Costs of Cyber Weapons
For kinetic weapons like tanks, production costs generally outweigh research and development. For cyber weapons, R&D is almost everything.
Science & Tech
A Glimpse At How the F-35 Will Help the Marines Storm the Beach
In a California demonstration, the short-takeoff fighters escorted troop-carrying V-22s into simulated hostile territory.
Business
Canada Ditches the F-35 for the Super Hornet — For Now
After an initial buy of F/A-18s, Justin Trudeau’s government will hold a competition to replace the rest of its CF-18 Hornets.
Business
Obama’s Final Arms-Export Tally More than Doubles Bush’s
Most of the $278 billion in approved sales have gone to Saudi Arabia and other Mideast allies.
Business
Kendall: The Pentagon’s Spending Less on Weapons, So Let Me Keep My Job
A 30-year-low in cost growth is part of the defense acquisition undersecretary’s closing argument for why Congress shouldn’t eliminate his position.
Business
Pentagon Fronts Bomb Buys For Allies Fighting ISIS
A special budget account is being used to boost weapons production ahead of allies' formal orders.
Business
US-Made Patriot Missiles Shoot Down Houthi Rockets
A top U.S. admiral revealed the new detail about Saudi Arabia, already criticized for how they’re using their arsenal of Western-supplied arms against Yemen.
Business
Saudi Losses in Yemen War Exposed by US Tank Deal
The U.S. State Department says Riyadh can buy 153 Abrams tanks, 20 of which will replace ones destroyed in combat.
Business
Flexible Flyers: Companies Race to Equip Warplanes for Quick Modification
With innovation a new strategic imperative, aircraft builders are making it easier for planes to accept hardware and software improvements.
Business
ISIS, Iran Fueling Growth in Missile, Bomb Market, Says Raytheon CEO
Revenues are on the rise, thanks to the counter-ISIS airstrike campaign and worries about long-range missiles.
Science & Tech
When Will US Air Force F-35s Be Ready for Battle?
The general who will make the decision offered some clues as he celebrated the jet's recent trip across the Atlantic.
Business
India Stocks Up on Howitzers to Defend Its Border with China
New Delhi’s defence ministry approved the purchase of 145 ultra light howitzer guns from the British weapons manufacturer BAE Systems.
Ideas
Don’t Learn the Wrong Lessons from Rapid Acquisition
Our enthusiasm must be tempered by an understanding of the wartime circumstances that made it work and the downsides that were accepted.
Ideas
As Defense Markets Shift, It’s Time to Stiffen Anti-Corruption Rules for Middlemen
Third-party agents, who are crucial to arms makers’ sales efforts in the global south and east, are also relatively free to misbehave.
Ideas