Defense Systems
Court denies Perspecta's NGEN protest
Perspecta has held the Next General Enterprise Network contract for 20 years, dating back to when one of its legacy business in EDS won the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet contract in 2000.
Defense Systems
Navy's aquatic drone plan faces operational hurdles
One Navy leader explained that the technological difficulties are outstripped by the organizational challenges.
Ideas
ICBM Advocates Say US Missile Subs Are Vulnerable. It Isn’t True
Recent technological advances still favor the sea-based leg of America’s nuclear triad.
Exclusive
Policy
White House Shipbuilding Plan Would Shrink Ford Carrier Class Over Navy Objections
Critics say the bulked-up fleet plan would cut dangerously into Army, Air Force budgets — if Congress and the Biden administration followed it.
Defense Systems
Congressional leaders push back on NDAA veto threats
Defense committee leaders plan to vote on the annual defense bill without key items on President Trump's wish list.
Exclusive
Policy
EXCLUSIVE: Details Revealed in Trump’s Lame-Duck Pentagon Budget Draft
Some of the numbers are “fabricated,” says one official. But they shed light on GOP lines of attack awaiting Biden.
Threats
In First, Navy Ship Shoots Down ICBM with SM-3 Interceptor
The test could set the stage for a new framework of missile interceptors in the Pacific.
Business
Pentagon Expects to Fail Another Audit, But Says Progress Made
Officials say they’re on pace to pass an audit…in 2027.
Business
US Navy Orders First New Missile Sub
The $9.4 billion order covers the completion of USS Columbia and materials for USS Wisconsin.
Ideas
What Clinton’s Foreign Affairs Article May Mean for the Defense Budget
Her approach, more rebalancing rather than modernizing, avoids a simple zero-sum frame of defense vs. non-defense spending.
Ideas
Preserve the Jones Act
China’s burgeoning fleets underscore the importance of legislation that bolsters our own.
Business
Is Lockheed Building the Air Force’s Secret Fighter?
Executives drop some not-so-subtle clues.
Policy
Chief of Naval Operations Outlines Future for Drones, Minicarriers
The fleet may need fewer large aircraft carriers but more ships that can carry aircraft.
Ideas
Esper’s Fantasy Fleet
The SecDef’s 500-ship plan is an exercise in wishful thinking that avoids hard choices.
Ideas
Esper’s Reforms: An Interim Report Card
What progress has the defense secretary made on his ambitious goals to reorient the Defense Department?
Policy
Esper Plans Fewer Large Carriers, More Subs in a Navy of 500 Ships or More
He says it’s affordable, but key details remain unknown.
Business