Trump negotiates new F-35 deal at an estimated $700 million in savings

The F-35 Lighting II, an aircraft that makes alternate headlines for being the most expensive weapons platform ever made and for suffering repeated technical setbacks, just got a little bit cheaper, and it would appear that the US government has Donald Trump to thank for that. Lockheed Martin, the defense and aerospace company tasked with […]

Trump’s draft executive order would dramatically increase U.S. military strength

A draft executive order obtained by The Washington Post would call on new Defense Secretary James Mattis to significantly boost the size and strength of America’s military while placing unnecessary programs on the chopping block. According to the three-page document, President Donald Trump would direct Mattis to immediately carry out a thirty-day “readiness review” in […]

China and India up defense spending, spurring concerns about an Asian arms race

Tensions in the South China Sea have been high in recent years, due in large part to territorial disputes between Asian nations over the ocean waterways in the region.  China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines all have contradictory jurisdictional claims in the area, driven by military posturing and the possibility of massive oil […]

Admiral La Rocque, outspoken Pentagon critic, passed at 98

It is difficult to find a more virulent critic of wasteful spending in the DoD than a veteran who has seen it first hand. The higher in rank the veteran, the more nuanced, or maybe corrupted that view may become. With the peculiar culture of lobbyists, flag officers, and massive defense contracts in D.C. one […]

Policy prescriptions: Trump and Clinton on defense

Donald Trump calls the U.S. military “depleted.” It urgently needs more planes, ships, troops and nuclear weapons, he says, to ensure American predominance in the world. Hillary Clinton has a much different view of the defense and military challenges facing the next president. Her prescriptions are largely echoes of the Obama administration. She begins with […]