Defense
Despite the Pentagon discarding the two-war construct and the downsizing of the American military, U.S. forces will be able to fight more than one adversary at a time, the Defense Department’s outgoing policy chief reiterated. – Defense News
Lawmakers from both parties are signaling they will do everything in their power to stop the Obama administration from launching another round of military base closures in the United States. – DEFCON Hill
The U.S. Defense Department’s fiscal 2013 budget plan to cut $259 billion from spending over the next five years is unlikely to damage America’s defense industrial base largely because it sidesteps major program cuts in a presidential election year, according to analysts. – Defense News
The Army may be in the cross-hairs of the budget cutters, but it’s had a surprisingly good week. While the number of soldiers will drop to 490,000 as long expected, the service is getting a lot of what it wanted to cushion that fall – starting with time. – AOL Defense
The Pentagon and White House are trying to have it both ways in the new national security strategy unveiled last week, and the department is looking to the National Guard and Reserve to help make that happen. – AOL Defense
As part of the Defense Department’s efforts to trim close to $500 billion in spending over the next decade, defense officials said Jan. 27 that the service intends to cut five A-10 tactical squadrons and two other squadrons as well. – Defense News
The U.S. Navy has already altered its Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship, LCS-1, to address problems uncovered in testing, but the ship still needs to be fundamentally redesigned, say leading defense analysts. – Aviation Week
As the Pentagon moves to slash tens of thousands of combat troops from the U.S. Army and Marines Corps, officials are allaying fears by suggesting that special operations forces will be beefed up to fill any gaps in America’s defense needs created by cutbacks totaling roughly $485 billion. But experts are saying that will stretch the definition of special operations forces, muddying the traditional role the elite units have successfully executed since 9/11. – Washington Examiner
As the Army prepares for a spring flight demonstration of possible interim replacements for its OH-58D scout helicopter, financial pressure on the Pentagon may mean the service has to make do with the aging Kiowa for years to come, despite forthcoming obsolescence issues. – Aviation Week
Fifteen new Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, some of which are participating in the flight testing so critical to moving the troubled Joint Strike Fighter program forward, have been grounded owing to improper loading of parachutes in their ejection seats. – Aviation Week
Technologies being offered up by the aerospace industry for the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) are still closely held, but clues are emerging. – Aviation Week
Interview: The top Democrat on the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., will play a leading role in shepherding the Obama administration’s defense agenda through Congress as military spending declines as part of a broader drive to cut the country’s debt. – Defense News
Missile Defense
Refuting reports from Ankara, a U.S. government official said a U.S. X-band radar deployed in eastern Turkey as part of NATO’S ballistic missile defense shield is operated solely by American personnel, with no restrictions on the use of data generated by the powerful early warning sensor. – Defense News
The War
President Obama on Monday defended the use of drones to strike suspected terrorists in Pakistan and elsewhere, saying the clandestine program was “kept on a very tight leash” and enabled the United States to use “pinpoint” targeting to avoid more intrusive military action. – New York Times
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano pledged Wednesday for a more efficient approach to protecting the nation’s security by expanding measures to allow the department to better collect and share important information. – DEFCON Hill
Bill Roggio and Thomas Joscelyn write: We must end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama argues, to “focus on a broader range of challenges and opportunities, including the security and prosperity of the Asia Pacific.” The Defense Department tells us it is necessary to “rebalance” its assets “toward the Asia-Pacific region.” So to China and its neighbors President Obama looks—as the fires of jihad rage, barely abated. – The Weekly Standard
Cybersecurity
Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Chuck Grassley, Saxby Chambliss, and Lisa Murkowski write: The administration’s proposal is ultimately a costly and heavy-handed regulatory approach. It will not work and it won’t pass Congress. We hope the president will work with us on a more collaborative approach between government and business to effectively address the critical issue of cybersecurity. – Politico
