Senior U.S. officials made two major statements last week concerning the implications of China’s military modernization: On Tuesday, Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, released the 2009 National Intelligence Strategy Document, identifying Chinas military modernization and natural resources-focused diplomacy as a “complex global challenge.” Then on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Gates discussed how China’s military capabilities were enhancing their “ability to disrupt our freedom of movement and narrow our strategic options. Their investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and ballistic missiles could threaten America’s primary …
This week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates poignantly described the emerging high-end asymmetrical challenge that China’s military poses to the United States: Their investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and ballistic missiles could threaten America’s primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific – in particular our forward air bases and carrier strike groups. This would degrade the effectiveness of short-range fighters and put more of a premium on being able to strike from over the horizon – whatever form that capability might …
Like cyberspace, space remains a critical enabler of America’s military power. Whether for navigating Navy destroyers through narrow straits, or guiding smart bombs to their targets, the military relies heavily on a strong presence in space. For this reason, potential adversaries, according to Secretary Gates, are investing “in weapons geared to neutralize our advantages.” This is true of China’s military modernization, which the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has said is “very much focused” on the United States military.
Consistent with the highly belligerent posture North Korea has taken in the past three weeks, and the “rapid-fire series of provocations“ it has initiated since the beginning of 2009, Pyongyang yet again chose to escalate its rhetoric, this time threatening to use its nuclear weapons in a “merciless offensive” if provoked. After testing its second nuclear device in less than three years, numerous ballistic missile tests, deciding to withdraw from the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, and sentencing two American journalists to 12 years’ hard labor, North Korea …
This afternoon, the Department of Defense will conduct detailed briefs on the FY 2010 defense budget request. While much of what Secretary Gates’ has proposed for the military budget in FY 2010 and in the coming years has already been made public, today’s proceedings should provide a much clearer picture. Here is what we already know: The FY 2010 total defense budget will represent a $5.5 billion real reduction from FY 2009. President Obama’s 10-year defense spending plans fall well short of what the nation needs to spend and what …
While China continues to insist its military expansion is purely defensive in nature, yesterday the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs expressed his doubts: “They are developing capabilities that are very maritime focused, maritime and air focused, and in many ways, very much focused on us.” Even though China’s long-term intentions are still very much unknown, the Chairman’s clarity on China’s military capabilities is an encouraging development.
During yesterday’s press conference on government contracting reform, President Obama took aim at the defense industry, declaring that “We are spending money on things that we don’t need, and we are paying more than we need to pay, and that’s completely unacceptable.” Fair enough. We more than agree that it is time to assess the capacity of the federal acquisition workforce to do its job and to clarify where and when “outsourcing” to government contractors is necessary. But then things went astray. President Obama pointed to a GAO report last …
This afternoon Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) introduced a joint resolution to maintain defense spending at 4 percent of our nation’s GDP. Heritage Distinguished Fellow and former Senator from Missouri, Jim Talent, commented that the legislation was “vital for America. There is a huge shortfall between what the military is spending and what it needs to spend.” This legislation, of course, comes in light of last month’s troubling announcement that the Office of Management and Budget, under the guidance of President Barack Obama, has requested that …
A recent article I wrote for Armed Forces Journal discusses the Pentagon’s efforts to maintain space dominance amid the challenges of emerging peer competitors. The Pentagon’s Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office stands at the forefront of an effort to revolutionize the way the U.S. builds and deploys satellites. However, only one year after the ORS office was stood up, defense officials are threatening to slash the budget by $297 million dollars between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2014, essentially grinding the program to a halt. With the unprecedented modernization of China’s …
