Wings Over Iraq

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faces a tough challenge as he looks to reassure nervous allies in the Gulf that the U.S. will continue its strong military support to the region, even as world powers move forward on the nuclear pact with Iran. – Associated Press

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has little to no hope that ongoing sequestration talks on Capitol Hill will rescue the Pentagon from the next round of draconian budget cuts. – DEFCON Hill

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Thursday the committees are preparing to “ping-pong” the Defense authorization bill so it can pass by the end of next week. – DEFCON Hill

The Pentagon is merging its intelligence oversight and civil liberties protection offices, as part of an overarching effort to revamp how it conducts military espionage operations in the post-Afghanistan era. – DEFCON Hill

The U.S. Air Force’s new long-range bomber may cost as much as $81 billion for the 100 planes planned, 47 percent more than the $55 billion sticker price the service has listed. – Bloomberg

The Boeing Super Hornet might have a new best friend in Congress…[T]he influential chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on Seapower, Rep. Randy Forbes, has stepped up with a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urging him to fund continued production. – Breaking Defense

Supporters of the plane gathered in downtown Washington on Nov. 13 both to decry the idea of abandoning the A-10 and to discuss the future of close air support. – Defense News

A former top general of the US Air Force weighed in on the debate over the future of the A-10, saying it is time to let the venerable jet go and move on to newer jets that can face newer threats. – Defense News

The Naval Research Lab just launched a drone from a submerged submarine – giving a huge edge to the future of special operations. – Defense One

Several sources have told Defense News that there is talk among Army leadership about canceling the once-promising follow-on to the Comanche, the armed aerial scout (AAS), while mothballing the remaining OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters filling the armed scout mission and using the service’s existing Apache helicopters to fill the armed scout role. – Defense News

The Navy suspended all target drone operations after the cruiser Chancellorsville was struck by one during a radar exercise last month, punching a hole in the ship’s side and leaving two crew members with minor burns. Investigations are underway to determine what went wrong during this routine exercise, conducted by many ships. – Defense News

Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 fighter jet is making good progress as it nears initial combat use by the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015, but the company must still finalize the software needed to deliver weapons and fuse data from its many sensors, the Pentagon’s F-35 program chief told Reuters. – Reuters

The War

The Pentagon announced Thursday that it had repatriated two longtime Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detainees to Algeria, where, fearing persecution, neither man wanted to be sent. – New York Times

A Pakistani immigrant who says he was held for more than 10 months in solitary confinement after being falsely arrested on terrorism charges has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Miami, saying he was a victim of “overzealousness” in the U.S. war on terrorism. – Reuters

Missile Defense

For years, the U.S. government has insisted that a planned missile defense system in Europe served to protect America’s allies against attacks from Iran. Now that the nuclear threat from Iran may be receding, Russia, which has always seen the system as a menace to its own security, has suggested scrapping the program. But the White House on Thursday said the missile shield, otherwise known as the European phased adaptive approach (EPAA), isn’t going anywhere. – The Cable

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said Wednesday he clearly understands a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 – known as the “zero option” – is a “possibility”  – CNN’s Security Clearance

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday unveiled details of a plan to save at least $1 billion in personnel costs over five years through a 20 percent reduction in the number of Pentagon staff members who report to him. – New York Times

On Wednesday, after a broad review of spending in the upper reaches of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the Office of Net Assessment would be preserved. But he said Marshall’s fiefdom would be realigned on the bureaucratic flow chart so that Yoda would have to report to the undersecretary of defense for policy, instead of directly to the defense secretary. – Washington Post

A US House-Senate budget committee is close to finalizing a plan on federal spending for the next two years that would provide the Pentagon and other federal agencies some relief from automatic spending cuts known as sequestration. – Defense News

The military services could get smaller faster under Pentagon proposals that have the support of a key senator. – Military Times

The fact that the administration selected Christine Fox, the former CAPE director, as Deputy Defense Secretary illustrates two truths: First, several people turned down the job or withdrew from consideration because of the hideous confirmation process; second, the political impulse to place a female in the position was intense and, ultimately, successful. – Breaking Defense

Congressional GOP lawmakers and aides are responding to Christine Fox’s appointment as the Pentagon’s interim No. 2 civilian official largely with a collective shrug. – Defense News

A Navy veteran in Congress proposes protecting defense spending with an ambitious plan for cutting federal entitlements — including military retired pay. – Military Times

The War

Concerned by the attempts of Al Qaeda and its global affiliates to attract more Americans and other Westerners, the State Department is stepping up its online efforts to combat violent extremists’ recruiting of English speakers. – New York Times

The U.S. military will no longer disclose to the media and public whether prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are on a hunger strike, a spokesman said Wednesday, eliminating what had long been an unofficial barometer of conditions at the secretive military outpost. – Associated Press

Missile Defense

German’s chief foreign policy official on Wednesday suggested that the temporary nuclear deal with Iran could affect NATO’s plans to construct a ballistic-missile defense system, the Associated Press reported. – Global Security Newswire

An international deal aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons will in the long run eliminate any need for a missile defense system in Europe, Russia’s foreign minister said Wednesday. – Associated Press

Foreign Aid

Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) and General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.) write: Smart power is not only the most successful way to protect America’s security, it is also cost-effective. The International Affairs Budget, which funds the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other diplomacy and development agencies, makes up a little more than 1% of all federal spending. This is wise investment in building a better, safer world in which America’s values and interests are protected for the next generation. – USA Today

In an unprecedented move, 44 has appointed Christine Fox, the Pentagon’s former chief program and budget analyst, to serve as acting deputy defense secretary while the search continues for a candidate to fill the position on a full-time basis, defense sources said. – Defense News

Concern about the sequester’s impact is hardly new, but a broad coalition has joined to highlight one area that could have long-term consequences: research and development (R&D). – Defense News

If one thing has become clear under sequestration, it is this: Budget cuts beget training cuts, which in turn hurt readiness…Under that budget reality, the service — and the rest of the Pentagon — is focusing on simulation as a low-cost training alternative, a move made possible by improved technology. – Defense News

The Air Force will base the first operational F-35As at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the first National Guard unit at Burlington International Airport, Vt., the service announced Tuesday. – Military Times

The War

The Pentagon has loosened its guidelines on avoiding civilian casualties during drone strikes, modifying instructions from requiring military personnel to “ensure” civilians are not targeted to encouraging service members to “avoid targeting” civilians. – Washington Times

Foreign Armies East

France formally circulated a Security Council resolution on Tuesday night that would authorize thousands of African troops, aided by hundreds of French soldiers, to restore order in the Central African Republic, a mineral-rich country that has plunged into deadly anarchy and threatens to destabilize the region. – New York Times

China’s military ratcheted up tensions on Tuesday over its disputed East China Sea air defense zone by threatening military action against Japan and saying it would enforce new aircraft controls. – Washington Free Beacon

Time and patience are running out for countries planning to help support Afghanistan’s military after NATO-led troops depart, NATO and U.S. officials warned Tuesday. – Washington Post

Turkey’s military is becoming slimmer and more professional, but military pilots are leaving service at an alarming rate, officials said. This means greater attention must be paid to the military’s training regime. – Defense News

A military leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah movement was assassinated in front of his home south of Beirut, Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday. – New York Times

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday he recently received an envoy from Qatar, the first contact between the two sides since divisions over the crisis in Syria severed their once strong relations. – Reuters

The Pentagon is prepping an American vessel to destroy Syria’s confiscated chemical weapons, should President Obama hand that mission to U.S. forces. – DEFCON Hill

The Pentagon is deploying several submarine-hunting aircraft to a hotly contested air defense zone in the Pacific, in the latest step of military one-upmanship between Washington and Beijing. – DEFCON Hill

The flagship of  7th fleet, the Nimitz-class USS George Washington aircraft carrier boasts a formidable arsenal; from the latest FA-18 fighter jets, to anti-submarine helicopters and early-warning surveillance aircraft. Add to this the fleet’s numerous missile destroyers, cruisers and submarines and the statement of intent is clear to see — Washington is serious about its role in the region. – CNN

Intelligence committee leaders in Congress warn that al Qaeda’s network has strengthened over the past two years, creating new concern over the terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland. – CNN’s Security Clearance

Foreign Armies East

Russia plans next year to ramp up research and development for a next-generation strategic bomber, RIA Novosti quoted a prominent industry insider as saying last week. – Global Security Newswire

Russia expects to begin fielding within two years its next-generation interceptors capable of defending against ground-based ballistic missiles, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. – Global Security Newswire

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to deploy unarmed surveillance drones along the country’s troubled eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda, in a step to restore order in the resource-rich region. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

NATO won’t be able to deploy its noncombat training and advisory mission in Afghanistan after next year unless President Hamid Karzai agrees to a bilateral security agreement with the U.S., the alliance’s secretary-general said Monday. – Associated Press

The new air defense zone declared by China appears to have been approved by President Xi Jinping, the culmination of more than a year of pressure by Beijing to weaken Japan’s grip on disputed islands in the East China Sea, and by extension to expand China’s long-term access to the Western Pacific. – New York Times

South Korea on Tuesday continued to debate its response to China’s move to include an area of ocean disputed by the two nations in its own new air-defense identification zone. – WSJ’s Korea Real Time

North Korea’s de facto No. 2 leader and uncle of dictator Kim Jong Un may have been removed from power, South Korea’s spy agency said on Tuesday. – Wall Street Journal

South Korea’s decision to sacrifice force structure in favor of buying into stealth with the F-35—a boon for Lockheed Martin’s premier fighter program—quashes Boeing’s hopes of selling it a semi-stealthy F-15. – Aviation Week

Budget reductions have forced the Pentagon to consider cuts in everything from commissaries, to base elementary schools, to the venerable Stars and Stripes newspaper. But senior Defense officials say the new budget scrutiny has also produced innovations and business-efficiency efforts that are pointing the way to potential future cost savings. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

Now, the seniors at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point are poised to become the first in a generation to enter a force preparing not to fight insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan but to confront shrinking budgets and a postwar identity crisis. In doing so, they will be taking the helm of Army units made up of combat-seasoned veterans. – Washington Post

The typically easy-going chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee fumed. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., had just seen members block a final vote on a must-pass Pentagon policy bill amid a partisan brouhaha over amendments and new filibuster rules. So as Levin talked with a handful of reporters as he left the Senate chamber Nov. 20, he expressed “amazement” and, in a rare pessimistic moment, acknowledged the bill “is in jeopardy.” – Defense News

It’s too early to tell if Hagel’s sotto voce declaration of independence was a genuine pivot point. But it’s clear the 67-year-old Vietnam War hero is entering the make-or-break phase of his Pentagon stewardship, according to about a dozen current and former West Wing and Pentagon officials I spoke with. – Politico

As storm clouds loom over the Army’s controversial Ground Combat Vehicle, both contractors competing for GCV say they’re focused on completing the program of record still on the books. But if the Army slows the program down – a near-certainty at this point – both BAE Systems and General Dynamics told me they are ready to adapt. – Breaking Defense

The Navy is making mechanical changes to its fleet of Littoral Combat Ships as a result of maintenance problems experienced during the maiden deployment of the USS Freedom, or LCS 1, service officials said. – DOD Buzz

The Pentagon and its supporters are increasingly pessimistic about avoiding sharp budget cuts next year as part of another round of spending reductions being imposed across the US government. – Financial Times

South Korea’s plan to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jets will save the U.S. military about $2 billion by driving down the per-plane price of the new plane, and could create up to 10,000 U.S. jobs, according to sources familiar with the program. – Reuters

The two paratrooper units — formally known as the 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division and the 508th Infantry Regiment — are closing out long histories as a result of the U.S. Army’s reconfiguration and budget cutting. – Associated Press

The War

The leaders of the congressional intelligence committees say they believe the United States is not safer today than in recent years. – Politico

Even when Guantanamo is closed, a legal regime will be needed for the arrest, interrogation and long-term detention of foreign terrorist suspects who cannot be handled by the domestic U.S. justice system. Like Guantanamo’s closure, that legislation has been delayed by politics for too long. – Washington Post

Missile Defense

Four European companies have teamed with an American firm to bid in NATO’s tender for design work on ballistic-missile defense, an EADS executive said. – Defense News

Northrop Grumman has successfully demonstrated its new air and missile defense battle command systems for the Army, the company said. – Defense News

Two long-range American bombers flew through airspace that China recently declared it has the right to police in what Pentagon officials described as a routine flight but which sent a clear message that the United States rejects the Chinese claims. – New York Times

First as the Pentagon’s under secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, and then as the department’s deputy, Mr. Carter played a central role in the initiative to rush MRAPs to Afghanistan for the troop surge, circumventing the calcified procurement system that traditionally takes years to move a weapon from idea to the front lines. – NYT’s At War

A House-Senate budget conference committee is finding its work on a compromise spending plan tough sledding, and the prospects for a long-term federal spending blueprint appear dead. – Defense News

The US Senate likely will take a second swipe at passing a Pentagon policy bill as soon as it returns from a two-week Thanksgiving break. – Defense News

After releasing several draft request for proposal (RFP) documents over the past year, on Tuesday the US Army finally released the final specs for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle’s (AMPV’s) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. – Defense News

Lockheed Martin has labeled the hypersonic technology to be used in the proposed SR-72 Mach 6 aircraft as the “new stealth.” It is really the old stealth, and it points to a classic example of how almost every military and political leader in Western defense fell in line behind a technical miscalculation. – Aviation Week

Interview: Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, at the Air Force Association’s Pacific Forum in Los Angeles, about the challenges facing the U.S. and its allies in shaping a 21st century Pacific defense strategy. – Breaking Defense

Our military and its associated industries represent a carefully groomed machine that has been cultivated for more than 200 years.   Whether we like it or not, choices must be made to determine what is necessary to protect American citizens and the national security priorities that ensure we remain safe. – War on the Rocks

The War

A federal judge in Manhattan declined on Tuesday to suppress statements made to the authorities by a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who is charged with conspiring to kill Americans. – New York Times

U.S. intelligence officials actively recruited and trained terror detainees at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to be double agents for the United States. – DEFCON Hill

Missile Defense

While the debate continues over how soon Iran or North Korea might be able to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the US mainland, the US government is forging ahead with controversial plans to beef up its domestic missile defense capabilities well before any threat has materialized. – Defense News

As NATO intensifies its efforts to shield Europe from airborne threats, numerous countries are aiming to bolster their missile defense capabilities at the national level and as part of collective allied efforts. Those plans are centered on NATO’s missile defense shield and the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS). – Defense News

Foreign Armies East

The Philippines said on Wednesday the imminent arrival of China’s sole aircraft carrier in the disputed South China Sea for the first time for a training mission would raise tension. – Reuters

South Korea’s foreign minister warned on Wednesday that China’s recent attempt to police the sky over a vast area in the East China Sea was worsening tensions in a region already strained by territorial disputes. – New York Times

Taiwan’s early warning radar (EWR) on the island’s west coast has gained the respect of just about everyone in the region — except China. And for good reason, sources say. It is the most “powerful radar in the world,” said a Taiwan defense industry source. – Defense News

India is expressing displeasure with Russia over New Delhi’s low level of participation in the joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), despite being an equal financial partner in the project and placing an order of more than US $30 billion for the new planes. – Defense News

After a five-year delay in acquiring a Russian aircraft carrier, the Indian Navy will have to wait further before the vessel is equipped with its proposed air defense system. – Defense News

The Pentagon and the US Pacific Command face new problems after Beijing’s announcement of the establishment of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea on Nov. 23. – Defense News

American forces in the Pacific will not heed China’s new restrictions on when and where U.S. warplanes can fly, the Pentagon said Monday. – DEFCON Hill

The Pentagon is fortifying bases in the Pacific and looking to revive World War II-era air bases as part of an effort to survive a Chinese missile attack that could wipe out critical installations on Okinawa and elsewhere, military records, interviews and congressional testimony show. – USA Today

The Defense Department is scaling back its disaster relief mission in the Philippines as U.S. commanders on the ground move those operations into their final phase. – DEFCON Hill

The Army has decided to eliminate Special Duty Assignment Pay for some soldiers who perform jobs that are especially demanding or require unusual degrees of responsibility. – Washington Times

For the US Army, everything is on the table. During the service’s yearly senior leader seminar Nov. 20, the Army’s top uniformed leadership for the first time called for a look at cutting the size of the squad from nine soldiers to as low as six, while reminding subordinates that the service is shrinking and likely won’t be able to afford new leap-ahead technologies in the near future. – Defense News

Service leaders have been touting an expeditionary and scalable Army. Now, they’re putting their money where their mouth is. They are using the five-year drop in funding to change investment strategies and turn to innovative solutions that will reconfigure all manner of formations with rapid deployment in mind. – Military Times

Marine Corps units assigned to protect some of the State Department’s most dangerous diplomatic outposts will have to do more with less, due to recent budget cuts tied to sequestration. – DEFCON Hill

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was asked point blank on his visit Thursday to Bath Iron Works whether the Pentagon would reverse its decision back in 2008 to buy fewer DDG 1000 destroyers and more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Hagel didn’t offer a direct answer. – DOD Buzz

The War

Six months after 44 signaled his desire to shift the campaign to the Defense Department, the CIA’s drone operations center in Langley, Va., is still behind the vast majority of strikes. – Washington Post

At least 12 suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in an air strike in southern Yemen this week, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. – Reuters

A Benghazi militia tied to the killing of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens fled its headquarters on Monday after an hourslong gun battle with a local military unit, a potential turning point in a continuing struggle between Islamists and their foes for control of the city. – New York Times

Missile Defense

After taking part in the agreement between Iran and six world powers this weekend, Russia’s foreign minister said Monday that a successful nuclear pact with Iran would end the need for a U.S. missile shield in Europe. – DEFCON Hill

Foreign Armies East

Iranian missile technicians secretly visited North Korea as part of joint development of a new rocket booster for long-range missiles or space launchers at the same time nuclear talks took place in Geneva, according to U.S. officials. – Washington Free Beacon

France will triple the number of its soldiers in the Central African Republic to 1,200 to bolster security after months of violence, the war-torn nation’s prime minister said on Monday. – Reuters

China sent its sole aircraft carrier on a training mission into the South China Sea on Tuesday amid maritime disputes with the Philippines and other neighbors and tension over its plan to set up an airspace defense zone in waters disputed with Japan. – Reuters

Pakistan’s military unveiled two domestically produced drones Monday, even as the country is facing growing protests over U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil. – Washington Post

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan “frequently” lost or botched the paperwork packages nominating troops for medals and awards while serving in combat, according to the Defense Department Inspector General. – Military Times

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is turning up the heat on Afghan leaders, pressing for a final postwar plan to be in place by year’s end. – DEFCON Hill

As a shrinking northern ice cap sets the stage for increased competition over natural resources, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday released the Pentagon’s first “Arctic Strategy,” intended to safeguard American security interests and the region’s environment. – New York Times

Things have gone from bad to worse on Capitol Hill as Senate Republicans warn that the Democrat’s “nuclear option” will further complicate getting anything done. – Defense News

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are scrambling to salvage this year’s Defense authorization bill after the Senate failed to pass the measure this week. – DEFCON Hill

Hagel is right; according to the comptroller’s office, military and civilian personnel costs have grown by 78 percent between 2001 and 2012, the most recent year for which finalized budget numbers are available. Yet the overall defense budget has been growing even faster. – Defense News

Generals, admirals, members of Congress, captains of industry, and two Defense Secretaries in a row have been pounding the drums for nearly two years on the dangers of sequestration. So far, it appears hardly anyone is listening outside the Beltway — or even on Capitol Hill. – Breaking Defense

Sikorsky will be awarded a contract for the US Air Force’s Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) program in early 2014 — if the budget allows it. – Defense News

A proposed amendment to the U.S. Senate’s fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill would require the Navy to update Congress on cost projections for different alternatives for modernizing the nation’s ballistic-missile submarine fleet. – Global Security Newswire

Budget cuts to the military have forced installations around the country to alter training exercises and daily routines to save money. For airmen and pilots, that means fewer flights. For soldiers and Marines, it means fewer drills or delaying them until a deployment nears. – Associated Press

The War

Now, as Congress considers whether to grant trials and transfers to most detainees, time may be running out on the law that allows the U.S. to hold them. – Associated Press

Foreign Armies East 

Fierce fighting to the east of Damascus has killed more than 160 people in the past two days as Syrian rebels struggle to break a months-long blockade by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, activists said on Sunday. – Reuters

The rumors surrounding an arms deal between Russia and Egypt deepened last week after the Egyptian Air Force commander stood up his Russian counterpart for a scheduled meeting at the Dubai Airshow, according to a source close to Moscow’s delegation. – Defense News

Clashes between Libyan troops and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday killed at least three people and wounded a dozen more during a military operation, security and medical officials said. – Reuters

The Chinese government on Saturday claimed the right to identify, monitor and possibly take military action against aircraft that enter a newly declared “air defense identification zone,” which covers sea and islands also claimed by Japan and threatens to escalate an already tense dispute over some of the maritime territory. – New York Times

The Chinese military conducted a test flight of its Lijian stealth drone, also known as “Sharp Sword,” according to the state-run China Daily newspaper. – Defense One
 

Defense industry leaders are growing uneasy over the number of unfilled senior civilian posts at the Pentagon. Many of the current vacancies have not been filled because the Obama administration has not yet named candidates. Others are positions for which nominees still await Senate confirmation. – National Defense

The head of the Marine Corps has been cleared of allegations that he improperly displayed favoritism toward a Marine during an investigation of an infamous video showing snipers urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

Increased production of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 depends more on how the fighter fares in testing than how deeply the Pentagon budget is cut, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said. – Bloomberg

The US Air Force may be planning to cut the A-10 Thunderbolt, but that doesn’t mean it plans to stop upkeep of its current fleet. The service picked up a pair of task orders for maintenance and support this week, awarding nearly $24 million to contractor Northrop Grumman. – Defense News

The U.S. Navy has finished another round of carrier tests for the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator. The UAV demonstrated deck handling, carrier landings in high winds, and control systems. – Defense News

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited the ship and the team of sailors and contractors working on her at Maine’s Bath Iron Works on Thursday. Shipyard workers took Hagel’s staff and reporters through the vessels insides, where no photography was permitted…But here’s what it’s like inside. – Defense One

The biggest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy will play an important role in the Pacific Ocean as the U.S. refocuses attention on the region, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told shipbuilders and sailors on Thursday. – Associated Press

The War

A rare U.S. drone strike on an Islamic seminary outside Pakistan’s tribal areas — where most past strikes have occurred — is fueling a heated international debate on the Obama administration’s commitment to limiting civilian casualties. – Washington Times

Six mortar bombs landed near a border post in northern Saudi Arabia in an attack claimed by an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militia, which said on Thursday it was warning the kingdom to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs. – Reuters

An al Qaeda affiliate has captured a northern Syrian town on the border with Turkey after ousting a moderate Islamist rebel unit and detained its leader, activists said on Thursday. – Reuters

Foreign Armies East

South Korea’s military will set new operational requirements and bid procedures for its F-X III fighter jet acquisition program Nov. 22, and an official with the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the F-35 will likely be selected. – Defense News

Gulf buyers are nearing decisions to buy more current generation fighter jets, but the buzz at the Dubai Airshow was about Lockheed Martin Corp’s radar-evading F-35 fighter – a plane not yet operational and not even on display there. – Reuters

Lockheed Martin Corp expects news about a multibillion dollar program to modernize the Saudi Arabian Navy in the next several months, senior company executives told Reuters at the Dubai Airshow on Wednesday after meetings with Saudi officials. – Reuters

Iranian military forces launched a series of “massive military drills” across nine provinces on Wednesday following an order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state media reports. – Washington Free Beacon

Pentagon leadership is constructing battle plans. But this battle doesn’t involve tanks rolling across the hills or bombing campaigns. It’s a budget battle, and the plans will determine the size of the minimum force needed to meet the Obama administration’s military strategy objectives. – Defense News

Pentagon leaders are drafting a plan to cut education, healthcare and housing benefits in an effort to get Congress to end the sequester. – DEFCON Hill

Across the board, all of the US Navy’s shipbuilding programs are improving, reports the Government Accountability Office (GAO). But too many ships are being accepted still needing work, the GAO says, and the Navy needs better standards to get the work done before taking delivery. – Defense News

The Air Force will not buy a “universal payload adapter” to attach sensors from the U-2 to a variant of the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk, another sign that the service is not interested in keeping the brand-new planes in the sky. – Defense News

The Navy has suspended target drone exercises in the wake of Saturday’s mishap where a drone punctured the hull of cruiser Chancellorsville during a tracking exercise off Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., according to one media report. – Military Times

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey says the United States is “vulnerable” to a mass cyberattack from near-peer adversaries, such as China and Iran. – DEFCON Hill

Huntington Ingalls Industries says the USS Gerald R. Ford was launched into the James River for the first time over the weekend. – Associated Press

Col. Scott Gerber, USA writes: If the bankrupt Shock and Awe theory is dressed up as strategy again, someone will call our bluff.  U.S. leaders will find themselves stuck with two bad choices: accept an intolerable situation or engage in a struggle for which we are unprepared. – Foreign Policy

The War

Missiles believed to have been fired by an American drone struck an Islamic seminary in the northeastern Hangu district here Thursday morning, the first strike of its kind outside Pakistan’s volatile tribal regions. The attack killed six people and wounded five, a senior district police officer said. – New York Times

Several dozen suspected terrorist bombmakers, including some believed to have targeted American troops, may have mistakenly been allowed to move to the United States as war refugees, according to FBI agents investigating the remnants of roadside bombs recovered from Iraq and Afghanistan. – ABC News

The Senate’s vote Tuesday to reject additional restrictions on transferring Guantánamo Bay detainees sets the stage for a major battle between the House and Senate on the issue. – DEFCON Hill

State Department employees at the Benghazi compound knew they were in a death trap and made a series of radio distress calls to the CIA annex during the terror assault last year, according to congressional sources familiar with recent testimony on the attack from five CIA personnel. – Fox News

The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday cleared Jeh Johnson’s nomination to be the next Homeland Security secretary. – DEFCON Hill

Two suicide bombers from al Qaeda-linked groups blew themselves up at an army post in the Syrian town of al-Nabak on Wednesday, halting an advance by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces near the Syrian-Lebanese border, activists said. – Reuters

With cyber threats, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorist groups spreading to more parts of the world, there’s plenty of things that worry Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. But what keeps him up at night is that terrorists find a way to attack us because U.S. agencies and other partner nations didn’t share information. – Defense One

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staffers are rejecting the concerns of lawmakers, state officials and watchdog groups who say nuclear waste tightly packed in spent-fuel pools at U.S. power plants is vulnerable to terrorist attacks. – Global Security Newswire

Foreign Armies East

Japanese forces joined international efforts on Wednesday to airlift citizens out of this hard-hit city, vying for greater influence in Asia near the site of a crushing naval defeat in World War II. – Wall Street Journal

A measure proposed on Tuesday in the U.S. Senate would prohibit Washington from financially supporting the integration of a Chinese missile system with U.S. technology that is to play an essential role in an evolving NATO defensive shield. – Global Security Newswire

U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co said on Tuesday it hoped to finalize the sale of its Patriot air and missile defense system to Qatar “fairly quickly,” and wrap up the sale of additional Patriot fire units to Kuwait before the end of the year. – Reuters

A study group is calling on US officials and lawmakers to dramatically increase America’s naval footprint in the Pacific to “offset China’s growing military capabilities.” – Defense News

Nuclear Weapons

The administration has drafted a plan to shutter an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) squadron three years after it assured hesitant lawmakers that the New START U.S.-Russia arms reduction treaty would not lead to deep cuts in the ICBM force. – Washington Free Beacon

An unpublished study for the Air Force, obtained by The Associated Press, cites “burnout” among launch officers with their fingers on the triggers of 450 weapons of mass destruction. Also, evidence of broader behavioral issues across the intercontinental ballistic missile force, including sexual assaults and domestic violence. – Associated Press